Washington State University
SAFETY POLICIES AND PROCEDURES MANUAL

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Recycling or Disposal of Chemical Wastes

University personnel must manage chemical waste in accordance with local, state, and federal regulatory requirements. Compliance is necessary to protect the health and safety of University employees, students and visitors and to meet local, state, and federal regulatory requirements.

WSU must comply with federal, state, and local hazardous waste laws and regulations.

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Washington State Department of Ecology (WDOE), and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency issue regulations implementing federal and state laws.


• Local governments regulate discharges to the sanitary sewer systems.

Violations of federal, state, or local law may result in fines and/or imprisonment for University personnel, supervisors, and administrative officers.

Sections S70.41 and S70.42 provide procedures for identification and storage of chemical wastes.

Policies and procedures in S70.40 and S70.42 apply only to the management of chemical wastes which are regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Washington State Department of Ecology, and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

These procedures do not apply to radioactive wastes. The Radiation Safety Office manages radioactive substances. Telephone 335-8916 for assistance or refer to S90.80.

These procedures do not apply to biohazardous wastes. Facilities Operations collects and incinerates biohazardous wastes. Telephone 335-9000 for assistance or refer to S80.12.

EH&S assists departments by collecting, designating, recycling, and disposing of hazardous chemical wastes.

EH&S provides departments with information about waste minimization and with directions for preparing hazardous chemical wastes for recycling or disposal.

Contact EH&S for assistance in managing chemical wastes; telephone 335-3041.

A waste generator is a person who creates chemical wastes.

The waste generator is responsible for determining whether chemical wastes meet federal, state, and/or local government definitions of dangerous wastes.

Identify which wastes must be managed as dangerous waste. See S70.41. Wastes defined as dangerous wastes must be packaged, stored, transported, and disposed of in a safe and legal manner.

Examples of dangerous wastes include laboratory chemicals, photographic processing chemicals, leftover paint, automobile fluids, and other maintenance materials.

As an alternative, report all wastes by submitting a Chemical Collection Request to Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S). See "Reporting Wastes" below. EH&S determines the proper management method.

Batteries and pressurized aerosol containers are considered to be regulated hazardous waste and must not be disposed of in trash cans, dumpsters, or any other uncontrolled waste receptacle.

EH&S provides labeled containers for batteries and pressurized containers in waste accumulation areas in various campus locations. Contact EH&S for the locations of the waste accumulation areas or to arrange waste pickup.

Each department is responsible for properly labeling, preparing, and safely storing all chemical wastes generated. Refer to S70.42 for chemical waste storage procedures.

Each department is responsible for minimizing chemical waste generation through prudent purchasing practices, product substitution, recycling, or reducing the amount of chemicals used by the department.

To facilitate safe and legal management of hazardous materials, each department is responsible for providing hazard information (i.e., a Material Safety Data Sheet) to EH&S upon request. See also S80.62.

The waste generator is responsible for properly packaging chemical wastes.

• Place each chemical waste in a separate, leak-proof container which does not react with the substance. Usually this is the original container.

The generator supplies containers for disposal or recycling chemical wastes.

• Do not combine different wastes in the same container.

Segregate containers of potentially reactive chemicals (e.g. acids/bases or oxidizers/flammables) in order to prevent reactions prior to or during storage or collection.

• Provide secondary containment, e.g., a plastic tub, for any primary container that may leak or rupture. See S70.45 for chemical spill procedures.

The waste generator is responsible for properly labeling chemical waste containers.

Place a dangerous waste label on each container when waste is first added. See example in the PDF version of S70.40.4.

Obtain a dangerous waste label by:

• Copying or printing a Dangerous Waste Label from the EH&S Environmental Services web site. Go to:

http://www.ehs.wsu.edu/

Select Environmental Services.

Select Downloadable Dangerous Waste Label.

• Completing the paper copy of the Dangerous Waste Label which is included with each paper copy of the Chemical Collection Request (see the PDF version of S70.40.5) ordered from Central Stores, or


• Creating a label.

Each label must contain all of the following information:

• Name of each constituent.


• Percentages/amounts of each constituent.

Account for 100% of the waste constituents on the container label, including water. Do not use chemical formulae or abbreviations.

• Hazards the waste presents (e.g., flammable, corrosive, toxic).


• Name of the responsible individual.


• The words "DANGEROUS WASTE."


• Date the container becomes full.

Use a pen or marker that leaves a permanent impression.

• Chemical Collection Request (CCR) number.

The CCR number can be found in the upper right corner of the Chemical Collection Request. See the PDF version of S70.40.5.

