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Disposal of Hazardous Waste

If you are generating a waste that can neither be sewered or landfilled, you are generating a hazardous waste. Satellite accumulation is a regulatory term that refers to hazardous waste being collected by, and kept under the control of the person who generates it. Therefore, if you are generating and collecting hazardous waste you must adhere to the following satellite accumulation requirements until the waste is transferred to the Campus hazardous waste disposal facility:

  • Clearly label waste containers and identify hazardous constituents as they are added to the container (e.g. "hazardous waste organic solvents, contains toluene and xylene"). Appropriate labels can be obtained from the University Safety Manager.
    Use only containers that are in good condition and made of, or lined with, a material that will not react with, or be incompatible with, the waste being stored.
  • Keep the waste containers closed at all time, except when adding or removing waste; open funnels sitting in the opening of a waste container is considered an open container by regulatory agencies.
  • Handle and store waste containers properly to prevent rupture or leakage.
  • Do not mix hazardous waste with nonhazardous waste. Do not mix incompatible wastes.
  • Know what is required of you by your Campus emergency response plan should a spill occur; keep suitable spill control equipment on hand and keep emergency phone numbers posted in your lab or work area. See the Emergency Response section of this guide for additional information.
  • Once a container is full, date the container and contact the University Safety Manager, 2273, to ensure the waste is transferred to the Campus hazardous waste storage site within three days.

Who Pays For Disposal?

At this time the majority of waste disposal costs are covered by a general campus waste disposal account. However there are two major exceptions to this:

  1. Units funded by auxiliary funds are responsible for their waste disposal costs.
  2. Disposal costs for hazardous wastes generated by a funded research project must be included in funding requests.

Disposal to Atmosphere

Disposal of liquids or discharge of hazardous vapors, gases, fumes and dusts to the atmosphere is not considered a disposal method. Laboratory hoods should not be used to evaporate materials from open chemical containers.