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Subject: Re: Compatabilities with Hydrofluoric Acid
Date: Wed, 4 Apr 2007 16:31:59 -0400
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Subject: 4 RE: [DCHAS-L] Managing class lab wastes
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 13:08:10 -0400
Author: List Moderator


Date: Thu, 5 Apr 2007 15:41:22 -0400
Reply-To: Ralph Stuart <rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: Ralph Stuart <rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**UVM.EDU>
Subject: Managing class lab wastes

I'm beginning research on a presentation I will give at the Boston  
ACS national meeting on best practices in managing chemistry class  
lab wastes. We've had some confusing mixtures of materials presented  
to us as class waste, particularly this year when the once-a-decade  
snowstorm cancelled Wednesday and Thursday labs and threw the whole  
undergrad class lab schedule into turmoil.

I'd be real interested in web references to good class labs waste  
handling procedures at the student and teaching assistant level.  
Additionally, war stories and lessons learned in managing class lab  
waste successfully would be appreciated. I'm hoping to develop a list  
of "best management practices" on this issue for presentation in  
Boston, although if anyone already know of such a list, I'd be glad  
to hear about that as well.

I have reviewed Safety in Academic Laboratories and it has a nice  
summary of RCRA requirements in the faculty version, I'm interested  
in suggestions for more specific procedures, such as:
- Should classes be provided with a separate waste container for each  
session of the same lab so that the likelihood of incorrectly mixing  
wastes is minimized, or is that more confusing than clarifying in  
terms of what goes where?
- Are funnels a help in filling a container or do they cause more  
spills when they are overfilled?
- What kind of training is provided to TA's in terms of helping them  
appreciate the importance of good class lab waste management?

Thanks for any help.

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH
Environmental Safety Manager
University of Vermont
Environmental Safety Facility
667 Spear St. Burlington, VT  05405

rstuart**At_Symbol_Here**uvm.edu
fax: (802)656-5407

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