June%2019,%202014

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Hazardous Waste Management

• June 19, 2014
• Rob Provost
• Manager, Environmental Protection
• Environmental Protection Services
• Office of Environmental Health and Safety

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Objectives

• Minimize amounts of waste produced for disposal
• To be able to SAFELY handle chemical, radioactive
  and biological wastes produced as a result of
  research and teaching activities
• Know who Environmental Protection Services (EPS)
  are
• To know where to get the information you need on
  hazardous waste disposal

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Waste Minimization

• In 2013 U of T produced
• 138,000 Kg of Chemical waste, costing 377,000
  to disposal of.
• 22 m3 (25,000 kg) of Radioactive waste, costing
  175,000 to disposal of.
• 36,000 Kg of Biological waste , costing
  141,000 to disposal of.
• How can you help?
• Purchasing practices
• Process modification less chemicals used or even
  eliminated
• Not mixing with hazardous wastes
• Substitution - less hazardous alternatives ?
• E.g. mercury thermometers replaced with alcohol
  or electronic

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Regulations

• All Chemical Waste generation is controlled by
  the Ministry of the Environment (MOE)
• The University has around 64 different generator
  registrations and each have different waste
  classes registered

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Waste Generators

• Each waste generators site has a Waste Generator
  number (eg. ON0179424)
• Waste Classes (eg. 263A, 252L, 331I)
• Is specific to an address and site description

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What Waste is in your area?

• Do you have Chemical waste produced in your area?
  What types?
• Do you have Radiation waste produced in your
  area? What types?
• Do you have Biological waste produced in your
  area? What types?
• Do you know how your waste is handled?
• Do you know who to contact for it?

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U of TGeneral Requirements

• Waste handling has the following requirements
• Packaging
• Labelling
• Storage
• Disposal

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Typical Chemical Lab Hazards

• Flammable
• Corrosive
• Toxic
• Reactives
• At U of T the most common composition in the
  research labs is
• 75 solvents (most common hazard
  encountered in labs)
• 10 acids
• 15 others such as toxins, bases, oxidiziers
  etc.

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Chemical WastePackaging

• Never mix incompatible materials
• Fire/Explosion Spill

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Chemical WastePackaging

• Sealed containers
• Reuse old chemical
• containers

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Chemical WastePackaging

• Liquid Waste containers should only be fill to
  75 of capacity to allow for expansion
• Dont use yellow Biowaste pails or the Orange
  pails from caretaking for collection of chemical
  waste call for info 978-4821

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Chemical WasteLabelling

• EPS supplies these labels to the University
• Either dropped off in labs or supplies in central
  waste rooms

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Chemical Waste Storage - Local Conditions

• Some chemicals can become problems by degrading
  and producing hazardous by-products with
• long storage (e.g. ethers degrade to from
  unstable organic peroxides)
• exposure to water or air (e.g. sodium metal is a
  solid and stable but when immersed in water
  produces very flammable hydrogen gas)

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Chemical WasteStorage

• Waste should be segregated according to
  compatibility
• dispose of ageing containers promptly
• DONT use Bio bags or Radiation
  bags to collect spill
  materials or leaking containers!!
• Unknowns??

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Chemical Waste Storage

• FUMEHOODS
• They are a safety device for the protection of
  laboratory personnel and not as storage areas
• Defeats the purpose of having a fumehood

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Chemical Waste Storage - Local Conditions

• Each building on campus handles waste storage
  differently.
• Some have designated storage rooms where waste
  can be move to
• Other have to keep in lab to be pickup by Chem
  Tech

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Chemical WasteDisposal

• Lab staff are responsible for removing chemical
  waste to their buildings storage room!
• Make sure container are secure and check for
  leaks in storage area
• Illegal to dispose of hazardous chemicals in the
  sink (Toronto Sewer By-law Chapter 681)

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Chemical WasteStorage
MSB 5376
ESC 1011
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What happens to my Chemicals??

• Segregated
• Labpacked
• TDGA Labels
• Loaded

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Chemical WasteDisposal Lab Pickups

• Plan ahead!!
• Collection done on a first-come-first serve basis
  
• Call-in required for p/u from individual lab
• Contractor only on campus 3 days a week so
  pickups can be delayed up to 2 weeks depending on
  waste and location!

