How to handle laboratory waste?

1. How to handle laboratory waste? Department Botany & Zoology,USF Gordon

2. Introduction • Safe, healthy & productive workplace environment • Responsible and effectively handling o hazardous waste • Good lab etiquette • Municipal and government laws exist to regulate and control hazardous waste disposal

3. Waste Removal • Cost enormous • Contractor - Millenium Waste ( Enviroserv and Sanumed) • Waste removal is arrange via USRPS/USBD

4. Waste management Manage waste responsible: • Classification/ Characterizing hazardous waste • Proper packaging • Proper storage of waste • Effective labeling • Waste collection protocol in place

5. Types of waste • Normal Municipal waste (general) • Recyclable waste • Broken Glass • Biological / Medical waste • Chemical waste • Sharps, Broken Glass • Radioactive material waste • Electronic and computer waste

6. Hazardous Waste • Any waste that directly or indirectly represents a threat to human health or to the environment by introducing one or more of the following risks: • Explosion or fire • Infections, pathogens, parasites or their vectors • Chemical instability, reactions or corrosion • Acute or chronic toxicity • Cancer, mutations or birth defects • Toxicity or damage to the ecosystems or natural resources • Accumulation in the biological food chain, persistence in the environment or multiple effects

7. CHEMICAL WASTE

8. SABS Code 0028ID & classification dangerous goods and substances • Class 1 Explosives • Class 2 Gases • Class 3 Flammable liquids • Class 4 Flammable solids • Class 5 Oxidizing substances and organic peroxides • Class 6 Toxic and infectious substances • Class 7 Radioactive Substances • Class 8 Corrosives • Class 9 Other miscellaneous substances

9. Segregate chemical waste • Proper segregation =good chemical hygiene + safe workplace environment • Only put compatible chemicals in a container • Also do not store the following near each other • Acids and bases • Organics and acids • Powdered or reactive metals and combustible materials • Cyanide, sulfide or arsenic compounds and acids • Mercury or silver and ammonium containing compounds • Do not mix solids and liquids • Halogenated with non-halogenated chemicals

10. Chemical Waste Compatibility (1) • Incompatible chemical waste not be mixed or store together • If it must be store in same area – separated secondary containment • Container must be compatible with the waste: • Mineral acids - plastic • Bases -Plastic • Oxidizers - Glass • Organics (incl Acetic acid) - Glass

11. Chemical Waste Compatibility (2) Take special care • Nitric acid: Reacts with organics-heat & gas Be sure container is rinse thoroughly • Perchloric acid, Organic Peroxides: Highly reactive with organics and organic material (wood). May react with metals • Hydrofluoric acid: Dissolves glass containers

12. Packaging of chemical waste (1) • Place hazardous waste in sealable containers • Enviroserv supply different plastic and metal containers • Sized from 25L to 200L, plastic or metal. • Containers must be kept closed. • Do not leave a hazardous waste container with a funnel in it. • Glass bottles with waste must be packed with vermiculite into bigger containers.

13. Packaging of chemical waste (2) • The container should not react with the waste being stored (e.g. NO hydrofluoric acid in glass) • Similar wastes may be mixed if they are compatible • Wastes from incompatible hazard classes should not be mixed (e.g. organic solvents with oxiders) • Be aware that certain metals also cause disposal problems when mixed with flammable liquid or other organic liquids.

14. Labeling • Must be labeled as HAZARDOUS WASTE • Should be accurate, legible and fully explained • Contain name of the department, lab group name, contact person details, content and concentration, hazard class, date • Use Enviroserv /Sanumed self adhesive labels or your own. • Waste vs. used • No old labels

15. Waste classification by Enviroserv Specific codes for different departments (BOTZOO) Code Type Disposal Method • 3A Flammables ABW • 3B Toxic compounds E • 3C Polyethelene Glycols TA • 3D Contaminated Broken Glass TC • 3E Contaminated tips, tubes TC • 3F Mineral acids ITP with Lime • 3G Concentrated organic acids TWC

16. Storage • Select the correct container (glass / polyethylene) for storage • Use original containers if possible • Use appropriate sized container • Do not make containers too heavy to lift by the contractors • Containers must be tightly sealed and not leak • Containers correctly labeled • Container compatible with chemical being stored -separate containers for each type of waste • Do not store longer than 90 days