University personnel who generate surplus hazardous chemicals are responsible for reporting those chemicals to EH&S for subsequent recycling or disposal.

Use a Chemical Collection Request (CCR) to report chemicals for disposal or recycling. The form is available online at the EH&S Environmental Services web site. Go to:

http://www.ehs.wsu.edu/

Select Environmental Services.

Select Online Chemical Collection Request.

Obtain paper copies from Central Stores. Request item number 47860. Contact EH&S for alternative reporting options if more than 25 forms are required at any one time.

See the PDF version of S70.40.5 to view a completed example of a Chemical Collection Request.

When submitting forms online:

• Enter all of the information available.


• Select "Continue" to review the information.

The system provides a Dangerous Waste label for printing and issues a CCR number (described above).

• Print the page containing the label and CCR number and attach the label to the waste container(s), or transfer the information to a Dangerous Waste label already on the container.

All information entered on the paper form is the same as that entered on the online form. Detailed instructions for filling out the CCR are provided on the back of the paper form.

Type or print all information requested on the form.

Complete a separate Chemical Collection Request form (CCR) for each waste. One form may be used for multiple containers of identical waste (i.e., same waste composition).

When filling out the CCR, write information in the unshaded areas only.

Enter the name of the responsible person who can answer questions about the waste.

In the Mailstop or Gen ID field, enter the department mailcode. Check with the department office to obtain this number.

Enter the number at which the responsible person can be reached.

Specify the building name and room number where the waste is to be collected.

Enter the complete chemical name for each of the waste constituents. Do not use chemical formulae or abbreviations.

Record the percentages of each constituent. Be sure that listed constituents account for 100% of the container contents (including water).

If chemical wastes cannot be identified, fill out a Chemical Collection Request form as completely as possible. Write the term "Unknown" in the Constituents section of the form and add any information available concerning the waste (i.e., known constituents, manufacturer's name and address, physical appearance).

Generators of unknowns should make every effort, including contacting departed faculty or staff, to determine a container's contents.

Indicate liquid, solid, and/or gas. If it is a combination of physical states, mark each physical state present in the container.

Indicate the number of containers.

Indicate the size of the container(s), e.g., 4 liters, 250 millilitres.

Enter the CCR number on the Dangerous Waste label.

Place the yellow copy of the paper form or a copy of the online label in the files of the generating department/laboratory.

Send the white copy of the paper form to EH&S; mail stop 1172.

After receiving the completed form, EH&S personnel determine the appropriate management method and assign all applicable waste designation codes.

EH&S collects the chemicals and coordinates and contracts for transportation, recycling, or disposal of waste chemicals.

NOTE: EH&S's response to departmental requests for disposal of certain chemicals may be delayed until a disposal facility is found to accept the wastes.

EH&S reviews all wastes for recycling alternatives.

EH&S maintains a stock of unused chemicals on campus which are available for recycling to University personnel.

The list of chemicals appears on the EH&S Environmental Services web site. Go to:

http://www.ehs.wsu.edu/

Select Environmental Services.

Select Waste Identification Reference.

To request free delivery of a chemical on the recycling database, e-mail EH&S from the WWW site or call 335-3041.

To recycle surplus chemicals from a lab or work area, submit the chemicals to EH&S using the waste reporting procedure described above. EH&S determines whether the chemicals are acceptable for recycling.

Disposal of dangerous chemical wastes in drains, by evaporation, or by placement in the regular trash system is a serious violation of local, state, and federal law, punishable by fines and imprisonment.

When a generator of dangerous wastes illegally or inappropriately dumps such waste in the trash contaminating common refuse (trash, paper, etc.), the entire mixture may become a "dangerous waste." This practice may result in costly disposal.

The University may require generators who create such disposal problems to pay for disposal.

DO NOT DISPOSE OF CHEMICALS IN DRAINS, TRASH, OR BY EVAPORATION WITHOUT PRIOR EH&S APPROVAL.

A hazardous chemical waste cannot be rendered nonhazardous by dilution with water or solvent.

Under unusual circumstances, and with prior approval, disposal by one of the above methods may be legal and appropriate. Contact EH&S for more information; telephone 335-3041.

If the spill occurs in a laboratory, refer to:

• The WSU Laboratory Safety Manual,


• The lab's spill response and emergency plan, and


• S70.45 for chemical spill management procedures.

Refer to S70.45 for chemical spill management procedures.

Call 911 if involved personnel are uncertain about the nature of the spill or require assistance with spill management procedures.