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Chemical WasteDisposal Lab Cleanout

• Lab Closures (includes moving or renos) require
  several weeks to properly deal with potentially
  hazardous materials. Scheduling Contractors and
  packaging of the hazardous materials also
  requires time.
• Radioactive- Radiation Protection Services
  (416-978-2028) to arrange for proper
  decommissioning.
• Biological- Biosafety Office (416-978-3981) so
  that the hazard potential may be assessed.
• Chemical- Environmental Protection Services
  (416-978-7000) to arrange for the proper disposal
  of chemicals.
• Furniture and Room Clean Out- U of T Moving
  (416-978-0955) to initiate the removal of all
  remaining equipment and materials.
• www.ehs.utoronto.ca/services/environmental/labdeco
  m.htm

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Chemical WasteDisposal Lab Cleanout

• Removal of Chemicals for a lab cleanout should be
  requested at least 2 week in advance!
• Chemical Technician will visit the site to review
• what NEEDS to be removed
• What supplies are need to DO the pickup
• check that NO OTHER HAZARDS will affect the
  pickup
• Eg. Debris obstructing access to waste

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Contaminated Glass and Tips

• Where do I take contaminated solids?

• Contaminated Glass including broken
• Contaminated Plastic including tips
• Bench cover
• NO Chemical Solids

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Chemical Waste HandlingPersonal Protective
Equipment

• The same precautions for handling hazardous
  chemicals are applied to chemical wastes
• eye protection
• lab coats
• gloves

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Special CasesGas Cylinders

• Treat as high energy sources
• Use smallest size required to do work
• Try to use local suppliers
• Use returnable cylinders
• (check before buying)
• If supplier unable to accept
• contact EPS office
• www.ehs.utoronto.ca/services/environmental/gascyld
  ispl.htm

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Special CaseChemically-contaminated sharps

• Chemicals in trace amounts are to be collected in
  U of T approved yellow sharps containers
• chemicals drained from sharps prior
• significant amount of chemical contamination,
  first deactivated in accordance with MSDS
• Contact Biowaste for pickup and disposal 946-3473

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Radioactive Waste Management

• At U of T, researchers working with any
  radioactive material, require an internal permit
  approved by UTRPA, BEFORE work begins.
• Only approved permit holders are able to order
  radioactive materials and must be knowledgeable
  in University procedures for disposal.

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Radioactive Waste Management Definition

• Includes
• surplus radioactive material
• materials that has come into contact with
  radioactive materials (e.g. gloves, flasks)
• used in decontamination (e.g., sponges)
• contaminated equipment that cannot be cleaned

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Radiation Waste Minimization

• Process modification - new less toxic absorbent
  material used
• Not mixing non hazardous with radioactive wastes
• developed a delay and decay program for
  short-lived isotopes

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Radioactive Waste Management

• Short-lived wastes (lt 90 days half life) are
  allowed to decay in a secure University facility
  until no longer radioactive then disposed as non
  radioactive waste.
• Long-lived wastes (gt 90 day half life) are sent
  for disposal to permitted facilities.
• Wastes are removed packaged by 2 University
  technicians.

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Radioactive Waste Management Packaging

• Liquid and solid waste MUST be segregated
• containers provided by EPS
• Liquid container should be filled to full
  capacity to maximize absorbents potential
• Waste packaged in containers that improperly ID
  other existing hazards
• Do not place non rad waste with rad waste

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Radioactive Waste Management Labelling

• Waste not properly labelled will not be
• removed!!
• Labels provided free by EPS
• Type of label depends on type of waste.

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Radioactive Waste Management Labelling - Solid

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Radioactive Waste Management Labelling - Liquid

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Radioactive Waste Management Labelling - Liquid
SEGREGATED BY HALF-LIFE OF ISOTOPE
Blue label 30gt Half lifelt 90 days (e.g. S-35,
I-60)
Yellow label gt 90 days (e.g. C-14, H-3)

• Green label lt 30 days
• (e.g. P-32, P-33, I-131, Cr-51)

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Radioactive Waste Management Storage

• Each lab should establish one clearly identified
  location for waste, preferable close to work done
  with radioactive materials.
• Waste should not be stored underneath any working
  area or near vicinity of people who do not work
  with radioactive materials.

