Harvey Mudd College
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

While not officially designated in the College's Chemical Hygiene Plan, the college does make an effort to reduce hazardous waste (largely from our chemistry department). Much of the steps taken have to do with limiting purchases on excess chemical materials, and of course taking the proper steps to dispose of hazardous waste.

As laid out in the College's Chemical Hygiene Plan, certain steps have to be taken when it comes to hazardous waste: • Waste containers must be appropriately labeled. Labels must include the words “hazardous waste.” If a mixture of compatibles, each container must also have a method for recording each material as it is introduced, its associated hazard(s), and the approximate quantity. Official HMC Waste Labels are available from the Chemistry Department Stockroom • The initial date that hazardous waste is placed in the container must be clearly marked and visible. • Establish protocols to prevent the accidental mixing of incompatible chemical wastes. (See mixing for treatment exception California Health & Safety Code 25200.3.1 (c)) • Hazardous waste must be stored in secondary containment. Containers must be capped and free of drips. • May not accumulate more than fifty-five gallons of a hazardous waste or more than one quart of any single extremely or acutely hazardous waste. • College operational maximum accumulation time even if quantity limits are not reached is nine months. Wastes must then be moved to the waste accumulation area (Jacobs 2314) where it is inventoried and prepared for removal. It is then removed from the waste accumulation area by a waste contractor within ninety day. Call the Chemistry Department Stockroom (ex 72957) to arrange a pickup. • The waste accumulation area is managed and under the direct control of “one or more designated personnel who have received training commensurate with their responsibilities and authority for managing laboratory hazardous wastes…” (California Health & Safety Code, section 25200.3.1) This training is also required for unsupervised access to the hazardous waste area within a lab. Contact the Chemical Hygiene Officer regarding Hazardous Waste Training. • Storage space is adequate for the quantities and types of wastes present. • Waste that is contaminated with both biological and chemical hazards must be disposed as chemical hazardous waste. IMPORTANT: When stock chemicals are no longer needed and are “designated” a waste, removal must occur within ninety days, as laboratory/satellite accumulation rules do not apply. Laboratories are encouraged to inquire whether or not a raw material may have value within another laboratory area on campus prior to designating the unneeded material a hazardous waste. Chemicals with damaged, unlabeled, mislabeled, or do not contain adequate hazard warnings are also considered hazardous waste if not corrected within ten days. Contact the Chemistry Department Stockroom to dispose of stock chemicals. Disposal - All disposal of hazardous, regulated, and bio-hazardous waste is to be handled by commercial haulers and Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (TSDFs) licensed by the State of California and/or other appropriate regulatory agency. In general, hazardous waste may not be disposed of in unregulated trash bins or released in to the sanitary sewer system via laboratory sinks. Sharps are defined as any device having acute rigid corners, edges, or protuberances capable of cutting or piercing, including but not limited to hypodermic needles, broken glass items such as Pasteur pipets and vials, and plastic pipet tips. Sharps must be placed in a rigid puncture resistant container that when sealed is leak resistant and cannot be reopened without great difficulty. Sharps disposal containers in which the contents are contaminated with hazardous chemicals must be properly labeled as hazardous waste. See Appendix P for more information on sharps disposal.

None to report.

None available.

There are multiple stations available on campus for students, faculty and staff to dispose of electronic waste - including in the student mailroom and in the Facilities & Maintenance offices. That electronic waste is picked up by designated contractors and delivered to e-waste facilities in the region. During move-out, students are asked to either sell or donate their electronics, or to properly take their e-waste to one of those stations. We are working on ways to properly measure how much electronic waste is generated and recycled by the institution.