1. Hazardous Waste Management Refresher training
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Environmental, Health, Safety, and Risk Management
September 2019

2. Course Outline Overview of hazardous materials Hazardous waste at UAF
What is hazardous waste?
What do I do with my hazardous waste?
Emergency response

3. Classes of hazardous materials
Class 1: Explosives Class 2: Compressed Gases Class 3: Flammable Liquids Class 4: Flammable Solids Class 5: Oxidizers Class 6: Poisons and Toxics Class 7: Radioactive materials Class 8: Corrosives Class 9: Miscellaneous hazardous materials that don’t fit any other hazard class… (i.e. dry ice)

4. EPA Regulations: RCRA
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates hazardous waste in Alaska by authority of the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA).
RCRA requirements include:
Identification of hazardous wastes
Tracking wastes from “cradle to grave”
Setting standards for generators of wastes, transporters of wastes, and Treatment, Storage & Disposal Facilities

5. Training
The purpose of the training is to ensure that UAF personnel who use chemicals understand how to:
identify hazardous wastes (and non-hazardous wastes)
package and label hazardous wastes
have their hazardous materials disposed
respond appropriately to emergencies
Training must be completed ANNUALLY, per RCRA regulations.

6. RCRA Requirements RCRA requires that you:
Receive training on hazardous waste management
Identify and classify your wastes at the site of generation (i.e., in your lab)
Properly label waste containers
Store only the permissible volume of waste in your lab
Ensure lids and caps are securely fastened at all times
Properly segregate all materials
Use compatible containers
Use intact containers (no cracks, holes, etc.)
Ensure that spills and overfills do not occur
Ensure that mismanagement does not occur
Refer to page 7-8 of the Introduction to Hazardous Waste Management.

7. UAF Hazardous Waste Management
EHSRM assists UAF waste generators with waste disposal needs
Hazardous Materials Facility (HMF) stores waste and serves as UAF’s Central Accumulation Area (CAA)
RCRA-regulated hazardous wastes are shipped
Every 90 days from the HMF
By EPA-permitted transporters to EPA-permitted treatment, storage, and disposal facilities
Annual costs: $150,000 for disposal; $400,000 total cost of hazmat program at UAF

8. RCRA Regulatory Inspections
EPA conducts unannounced Compliance Evaluation Inspections
UAF facilities are typically inspected annually
We have recently had a number of violations and have had to pay fines.
These were nearly all violations at the site of generation (i.e., laboratories and shops)

9. What is hazardous waste?

10. Categories of waste RCRA-regulated
Non-regulated, but still considered hazardous by UAF and/or Golden Heart Utilities
Non-hazardous
Our goal is to:
Comply with RCRA and other waste disposal requirements
Avoid unnecessary expenses associated with picking up non-hazardous and non-regulated wastes
For complete information refer to Appendix 1 to Part 260 – Overview of Subtitle C Regulations

11. Is your waste a hazardous waste?
EPA regulations (40 CFR 261.2) require that a hazardous waste determination be made at the point of waste generation
This means that it has to be made by the person(s) generating the waste at their lab, shop, or studio.

12. Categories of waste Universal wastes Batteries, light bulbs
RCRA identifies three main kinds of wastes:
Listed wastes
P list, U list
F and K lists (not typical in labs)
Characteristic wastes
D list
TCLP (toxic characteristic leaching procedure; not typical in labs)
Universal wastes
Batteries, light bulbs

13. Listed Wastes U-listed wastes are toxic wastes
P-listed wastes are acutely toxic wastes
F-listed wastes are from non-specific sources
Example: halogenated solvents used to degrease equipment
K-listed wastes are from specific sources
Example: petroleum refining or pesticide manufacturing
Refer to page 5-6 in your handout. The lists of wastes are provided as attachment 1 in your handout.

14. Examples of U-Listed Wastes (toxic)
Acetaldehyde
1,4-Dioxane
Acetone
Ethyl acetate
Acetonitrile
Ethyl ether
Aniline
Formaldehyde
Benzene
Methyl alcohol
Bromoform
Methylene chloride
1-Butanol
Phenol
Chloroform
Toluene
U-listed chemicals are common in UAF labs

15. Examples of P-Listed Wastes (acutely toxic)
Allyl alcohol
Osmium tetroxide
Ammonium vanadate
Phenylthiourea
Arsenic acid
Potassium cyanide
Arsenic trioxide
Sodium azide
Carbon disulfide
Sodium cyanide
2,4-Dinitrophenol
Thiosemicarbazide
Fluorine
Vanadium oxide
Nitric oxide
Vanadium pentoxide
P-listed chemicals are also fairly common in UAF labs

16. Characteristic Wastes
D001 – Ignitable Wastes (flashpoint is less than 140º F); includes oxidizers
D002 – Corrosive Wastes (pH ≤ 2 or ≥ 12.5)
D003 – Reactive Wastes (water reactive,
normally unstable materials, cyanides, sulfides, etc.)
D004 – TCLP Wastes
Refer to pages 3 thru 5 of your handout. The full description of Characteristic wastes is found at 40 CFR Subpart C.

