I.              POLICY

 

All hazardous materials shall be inventoried and waste removed from individual spaces and from the general campus area as often as necessary to prevent disease, nuisance, and safety problems and to comply with regulatory requirements. Prior to removal, hazardous wastes will be stored in a manner compliant with regulatory requirements to prevent nuisance, spills, exposure, and environmental problems.

 

The Environment, Health and Safety (EH&S) Office will advise departments on handling, storage, and disposal requirements for chemical, high hazard, radioactive, and biological wastes. Personnel safety, requirements of the law and environmental concerns dictate the necessity for safe handling of hazardous materials and wastes. Hazardous Materials storage and Hazardous Waste disposal shall be in accordance with procedures established by and available from EH&S.

 

Users are urged to minimize the purchase of hazardous materials and hazardous waste production by substituting less hazardous materials, reducing the volume of hazardous materials on hand, recycling, and altering processes to reduce the hazards and/or volume of waste generated.

 

II.            PROCEDURES

 

A.    STORAGE

 

Hazardous Materials and Hazardous Waste storage guidelines can be found through blink, at http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/chemical/storage/ for chemical materials and http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/hazardous-waste/index.html for hazardous waste.

 

B.    Hazardous Materials Shipping

 

Requirements can be found at: http://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/services/shipping/hazardous/

 

C.    Disposal

 

a.             Disposal to the Sanitary Sewer Prohibition

 

Radioactive materials or wastes containing toxic, flammable, pH <5 or >12 or carcinogenic matter shall not be disposed of into the sanitary sewer unless specifically approved by EH&S. Refer to blink page, http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/hazardous-waste/sewer.html for more information.

 

b.            Disposal in Trash Dumpsters Prohibition

 

Toxic, explosive, flammable, infectious, radioactive materials and any other hazardous wastes shall never be disposed of in the general waste facilities or dumpsters. Refer to PPM 516-10.7, Environmental Sanitation Waste Disposal, and PPM 516-22, Radiation Safety.

 

c.             Animal Waste Disposal

 

Animal carcasses shall be disposed of either through the Office of Animal Resources or by methods specifically approved by EH&S. Refer to http://www-ehs.ucsd.edu/animal/AnimalCarcassDisposal.pdf for the Animal Carcass Disposal Pathway.  Carcasses may not be disposed of in the general trash.

 

d.            Universal Waste Electronic Devices (UWED)

 

Universal Waste Electronic Devices are hazardous waste and includes:  batteries, cell phones, computers and monitors, fluorescent lamps, thermometers, aerosol cans, televisions, some toys, and potentially anything with a cord.  Refer to http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/hazardous-waste/electronics.html for computer monitor and electronic devices disposal.

e.             Other Disposal Alternatives

 

UC San Diego ChemCycle at http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/hazardous-waste/chemcycle.html is the preferred method for disposing of new or unused chemicals that meet the criteria for distributing back to campus research staff. In this case, the ChemCycle program, then becomes the preferred method for obtaining free hazardous materials on campus.  Donations to or from other institutions or individuals should be brought to the attention of EH&S prior to altering ownership.

 

UC San Diego is not permitted as a disposal facility and therefore, employs reputable waste disposal contractors that are thoroughly inspected by the UC system.  To dispose of unwanted or discarded materials, contact the Environmental Management Facility at 534-2753 or EH&S at 534-3660.

 

f.             Hazardous Material/Waste Spills

 

Once spilled, a hazardous material becomes a hazardous waste.  Department chairs or Principal Investigators, in cooperation with EH&S, are responsible for safely removing spills of hazardous wastes and ensuring that required equipment, supplies, and trained departmental personnel are available. The EH&S Office (534-3660) should be contacted for a list of materials to be kept on hand at all times in the event of a spill. EH&S will advise and assist the departments regarding the clean-up of hazardous spills, but departments must assume responsibility for the actual clean-up.

