Prudent Practices in the Laboratory Handling and Disposal of Chemicals (1995) / Chapter Skim
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Overview and Recommendations
Overview and Recommendations
Pages 1-12
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Charged with the responsibility of evaluating the chemical, regulatory, and educational changes that have had an impact on the handling of chemicals in the laboratory since the previous reports were published, the committee has assessed the needs of all those who manage, handle, and dispose of chemicals in the laboratory workplace, where relatively small quantities of hazardous materials are used on a nonproduction basis. The committee was chosen for its breadth of expertise in chemistry, education, and environmental health and safety operations, and it has also called on a wider community of experts through the appointment of special subcommittees for assessing chemical hazards, design of laboratory space and equipment, pollution prevention, and the disposal of multihazardous waste.
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Safe practice by laboratory workers requires continuing attention and education; it cannot be assumed to be optional. Accordingly, an infrastructure of professionals trained in environmental health and safety has developed who serve at the interface between federal, state, and local regulatory agencies and the educational and industrial laboratories where chemicals are handled.
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In research laboratories where important steps of the planning process have, over time, become standard operating procedure, mental planning may be sufficient to enable doing the next routine experiment safely and effectively. In contrast, a completely new type of experiment involving unfamiliar materials and unprecedented hazards may require formal planning for every stage, and discussion with experts outside the immediate research group and members of the environmental health and safety office should be considered carefully.
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Directions for handling, storage, and disposal and special instructions for first aid and emergency response are given. The 88 LCSSs provide considerably greater coverage of specific and representative chemicals than was available in Prudent Practices 1981 and Prudent Practices 1983 and, unlike most MSDSs, are designed especially for laboratory workers.
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From page 5... ...
Although dangers such as electrical shock from 5 bad wiring, falls on flooded floors, or cuts from broken glassware are not unique to the laboratory workplace, their consequences for laboratory personnel can be compounded because of the added hazards of toxicity, flammability, corrosiveness, and reactivity that characterize many chemicals. The accidental dropping of a glass container of a volatile poison or the fire hazard from sparking electrical equipment or switches in the presence of flammable fumes, for example, present potentially serious situations of a kind that must be kept in mind when laboratory experiments are planned and conducted.
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Although there are no general federal regulations covering disposal of biohazardous or infectious waste, OSHA regulates the handling of some kinds of laboratory waste containing human body fluids, and local ordinances may apply to other types. Generally, biological waste may be disinfected, autoclaved, incinerated, or sent to the sanitary sewer.
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From page 7... ...
Unlike the radioactive and biological component of a multihazardous waste, the chemical content does not usually vary significantly with time, although the possibility of treatment to convert hazardous chemical content to nonhazardous should be considered as part of the overall approach to waste management. Before initiating any experiment that might lead to chemical-biological-radioactive waste, researchers are advised to consult with their environmental health and safety office and/or waste removal contractor to avoid an intractable disposal situation.
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The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA; 42 USC 6901 et seq.) applies to waste reduction and disposal of laboratory chemicals from "cradle to grave." Laboratory workers should be aware of RCRA definitions of "generators" of different amounts and types of hazardous waste as described in Chapter 7, and of the legal limitations on moving and disposing of hazardous chemical waste as defined by RCRA.
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But as students and career laboratory personnel advance from one stage to another, or change professional laboratory positions, relocation among geographical regions is frequent. Often, such job relocations require costly and timeconsuming relearning of previously acquired safety and waste management habits and retraining in alternative methods because of the absence of a uniform regulatory environment.
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From page 10... ...
· The committee recommends that emergency response regulations require inventory information only on those containers with chemicals in quantities large enough to pose a significant risk to personnel or the environment in the case of an emergency release or fire. Small colleges and high schools often do not have an environmental health and safety office or the resources to manage laboratory waste.
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From page 11... ...
· The committee recommends that any laboratory using hazardous chemicals should provide appropriate training in safety and waste management for all laboratory workers, including students in laboratory classes. · The committee recommends that laboratories using hazardous chemicals should incorporate institutionally supported laboratory and equipment inspection programs into their overall health and safety programs.
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