17. Examples of common lab hazardous chemical wastes
Ethanol (25-100%)
Ethanol at <25% is not regulated
Acetone (25-100%)
Acetone at <25% is not regulated
3.7% formalin (a.k.a. 10% formalin)
Nitric acid (all concentrations)
10% hydrochloric acid bath solution (but see later)

18. Examples of common lab non-hazardous liquid wastes
PBS (phosphate buffered saline)
Tris buffer
Many components of Qiagen kits (except the ones with ethanol added to >24%)
Anything that is not flammable, corrosive, toxic, or oxidizing

19. Examples of hazardous and non-hazardous solid wastes
Pipet tips that were used for ethanol, chloroform, acetone, etc.
Microfuge tubes that formerly contained ethanol, acetone, etc.
Empty containers of hazardous and non-hazardous chemicals, except those that contained P- listed chemicals
HAZARDOUS
Pipet tips that were used for toxic compounds (i.e., arsenic, mercury, lead, cadmium), etc.
Microfuge tubes that formerly contained solutions of arsenic, mercuric chloride, cadmium solutions, etc.

20. Handling of non-hazardous wastes
Throw used pipet tips and microfuge tubes in the regular trash.
Triple-rinse empty containers and drain the rinse water down the sink. Write “empty” on the container and throw it away… or use to collect truly hazardous wastes (after labeling properly)
Tripe-rinse and air dry glass bottles. Remove the label or cover over it. Put on a new label and use it to collect truly hazardous waste solutions.
Mildly acidic solutions with no other hazard: carefully add baking soda to neutralize. Check the pH and put down the sink if the pH is between 6 and 8.

21. Segregation and handling of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes
Discard in the regular trash or down the sink.
Please DO NOT request a waste pickup of these items.
HAZARDOUS
Collect in a suitable, labeled container with a closed lid, or in a labeled bag (for solid wastes).
When the container is full or you no longer generate the waste, go online and make a waste pickup request.

22. Universal Wastes
Universal wastes include the following materials that are commonly found in the workplace
Batteries
Fluorescent lamps
Pesticides
Thermometers (containing mercury)

23. Universal Wastes: Batteries
Used Battery collection containers (white 5- gallon buckets) are available at many locations on campus
Contact your Lab Manager, CHO, Shop Supervisor or EHSRM for more information
Refer to page of your handout for more information about Universal Waste Batteries.

24. Universal Wastes: Mercury Thermometers
If you break a mercury thermometer:
DO NOT try to clean it up yourself Call UAF Hazmat at immediately for assistance
Evacuate the area and keep traffic from walking through the spill site
NEVER throw the material in the trash or dump it down the drain

25. Other Wastes: Aerosol Cans
Aerosol cans are considered hazardous waste under the definition of “Characteristic Reactivity”
Often contain hazardous materials, either as the product or as the propellant
Most aerosol cans, regardless of contents, can never be completely emptied of propellant
Aerosol cans become a waste when…
their contents are used up,
malfunction (i.e. fail to spray), or
when the contents are no longer needed

26. What do I do with my wastes and unwanted chemicals?
Waste in your lab
What do I do with my wastes and unwanted chemicals?

27. Satellite Accumulation Areas
Each lab that generates waste is referred to as a “Satellite Accumulation Area” (SAA) A generator may accumulate hazardous waste in containers at or near any point of generation where wastes initially accumulate which is under the control of the operator of the process generating the waste When EHSRM removes the waste from a SAA, it is transferred to the UAF Hazmat Facility or “Central Accumulation Area”

28. Waste Storage Limits for SAAs
For SAAs, the waste storage limits are:
Up to 55 gallons of non-acute hazardous waste
Up to 1 quart (liquid) or 1 kg (solid) of an acute hazardous waste (P-listed waste)
But note: 50 gallons of waste at a SAA will likely be in violation of Fire & Building Codes

29. SAA container Management
A container holding hazardous waste must be closed at all times during accumulation, except:
when adding, removing, or consolidating waste; or
when temporary venting of a container is necessary
for the proper operation of equipment, or
to prevent dangerous situations, such as build-up of extreme pressure.

