University of Maine
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management

The University of Maine has a Pollution Prevention Plan that was recently updated in 2017. This plan is supported by faculty, staff and all levels of administration. It's purpose is to describe strategies that minimize our use of hazardous materials and generation of waste. Strategies are divided into three categories: 1) Reduced use of toxic substances; 2) Prevention of environmental releases; and 3) Minimization of the quantity of hazardous wastes released. UMaine requires an annual chemical inventory for all departments to be reported to the Safety Management Department. This inventory serves two purposes: 1) Regulatory reporting and 2) Removal of expired or unwanted chemicals from a work area. This process encourages laboratory and facility maintenance work areas to utilize and keep only necessary quantities of chemicals for the year. UMaine also encourages modification of processes and upgrading of equipment and materials requiring less chemicals, energy, and resources to accomplish its mission. Training and employee involvement also support the minimization of chemicals used.

UMaine utilizes compliant waste management practices and licensed vendors to recycle or dispose of all types of waste. Training is provided for all employees that covers waste management practices within work areas. Periodic auditing is performed to identify issues and establish corrective actions.

A release of approximately 20 gallons of 5% sulfuric acid occurred in July of 2017 at the Technology Research Center in Old Town. The facility is run by the Forest Bioproducts and Research Institute which is currently researching the conversion of wood products into fuel within a scaled up laboratory setting. The facility maintains 24 hour staffing when in operation. The incident occurred when a component of a reactor failed. The release was immediately reported by staff to UMaine emergency responders, local emergency responders (e.g. Fire and Police Departments, Orono Hazmat Team), and the Maine DEP Hazardous Materials Response Team. An assessment and initial clean up of the release occurred within a matter of a few hours. A complete cleanup of equipment and working surfaces was done by Clean Harbors over the following 2 days. Operations were suspended for over a month to allow for an investigation to be performed by an independent engineering firm and Safety Management. Corrective actions were developed to address process safety issues and repair of the reactor. Local emergency responders and the Maine DEP were communicated with as to actions taken to mitigate reoccurrence of the event.

UMaine encourages the safe reuse of small quantities of chemicals. Available stock chemicals for redistribution are communicated by faculty and staff to the Safety Management Department prior to collection. Safety Management maintains a current inventory and notifies departments that may have use for them.

Electronic Waste is collected by UMaine Facilities Resource Recovery Department. Next, different types of electronic waste are sorted for shipment. All electronic waste is sent to Veolia (formerly Onyx) Environmental Services.