LABORATORY WASTE DISPOSAL GUIDE

Transcription

1 LABORATORY WASTE DISPOSAL GUIDE Purpose This guide will help lab members properly identify and manage hazardous waste in their laboratory. Identifying the types of waste generated is crucial to handling and disposing the waste safely and properly. Scope The Laboratory Waste Disposal Guide covers types of waste commonly found in labs, including Chemical, Biological, and Radioactive wastes. This guide will give you basic storage and labeling requirements, disposal procedures, and common concerns for each waste type. Responsibilities Labs must comply with all procedures provided by the Office of Research Compliance, Laboratory Safety Group (Lab Safety). This will ensure that UT Dallas is in compliance with all waste regulations and contribute to the improved safety and health of faculty, staff, students, and the environment. Lab members must wear proper PPE when in the lab, especially when handling wastes. Labs must provide sufficient information to Lab Safety to allow for the safe transport and proper classification of wastes. Remember there is no charge to the labs for chemical waste disposal. The Office of Research Compliance, Laboratory Safety (Lab Safety) group is responsible for the development and implementation of proper management practices for all aspects of the handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous wastes that are generated at UT Dallas. The goal is to manage wastes in a safe & environmentally sound manner that complies with all applicable federal, state, and local regulations. This group is responsible for pickup of hazardous wastes from labs and providing advice and counsel for achieving and maintaining compliance. Waste Minimization and Pollution Prevention As part of overall compliance and good environmental stewardship, the University is required to create a waste minimization plan. Below are a few ways that labs can assist in waste minimization. Practice the concept of Source Reduction by ordering the smallest quantity of chemical materials required for your research. Substitute hazardous chemicals with non-hazardous chemicals whenever possible. Keep an inventory of chemicals in your lab by using ChemTracker. Participate in the Chemical Surplus program. Offer unwanted chemicals to the Chemical Safety Program in the Office of Research or search for available chemicals through ChemTracker. Purchase mercury-free instruments. Reduce the scale of laboratory experiments to reduce the volume of waste being produced whenever possible.

2 Laboratory Waste Disposal Classification, Storage (Containers & Labeling), Disposal, Common Concerns Chemical Waste Also known as Laboratory Waste, from a regulatory standpoint, a chemical waste is considered to be a hazardous waste if it is specifically listed or characterized by the EPA as a hazardous waste. Laboratories should treat all chemical waste as hazardous waste. Labeling A Laboratory Waste Label is required for all chemical waste containers. The information provided allows hazardous waste personnel to properly classify waste. Label container as soon as waste is added. These instructions are true for all chemical wastes. Disposal Chemical wastes cannot accumulate in labs for longer than 90 days past the initial generation date. Lab Safety uses an online request form to coordinate requests for waste pickups, laboratory chemical cleanouts, and replacement container needs. These instructions are true for all chemical wastes, except for DEA Controlled Substances. Additional support is available for laboratory cleanouts please contact your Lab Safety Specialist. Chemical Waste - Liquids Liquid chemical waste includes used or spent liquid chemicals, empty container rinsate, and surplus or expired material. Examples include, but are not limited to solvents, formalin, hydrofluoric acid, contaminated aqueous solutions, and oils. All containers must be in good condition and inspected to make sure they are not becoming brittle or starting to crack. Containers must be closed with the lid firmly secured. Labs can repurpose empty chemical bottles for their waste. If doing so, all previous container information must be thoroughly marked out, and then properly relabeled. Do not collect waste in repurposed metal containers. Lab Safety provides 4L amber glass bottles and 5 gallon HDPE carboys. Lab Safety does not allow contamination of the outside surfaces of waste containers. Peroxide Forming Compounds (PFC) Do not attempt to tag, move, open, test, or dispose of expired or otherwise compromised highly hazardous or peroxide forming chemicals, including containers of unknown age. This could result in serious injury if peroxides or additional hazards are present. Water Reactive Chemicals Lab Safety sometimes provides replacement containers which have been rinsed with water. Do not mix oxidizing acids with organic materials. Common examples include Nitric Acid and Methanol or Perchloric Acid and Acetic Acid.

