Hazardous Waste

The basic requirement for the disposal of Hazardous Waste is to provide Rutgers Environmental Health and Safety (REHS) with complete information regarding the composition of all Hazardous Waste generated. The following procedures are provided as a basic overview of how to store and dispose of Hazardous Waste. All faculty, staff and researchers using or generating Hazardous Waste are responsible for familiarizing themselves with this information. Reminder to Principal Investigators All Principal Investigators are responsible for: 1. establishing procedures in their laboratories for the proper collection, storage and handling of Chemical Hazardous Waste in their laboratories. This information should be included in the Chemical Hygiene Plan for your individual lab. 2. ensuring that they, their staff and students attend a yearly Chemical Hygiene, Right-to Know (RTK) and Hazardous Waste Disposal Training seminar provided by REHS. 3. providing hands-on training for their staff and students on the proper handling of hazardous materials in their lab. Collection and Storage of Hazardous Waste The University has adopted a volume sensitive, rather than a time sensitive, procedure for the collection, storage and disposal of Hazardous Waste. This procedure is called the Satellite Accumulation Method. Each research lab should have a Satellite Accumulation Area (SAA) established for the storage of hazardous waste. This area is usually marked by a yellow and black stripe. All chemical waste must be stored in properly labeled containers in the SAA. If your lab does not have an SAA, please contact REHS (233-5-2550). 1. Chemical waste should be collected in screw top containers. Old, cleaned reagent bottles are convenient for this purpose. Some are available in the Autoclave room in Boyden Hall room 327. 2. Choose a container that is appropriate for the volume and type of waste you will collect. (e.g.: Do not use a one gallon jug if you are only generating milliliter quantities of waste. Do not use a metal container for very corrosive waste.) 3. Label the container immediately with a Hazardous Waste Label provided by REHS. Both large and small labels are available in Boyden room 327. Fill them out completely. See instruction below. -Correctly label the container as much as possible BEFORE depositing waste. This will help avoid unidentified waste in the future. The individual research lab will be required to arrange and pay for testing of unidentified waste. -If you are reusing a reagent bottle be sure to remove or deface the existing label and/or affix the Hazardous Waste Label over it. 4. Segregate different chemical waste as much as possible. Avoid “mixed” wastes. Keep separate containers for commonly generated waste solutions in your lab. 5. Liquid waste containers must be kept sealed at all times. A waste container should only be opened to add additional waste and then immediately resealed. 6. Liquid waste containers must be segregated in secondary containment pans according to the type of waste (e.g. Acids and bases must be segregated etc.) 7. Solid waste contaminated with toxic chemical residues should be bagged and sealed appropriately, placed in a box, and labeled for disposal. 8. Only rechargeable Nickel Cadmium and Lithium batteries should be disposed of as hazardous waste. REHS will not collect non-rechargeable Alkaline batteries. How to fill out the Hazardous Waste Labels 1. Choose either a large or small label depending on the size of the container. 2. Complete all information including SAA Manager (Principal Investigator), Campus Telephone extension, Campus (Newark), Building and Room Number. 4. The Chemical Contents section must contain concentrations of ALL components of the waste (including water) and total 100%. Trace components should be included and marked <1%. 5. Use complete chemical names not abbreviations. (e.g. use Trichloroacetic Acid not TCA, Ethanol not CH₃OH) 6. Note if heavy metals (such as mercury or lead) are present by checking circling 'yes' or 'no'. They should also be included in the Chemical Contents section. 7. No date is required unless the Accumulation limits have been exceeded. (55 gallons of Hazardous Waste and/or 1-Qt of Acutely Hazardous Waste). Disposal of Chemical Hazardous Waste For pick-up of chemical waste, fill out a Hazardous Materials Transport List and forward to REHS by mail or FAX to 233-5-3109. This form is available on the department forms and information hotlist at http://honorsnewark.rutgers.edu/bio/Biology/forms.htm. See below for instructions on completing this form. You can also submit your Hazardous Materials list via the REHS web-site at http://rehs.rutgers.edu/ under Environmental Services. How to Fill out the Hazardous Materials Transport List 1. Completely fill out all information at the top of the form. The Requester is the person responsible for generating the waste. This should normally be the Principal Investigator. 2. Under “Proper Chemical Name”, list the chemical components of each container of waste generated. As with the container label, you must use complete chemical names not abbreviations. (e.g. use Trichloroacetic Acid not TCA, Ethanol not CH₃OH) -For Mixed Wastes, it is convenient to name the waste based on its primary component or the procedure or equipment from which it was generated. (e.g. Methyl Mercury Waste, or Gel Destain Solution). Write this name on the first line, then indent and use additional lines to indicate all the components (including water). 3. List the concentration of all waste. For pure substances the concentration is 100%. For Mixed Waste, list the concentration of all constituent components totaling 100%. 4. Indicate the quantity and units of each total waste (e.g. grams, ml, liters, gal. etc). If you have generated several containers of the same waste indicate this as well (e.g. 2 x 1 gal). 5. Indicate the hazard(s) presented by using the corresponding letter for the Hazard Class as necessary: C-Corrosive, E-Explosive, F-Flammable, O-Oxidizer, P-Poison, R-Reactive Further information regarding Hazardous Waste can be obtained at the REHS web-site: http://rehs.rutgers.edu/ You can also contact Albert Le Goff at x1220 or at alegoff@newark.rutgers.edu.