DCHAS-L Discussion List Archive
Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 15:41:22 -0400
Reply-To: Ralph Stuart <rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: Ralph Stuart <rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Subject: Managing class lab wastes
I'm beginning research on a presentation I will give at the Boston
ACS national meeting on best practices in managing chemistry class
lab wastes. We've had some confusing mixtures of materials presented
to us as class waste, particularly this year when the once-a-decade
snowstorm cancelled Wednesday and Thursday labs and threw the whole
undergrad class lab schedule into turmoil.
I'd be real interested in web references to good class labs waste
handling procedures at the student and teaching assistant level.
Additionally, war stories and lessons learned in managing class lab
waste successfully would be appreciated. I'm hoping to develop a list
of "best management practices" on this issue for presentation in
Boston, although if anyone already know of such a list, I'd be glad
to hear about that as well.
I have reviewed Safety in Academic Laboratories and it has a nice
summary of RCRA requirements in the faculty version, I'm interested
in suggestions for more specific procedures, such as:
- Should classes be provided with a separate waste container for each
session of the same lab so that the likelihood of incorrectly mixing
wastes is minimized, or is that more confusing than clarifying in
terms of what goes where?
- Are funnels a help in filling a container or do they cause more
spills when they are overfilled?
- What kind of training is provided to TA's in terms of helping them
appreciate the importance of good class lab waste management?
Thanks for any help.
- Ralph
Ralph Stuart, CIH
Environmental Safety Manager
University of Vermont
Environmental Safety Facility
667 Spear St. Burlington, VT 05405
rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**uvm.edu
fax: (802)656-5407
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