DCHAS-L Discussion List Archive
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 2006 15:14:29 -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: C&EN article on new lab rule
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/84/i22/8422notw2.html
Changing The Rules For Academic Labs
Universities would get a break from current requirements aimed at
industry
Cheryl Hogue
A new proposal from EPA would allow colleges and universities to
follow their own unique plans for handling hazardous wastes generated
in academic labs.
Currently, institutions of higher learning must comply with
prescriptive hazardous waste rules that were written for industrial
settings. Universities and colleges, large and small, have struggled
to comply with these complex rules. Many have faced enforcement
action (C&EN, Nov. 22, 2004, page 43). These institutions have been
asking EPA to tailor hazardous waste rules to academic situations.
"It's something we've been looking for for 20 years," says Anne
Gross, vice president for regulatory affairs at the National
Association of College & University Business Officers, one of several
groups seeking the regulatory changes. EPA is proposing a number of
modifications requested by academic institutions to hazardous waste
requirements, Gross tells C&EN.
The May 23 proposal from EPA would allow colleges and universities to
draw up and follow a laboratory management plan for handling waste
chemicals left over from teaching or research. Through these plans,
institutions must meet the goals of current hazardous waste rules
without necessarily following those regulations to the letter. For
example, a college's plan might describe in detail how it will
maintain hazardous waste containers in good condition by using a
system different from that spelled out in EPA rules.
These so-called performance-based standards, the agency says, would
allow academic institutions to determine the most appropriate and
effective methods for handling laboratory hazardous waste on campus.
The proposal would cover waste generated at on-campus academic
laboratories and art studios. It would exclude hazardous wastes from
other parts of a college or university, including labs in medical
facilities associated with the institution.
Chemical & Engineering News
ISSN 0009-2347
Copyright © 2006 American Chemical Society
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