30. SAA container Management (cont.)
A generator must mark or label a container holding hazardous waste with the following:
The words “Hazardous Waste”
The full name and concentration of the contents, and
A description of the hazard(s) of the contents
Examples: corrosive, reactive, toxic, flammable
A hazard statement or pictogram consistent with the OSHA Hazard Communication Standard or a chemical hazard label consistent with the National Fire Protection Association may also be used.

31. To Make a Waste Removal Request
As of April 2012, the Division of Hazardous Materials at EHSRM is using an online hazardous waste pick up request. Please discontinue using the old triplicate paper hazardous waste transfer request forms.
If you have not been trained in the use of the online request, call to schedule a training session. Or go to the EHSRM website for more information:
Remember: There is no charge to your lab for chemical waste disposal

32. What you need to remember…
Take-home messages
What you need to remember…

33. Wastes: Containers and Storage
Only use containers that are compatible with the materials to be collected
Always label containers with a description of their contents and their hazard(s)
Don’t store incompatible materials together
Do not store wastes in the fume hood. Store in the appropriate storage cabinet (e.g., flammable, acid)
Provide secondary containment for liquid wastes
Always keep the container closed (lid firmly secured)
A funnel in an open bottle is NOT a lid
Check waste storage areas regularly (weekly).
Inspect containers to make sure they aren’t getting brittle or starting to crack

34. Before You Start a Project
Plan ahead
Is there a product or procedure available that will accomplish the task without generating a hazardous waste?
Strive for waste minimization
Only make as much solution as you need
Substitute less hazardous chemicals if possible
Use microscale chemistry techniques
Before purchasing chemicals, log onto your EHS Assistant online inventory and click on the “Surplus Chemicals” button at the top of the main page. Contact EHSRM at to request transfer of surplus chemicals.

35. Other Things to Think About
Check the P-list - if you plan to use a P-listed chemical, contact your Chemical Hygiene Officer, Lab Manager or EHSRM
Never combine wastes
If you don’t generate them together as part of a procedure, then do not mix them.
May create hazardous reactions in the bottle (worst-case scenario), or make it more expensive for us to dispose of it (not a good scenario, but at least it didn’t blow up)

36. Emergency Response

37. Spills of Hazardous Chemicals
Report all spills of hazardous chemicals to UAF EHSRM Hazmat ( or )
Call 911 if there is an immediate threat of harm to life or property
If no one can be reached, call UAF Dispatch and they will locate EHSRM staff.
If you have not been trained and/or do not have the appropriate personnel protective equipment, please call for assistance!

38. Spills of Hazardous Chemicals (cont.)
If the spill is a solvent and more than 1 L is spilled, then everyone should vacate the lab and call EHSRM for assistance.
Flammable vapors evaporating from the spill can create a fire hazard.
If the spill is an acid, and more than mL is spilled, everyone should vacate the lab and call EHSRM for assistance.
Acid vapors are very corrosive to respiratory and eye tissues and may cause injury, pulmonary edema, etc.

39. Spills of Hazardous Chemicals (cont.)
Alert others to stay clear of the area
Inform emergency responders what has been spilled and what the hazard is (flammable, corrosive, toxic, etc.)
they need to know if it is safe to go in without their respirators!
Remember, chemical labs are under negative pressure, so there is more air exiting the lab through the ventilation system than there is coming in through the supply duct
This helps keep hazardous vapors in the lab, rather than resulting in their escape into the hallways.
Evacuating the lab and closing the door will help protect you and others.

40. Emergency Procedures: Evacuation
In the event of a fire or earthquake, you may need to evacuate the building. You should:
Know the evacuation procedures and evacuation route information for your area
Evacuate the building using the nearest safe exit
Do not use elevators!
Take personnel belongings (keys, purses etc., but don’t put yourself or others at risk by delaying evacuation)
If possible, secure any hazardous materials or equipment

41. Emergency Procedures: Evacuation (cont.)
Follow any directions given by emergency personnel Go to Evacuation Assembly Points (EAPs) designated on the emergency evacuation sign for the building This information is in your building’s Emergency Action Plan (EAP), which must be reviewed annually for every building that you work in. Assist persons with disabilities Do not leave the area/campus until your status has been reported to your supervisor or building coordinator

42. For More Information…
Environmental, Health, Safety, and Risk Management Visit our website at: Or call us at