 

D.    MANIFESTING

 

UC San Diego must follow the mandated EPA protocols for tracking waste.  UC San Diego delegates the manifesting of hazardous waste to the EH&S Department.  The Environmental Management Facility (EMF) staff, located in Building E of the Campus Services Complex, are specifically trained to comply with the EPA manifest regulations, and are the only authorized UC San Diego staff to complete the required regulatory documentation.

 

Campus activities generating inherently waste-like materials shall contact EMF staff to complete the manifesting process.  State Agencies annually review UC San Diego manifest documentation for accuracy and completeness.  To ensure compliance with the manifesting requirements, EMF staff must comprehensively review and sign manifests.

 

E.    SUSTAINABILITY

 

UC San Diego recognizes that hazardous waste generation presents an immediate and long-term commitment to minimize or eliminate the threat of natural resource contamination.  Safe waste management and substitution of less hazardous material improves community health and regional environmental quality.

 

III.           RESPONSIBILITY

 

A.    It is the responsibility of each administrative unit to ensure that all hazardous materials and wastes are handled, stored, and disposed of in a safe manner and in accordance with established UC San Diego procedures.

 

B.    It is the responsibility of EH&S to collect and properly dispose of chemical and radioactive waste. It is the responsibility of each administrative unit to properly handle, store, and dispose of infectious and biohazardous waste.

 

C.    It is the responsibility of each Principal Investigator to examine each experimental protocol to ensure that hazardous reagents are used efficiently and excess hazardous materials on hand are minimized. Alternative procedures should be evaluated with the aim of substituting non-hazardous or easy-to-detoxify materials.

 

D.    It is the responsibility of Project Managers to update their inventories and contact EH&S when unwanted/discarded materials or generated waste will be removed from their site.

 

E.    It is the responsibility of Department Safety Officers to alert EH&S when new materials and waste streams are observed, waste containers are full, laboratory storage is nearing 90 days, or a waste characterization is needed for storage.

 

F.    It is the responsibility of each administrative unit and individual to minimize the purchase of hazardous materials to what is needed, reduce generation of all hazardous wastes and to recycle where appropriate.

 

G.    It is the responsibility of EH&S to provide up-to-date information to all hazardous materials users and hazardous waste generators concerning handling, storage, and disposal techniques. EH&S shall also provide waste disposal instructions to all users, which should be posted in work areas and laboratories. EH&S will continue to research the most economical and safe methods for disposal of hazardous wastes.

 

H.    It is the responsibility of the EH&S staff to provide and update chemical inventories for Principal Investigators, laboratories, and other hazardous material storage areas on campus according to the following UCSD website: http://blink.ucsd.edu/safety/research-lab/chemical/storage/index.html#Annual-hazardous-materials-inve.

 

I.      It is the responsibility of Principal Investigators to review chemical inventories and compare against the inventories collected by EH&S staff for accuracy and completeness.

 

J.     It is the responsibility of the EH&S staff to comprehensively review the waste manifest documents, the waste hauler information, and the disposal facility status (e.g. review CHWMEG audit report) prior to waste shipment.  EMF staff shall also track the waste until it reaches the final destination and is disposed.  EMF staff will maintain manifest documents as required by State and Federal regulations and produce documentation during Agency audits.

 

IV.           RELATED POLICIES

 

A.    Environmental Protection Policy - PPM516-9

 

B.    Environmental Sanitation; Waste Disposal - PPM516-10.7

 

C.    Environmental Sanitation; Water and Sewer - PPM516-10.6

 

D.    Soil Management Policy – PPM 516.27

 

E.    Radiation Safety - PPM516-22

 

V.            REFERENCES

 

A.    Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

 

B.    California Health and Safety Code

 

C.    California Code of Regulations

 

a.         Title 8, Part 1, Chapter 9, Housing

 

b.        Title 17, Public Health

 

c.         Title 22, Environmental Health

 

d.        Title 26, Department of Health Services

 

D.    Code of Federal Regulations

 

a.         Title 40, Environmental Protection Agency

 

b.        Title 49, Transportation

 

E.    UC San Diego Hazardous Waste Guide

 

http://blink.ucsd.edu/facilities/services/shipping/hazardous/description.html