17. Collection Procedures • Pack all waste in drums provided by contractors • Ensure glass bottles are prevented from breaking by adding vermiculite • All drums must be properly classified and labelled as HAZARDOUS WASTE • When drums are full, fill in a pick-up form and forward to USBD (Piet van Deventer, email pjvd@sun.ac.za) • USBD will arrange for contractors (Enviroserv) to pick up the drums at your department

18. USBD form

19. WASTETECH Pick Up, JANUARY 2006 Dept Botany and Zoology

20. Special waste (1) • Ethidium Bromide • Electrophoresis gels < 0.1% - trash • Electrophoresis gels >0.1% - biohazard box • EtBr solution- charcoal filtration • Mercury • Spilled-pooled droplets, gloves & paper-puncture resistant container –label “mercury spill debris”

21. Special waste (2) • Silica gel • Not grossly contaminated – normal lab trash • Heavy contaminated- disposed as hazardous waste • Batteries • Classified as universal waste rather than hazardous waste • Contain mercury, cadmium, lead, silver, lead-acid • Alkaline (no Hg) - not to be put in the normal trash. • South Africa Recycle program?

22. Unidentified Chemical waste • Should be considered unknown hazardous waste. • Unknown waste cannot be legally transported or disposed. • To dispose them safely and properly it need to be characterised by Enviroserv which is a costly affair. • Find out as much as possible about how the waste was generated. • Please DO NOT Pour unknown chemicals down the drain Mix unknown chemicals with any other chemicals Bring unknown chemicals to a regular waste pick up Abandon unknown chemicals in the work area.

23. BIOLOGICAL WASTE • Definition: Waste generated from biologically-cultured stocks and plates, molecular material, blood, animal and plant tissues etc. • All sharps e.g. glass implements, needles, syringes, blades, glass Pasteur pipettes • Separate biological waste from chemical hazardous waste • Treat to eliminate biohazard by sterilization or incineration • Label correct, use biohazard tape

24. Biological waste cont. • Animal Bedding waste • Bagged – not be mixed with other waste • Labelled as animal bedding waste • Are to be autoclaved before being placed in medical waste boxes – disposed in the medical waste stream • Animal carcasses • Are kept frozen • Get an order number from Elmarie King –USBD (ek2@sun.ac.za) • Department took the carcasses themselves to the Western Province Veterinary lab , Stb for incineration

25. Containers (1) –Biological • Biohazard/medical waste boxes • Disposal of non-sharp bio hazardous waste • Cardboard box lined with a red 45 micron plastic bag • Two sizes 50 and 142 litre-max 15kg • Seal bag with cable tie, seal box with biohaz .tape • Sanumed destruct it by high temp. incineration

26. Containers (2) –Biological • Biohazard Sharp containers • Disposal sharp bio-hazardous waste • 100% puncture proof • Available in 4, 7.6, 10, 15 and 25 l • Destruction by high temp

27. Containers (3) –Biological • Specimen bins • For safe human and animal tissue disposal. • Ideal for wet waste • Available in 2.5, 5 and 10 l bin • Destruction by high temp

28. Points to remember • No bio-hazardous waste shall be stored for longer than 24 hours without being decontaminated • Decontaminated bio-hazardous waste stored up to 30 days • No storage public areas • Store under refrigeration if necessary to prevent odors • Sharps containers treated as regular bio-hazardous waste

29. Bio-hazardous waste Pick-up Procedures • Seal red bags when ¾ full with cable ties provided by contractor • Seal Biohazard/Medical waste boxes with biohazard tape • Complete chemical/biological waste pick-up request form • Forward electronically to USBD • USBD will arrange for contractor (Sanumed) to pick up waste and replace containers as needed

30. Ways to minimize waste • Good housekeeping • Document Procedures • Maintain Chemical inventory • Centralize purchasing • Spill Preparedness • Neutralize corrosives • Minimize use of solvents • Use alternative products

31. Information • http://www.sun.ac.za/usbd/forms • http://www.princeton.edu/sites/ehs/labsafetymanual • http://www.enviroserv.co.za • http://www.epa.gov/sbo/labguide • Minimum requirements for the handling, classification and disposal of hazardous waste. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, RSA, 2nd edition 1998 • CRC Handbook of Laboratory Safety 5th Edition-Keith Furr • Laboratory Safety: Practice and Principles-Flemming Diane