| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 56.22 |
| Liaison | Olivia Wiebe |
| Submission Date | Jan. 28, 2022 |
University of Idaho
OP-20: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.75 / 1.00 |
Samir
Shahat University Safety Officer & Executive Director Environmental Health and Safety |
Does the institution have strategies in place to safely dispose of all hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste and seek to minimize the presence of these materials on campus?:
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
The University takes multiple steps to reduce waste:
- Surplus chemicals from laboratories are reused.
- Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) staff discuss waste minimization during training sessions and with individual waste generators.
- Lab users are encouraged to use Less-hazardous materials. For example, “Alconox” laboratory glassware cleaner is used in place of more hazardous options like a chromic acid/sulfuric acid mixture.
- Lab users are encouraged to use non-mutagenic dyes (like GelGreen) rather than ethidium bromide dyes.
- PCB ballasts and high mercury lamps have been replaced with LED lights.
- All universal waste (for example, Aerosol cans, mercury containing devices and batteries) are collected and disposed by EHS staff.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
- All generators of hazardous waste must attend a training class that provides program information.
- Hazardous waste is centrally managed by the EHS. EHS packages waste for shipment at least every 90 days to a permitted Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF).
- EHS personnel collect universal waste lamps and batteries every 6 months or more frequently if needed. Lamps are shipped for recycling. Universal waste pesticides are collected by EHS, in May of each year, for disposal through the Idaho Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide Disposal Program.
- Non-regulated materials are included for proper off-campus disposal through permitted Environmental Protection Agency TSDFs.
- Sewer disposal is tightly controlled and prohibited prior to EHS review.
- Campus-wide audits and inspections are conducted to assess compliance
A brief description of any significant hazardous material release incidents during the previous three years, including volume, impact and response/remediation:
University of Idaho has a Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Team (EHS staff members) that responds to an average of 10 incidents per year, most of which are minor spills that occur inside university facilities or minor oil spills on parking spaces or university roadways. There have been no releases to the environment that required notification to regulatory authorities in the past 3 years. Oil spills in excess of 25 gallons or that create a visible sheen on the surface of a water body must be reported to the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (ID DEQ).
No oil spills to water bodies that require notification of ID DEQ in the past 3 years.
A brief description of any inventory system employed by the institution to facilitate the reuse or redistribution of laboratory chemicals:
Surplus chemicals are submitted via the online EHS Chemical Waste Collection Request system then collected by EHS. Periodically, a listing of surplus chemicals is circulated to select departments. Interested parties contact EHS to request availability of materials. In addition, some of the surplus chemicals are delivered to the campus Chemistry Stores which uses an in-house inventory system to share chemicals with UI researchers.
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by the institution?:
Does the institution have or participate in a program to responsibly recycle, reuse, and/or refurbish electronic waste generated by students?:
A brief description of the electronic waste recycling program(s), including information about how electronic waste generated by the institution and/or students is recycled:
State tax dollars can only be used to recycle state property; however, private property, such as student electronics can be recycled at the Moscow Recycling Center.
Is the institution’s electronic waste recycler certified under the e-Stewards and/or Responsible Recycling (R2) standards?:
Website URL where information about the institution’s hazardous waste program is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Part 1: Samir Shahat, Executive Director; Environmental Health and Safety
Part 2: Jeremy Mutart, Surplus and Solid Waster Supervisor and Financial Specialist; Facilities
Part 1: Samir Shahat, Executive Director; Environmental Health and Safety
Part 2: Jeremy Mutart, Surplus and Solid Waster Supervisor and Financial Specialist; Facilities
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.