3 Chemical Waste - Solids Solid chemical waste includes used or spent solid chemicals, chemically contaminated lab trash (gloves, pipettes, weigh boats), silica, drying agents, and contaminated broken glass. Solid waste must be collected in the provided 6.5 gallon, black, plastic buckets with yellow bags. The containers must be closed at all times. Other containers may be suitable for the collection of solid wastes, but they require prior approval. Keep non-contaminated trash (glove boxes, food containers, water bottles, etc.) out of solid waste buckets. In most cases, large chemical containers should be triple rinsed and disposed of in the normal trash or recycling streams. If disposing of many pipettes or slides, bundle them together to avoid sharp edges perforating the bag. Chemical Waste Gases & Cylinders Gases and cylinders includes lecture bottles, bubblers, torch gases, and thin walled canisters, regardless of fullness. Empty containers should still be managed as laboratory waste. Cylinders, bubbles, and other gas canisters must be stored to their manufacturer s specifications and in their original containers. Promptly return unwanted gas cylinders to the vendor to regain your deposit on the cylinder and minimize rental charges. Non-returnable gas cylinders must be managed as laboratory waste. All gas cylinders must be in good condition and properly labeled, sealed, and stored at all times. Anyone observing a cylinder that is in poor condition or whose owner and contents cannot be positively identified should immediately contact Lab Safety. Chemical Waste Sharps Sharps include needles, syringes, scalpels, and intravenous tubing with needles attached, independent of whether they are contaminated or not. Chemically contaminated sharps need to be managed as laboratory waste. Sharps must be placed in a rigid, puncture resistant, closable, and leak-proof container. NEVER OVERFILL - Do not fill containers > ⅔ the volume. If using a biohazardous sharps container for collection of chemical sharps, be sure to mark out the biohazardous label.

4 Never recap needles. Do not put sharps into the black, solid waste bucket. Chemical Waste P-Listed Chemicals P-listed, also called acutely toxic, chemicals should be identified by a green sticker, provided by Laboratory Safety. P-listed chemical waste does not include waste that was generated from an experiment UNLESS the listed chemical was unused, spilled, or leaves a residue. P-listed waste includes only: discarded commercial chemical products, off-specification species; container residues (ie. Empty containers); spill residues - THIS CAN INCLUDE PIPETTE TIPS or other contaminated solids. Whenever possible, collect p-listed wastes in the original container. Empty P-listed chemical containers should be collected as laboratory waste, separate from all other wastes. LABELING Original containers should be labeled with a p-listed sticker. Do not remove ChemTracker barcodes. If disposing of p-listed contaminated material, please list the p-listed material on the label. DISPOSAL P-listed chemical containers should not be rinsed, re-used, or discarded in a trash or recycling bin. Submit empty containers as laboratory waste separately and use the online form. Lysis buffers in RNA kits frequently include guanidine thiocyanate (p-listed), but the contents are not readily identified on the manufacturer s label. Chemical Waste DEA Controlled Substances The complete list of drugs and other substances that are considered controlled substances is published annually in 21 CFR Common items include ketamine and buprenorphine. Maintain all expired, unwanted, and empty controlled substance containers and cocktail containers in the controlled substance safe. Mark as laboratory waste and segregate from usable controlled substances. Only the license holder or authorized users are allowed to handle controlled substances. LABELING Mark as laboratory waste. Do not remove ChemTracker barcodes.

5 DISPOSAL DO NOT SUBMIT AN ONLINE REQUEST - Complete the Sharps Compliance Disposal Form and to waste@utdallas.edu. Only the license holder or authorized users are allowed to handle controlled substances. Hazardous Waste personnel will assist in the disposal process. Online waste requests cannot be submitted for Controlled Substances. Unwanted Controlled Substances must be kept in the DEA approved safe. Empty containers of Controlled Substances still must be managed as Controlled Substances.

6 Biological Waste Biological wastes refer to regulated waste that includes the following categories: microbiological waste, cell cultures, biologically contaminated sharps, human blood, blood products, potentially infectious materials, pathological waste, animal waste, and bedding of animals intentionally exposed to pathogens. All BSL-1 materials are included. Labeling All biological waste containers must be clearly labeled with the biohazard symbol. Disposal Disposal of biological wastes varies by type and other contaminates. Specific requirements are detailed in the following sections. Biological Waste - Liquids All containers must be in good condition and inspected to make sure they are not becoming brittle or starting to crack. Containers must be closed with the lid firmly secured. Open containers must be treated or covered at the end of the day. For vacuum traps, drain once 2/3 full. TREATMENT & DISPOSAL Lab Safety does not accept liquid biological wastes. Therefore, these wastes must be treated to remove the biohazardous component before disposing. Many liquid wastes can be treated with bleach to inactivate the biological hazard, then this can be poured into the sinks. Drain disposal cannot be done for liquid wastes that contain any other hazard, such as metals, formaldehyde, or ethidium bromide. Depending on your process, formaldehyde, ethidium bromide, DNA or RNA isolation, or sodium azide wastes may no longer have the biological hazard. Therefore, this would be managed strictly as chemical waste. Autoclaves cannot support large amounts of bleach, so do not bleach then autoclave liquid biological wastes. Biological Waste - Solids Collect biohazardous solid waste in a biohazard bag that is maintained in a collection container that meets the following requirements: non-porous, easily disinfected, has an appropriate lid and is clearly labeled with the biohazard symbol. Benchtop biological waste container must be emptied at night or covered.