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Radioactive Waste ManagementCollection Schedule

• Collection is done on a call-in basis or
  according to schedule below
• Tuesday ESC, Pharmacy, MSB 6th 7th floors,
  Zoology
• Wednesday Banting, Best, Fitzgerald
• Thursday rest of MSB
• all others when requested
• call 978-2050

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Radioactive Waste ManagementSpecial Cases

• Animal Carcasses
• Gas Chromatographs
• Gaseous Radioactive Waste
• Liquid Scintillation Counting Vials (Separate
  Glass and plastic)
• Liquid Scintillation Counters
• Fridges, freezers or other equipment
• Sealed sources
• Shipping materials

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Radioactive Waste ManagementSpecial Cases

• Needles and Blades
• for trace amounts, disposed into special yellow
  plastic containers approved by U of T and CSA for
  the disposal of such waste
• liquids drained into appropriate colour-coded
  jars and separately treated as radioactive waste
• sharps with significant quantities of an isotope
  must be disposed as RADIOACTIVE WASTE into
  separate jars.
• These are collect by the Rad Techs (978-2050)

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Biowaste Management

• Service provided to Biosafety certified
  Containment Level 2 3 Labs
• Supply Biowaste 20L Pails, BioTotes, Tags, pickup
  and information
• Biowaste includes biohazardous material,
  contaminated solids, glass, blades, needles and
  tips
• Pails CANNOT be autoclaved under any
  circumstances
• Wastes are removed by 4 University technicians.
• NOTE Some other labs will need Needle pickups
  without a Biosafety Certificate

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We Take Bags!
The University is committed to being
environmentally friendly, but we need your help.
This will reduce contractor trips and the amount
of plastic going to landfills.

• DO put in the bags
• Soft items eg. Gloves, wipes, filter paper
• Non-sharp plasticware eg. eppendorf tubes,
  tissue culture bottles, petri dishes

• DONT put in bags
• Glassware
• Pipettes
• Tips
• Or anything else that could break or leak from
  the bag put these items directly into the
  biohazard pails.

To prevent spills all bags must be double bagged
and tied shut. For identification purposes,
please write your Biosafety certificate number on
each bag with a marker.
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Biowaste Management Labelling
Waste not properly labelled will not be
removed!! Labels provided free by EPS
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Biowaste ManagementPackaging

• Needles and Blades
• disposed into special yellow plastic containers
  approved by U of T and CSA for the disposal of
  such waste
• Fill only to indicated fill-line
• Put lid on before offering for disposal
• Place with the Biowaste pails for collection

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Biowaste ManagementCollection
Building Scheduled Banting
Call-in Basis Best
Call-in Basis CCBR
Tuesday / Thursday Dentistry
Wednesday Earth Sciences
Call-in Basis FitzGerald
Monday Galbraith Call-in
Basis Gage
Call-in Basis Leslie Dan Pharmacy Monday
Medical Sciences Tuesday / Thursday Mining
Friday Ramsay
Wright Wednesday Rosebrugh
Friday Tanz
Monday Wallberg
Call-in Basis

• Labs in most buildings are services every week,
  others are on a on-call basis
• (946-3473)
• Contractor pickup at our storage areas three days
  a week

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Biowaste Management

• Biosafety certified Containment Level 1 Labs
• Waste can go directly to Regular garbage
• Should the lab staff wish to autoclave before
  disposal use the clear unlabelled autoclave bags
  from Medstores

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Biowaste Management

• Biosafety certified Containment Level 1 Labs
• Glass and plastic that would puncture a garbage
  bag should go into the recycling Totes supplied
  by Recycling ( www.fs.utoronto.ca/recycle/Non-haza
  rdous_Lab_GlassandPlastics.htm )
• Needles and blades should be collected in the
  appropriate containers and call Biowaste for
  collection 946-3473

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More Info

• U of T - Office of Environmental Health and
  Safety
• Laboratory Hazardous Waste Management Manual
• www.ehs.utoronto.ca/Resources/wmindex.htm
• Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
• -for specific chemical
• (especially for incompatible mixtures)

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Enviromental Protection Services Contact List

• email
• hazwaste_at_ehs.utoronto.ca
• phone
• [phone] for Information
• [phone] for Chem Pickup
• [phone] for Rad Pickup
• [phone] for Bio Pickup
• fax [phone]