7 TREATMENT & DISPOSAL Autoclave Depending on your location on campus, you may have the ability to autoclave your solid biological wastes. Only red or orange bags intended for autoclaves should be used. Clear bags are not allowed in this process. The Autoclave Waste Treatment Guide, which is posted in all media kitchens, gives detailed procedures on autoclaving waste. Oils, waxes, flammable materials, radioactive materials, ethidium bromide, or anything potentially causing an inhalation hazard cannot be autoclaved. Incineration / Off-campus Disposal If your lab is not able to autoclave your solid biological waste, you can request disposal through Lab Safety. Lab Safety will provide red biohazard bags (not for use in an autoclave) and cardboard transport boxes. When the red biohazard bag is ⅔ full tie the bag closed, transfer the bag to a cardboard Stericycle box, and close the box using the interlocking flaps; the handles should remain on the outside. Once the Stericycle box is ready, submit an online waste pickup request and Lab Safety will remove it from the lab. Waste collection containers should be disinfected each time the bag is replaced. However, it must be done if there is any leak or visible contamination. Do not collect solid biological wastes in the cardboard boxes. These are intended for transport only. Do not dispose of liquid wastes, chemically contaminated wastes or sharps in the biohazardous waste bags. Biological Waste Sharps Sharps include needles, syringes, scalpels, and intravenous tubing with needles attached, independent of whether they are contaminated or not. Biologically contaminated sharps need to be managed as biological waste. Sharps must be placed in a rigid, puncture resistant, closable, and leak-proof container. NEVER OVERFILL - Do not fill containers > ⅔ the volume. You do not need to include a Laboratory Waste label on biologically contaminated sharps. TREATMENT & DISPOSAL No treatment is necessary for sharps disposal. Lab Safety uses an online request form to coordinate requests for waste pickups, including sharps disposal. When working with sharps, always have a sharps container within arm s reach. Never recap needles. Do not put sharps into the black, solid waste bucket.

8 Radioactive Wastes Radioactive wastes include any unwanted radioactive material or any items that come into contact with radioactive material. This does not include naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM), such as uranium and thorium compounds. NORM is managed as a chemical hazardous waste. Labeling Label all containers with a radioactive waste tag and a laboratory waste label at the time of initial generation. Disposal Contact hazardous waste personnel at waste@utdallas.edu or x4978 to schedule a radioactive waste removal. DO NOT SUBMIT AN ONLINE REQUEST. General Storage Requirements Use appropriate shielding, as necessary. Store radioactive waste only in an area designated to contain radioactive materials. This might be separate from your common laboratory waste storage area. Separate radionuclides into different containers. Do not allow contamination of the outside surfaces of waste containers. The entire waste storage area should be marked using the Radioactive label tape. Radioactive Waste Liquids Liquid radioactive waste includes any and all liquids containing radionuclides, including those wastes with a chemical hazard. All containers must be in good condition and inspected to make sure they are not becoming brittle or starting to crack. Containers must be closed with the lid firmly secured. It is recommended that liquid wastes be collected in plastic containers that are compatible with the waste contained. Place liquid waste containers in secondary containment. Label all containers with a radioactive waste tag and a laboratory waste label at the time of initial generation. List the chemical constituents of the solution in addition to the radionuclide information on the laboratory waste label. Radioactive solutions do not lose their chemical hazards. Follow any applicable chemical waste procedures. Radioactive Waste - Solid, Dry, Semi-solid Solid radioactive waste includes lab trash contaminated with radioactive materials, such as gloves, pipettes, weigh boats, and absorbent pads. It also includes broken glass contaminated

9 with radioactive materials and any disposable lab ware that has come into contact with radioactive materials. Use appropriate shielding, as necessary. Wastes should be collected in a bag within a leak-proof container that is easily decontaminated. Containers must be kept closed. Waste storage should not be in a common path of travel and should be adjacent to where the work is being performed. Take precautions to ensure that capillary tubes, pipettes, or other sharp objects do not puncture the plastic waste bag. Radioactive Waste Scintillation Vials Full, partial, and emptied scintillation vials that contain or contained scintillation cocktail are regulated as radioactive wastes. Do not combine scintillation vials with dry or semi-solid wastes. They must be collected in their own container. Hazardous waste personnel can provide a 6.5 gallon black bucket. Scintillation cocktails containing toluene or other solvents are managed as flammable chemical waste as well as radioactive waste. Make sure all scintillation vial caps are tightly closed before placing in a waste container.