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Laboratory waste management and Disposal

Handling hazardous laboratory waste. Proper labelling and storage of waste. Accumulation, incompatibility and segregation of organics, acids, bases, and flammables. OSHA compliance.

Related links :
Disposal of peroxides
Aflatoxin waste disposal
Disposal of spent drying media
Safety in the chemistry laboratory
Laboratory fires and extinguishers

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On this page:
Impropper labeling and storage
Accumulation and segregation

Laboratory Waste Disposal ¹

The C30F analytical chemistry unit of the Chemistry Department UWI has done some projects on waste assesment and disposal. Departments should strive to maintain and promote a safe, healthy and productive workplace environment. As part of a true commitment to environmental health and safety, efforts should be made to ensure that students, faculty and staff meet government regulations concerning hazardous waste management and worker safety.
Proper storage and disposal of laboratory waste is a key element of this commitment. However, if waste is generated or handled, it is incumbent upon the worker to follow the established guidelines concerning the proper disposal of hazardous waste. To ensure compliance with this process, regulatory bodies should be set up and perform surprise inspections of laboratory facilities on a routine basis. Gross inadequacies and violations of health and safety standards should result in the closing down of the laboratory. Refer to TT OSHA Act 2004 of which a synopsis is given below.
This page gives guidelines to assist the laboratory worker in the proper handling and disposal of hazardous chemical waste. Proper management of hazardous waste does not need to be an all-consuming task, but it does take discipline, vigilance and common sense.

Common Errors In Waste Handling

Improper Labeling of Waste

ALL bottles of chemical waste must have Hazard Form stickers with the start date and contents filled out.

Failing to label a waste bottle.
If the contents of the bottle are not listed, the next person to use the bottle could accidentally combine incompatible chemicals causing a fire and explosion.
Storing waste in a bottle lacking the words "Hazardous Waste".
Only these exact words must be used. "Organic Waste", "Xylene Waste" etc. are unacceptable. If something isn't really waste, don't put the word "waste" on the bottle. Label it "used" etc. Scratching out the former contents of the label on the bottle and writing "Waste" on it, is also unacceptable. You must remove or totally deface the old label so there is no confusion over the contents. To repeat, "Waste" is an unacceptable term. The words "Hazardous Waste" must be stamped or written on the bottle.

Improper Storage of Waste

Storage of waste in a fume hood where reactions are being carried out.
If your reaction gets out of control, the waste bottle could explode and lead to a catastrophic fire or mixing of incompatible chemicals. Always remove waste bottles from hoods where reactions are being performed.
Using metal cans for waste.
Even near neutral pH, solids and liquids can easily corrode through metal cans in a surprisingly short period of time. Use only glass or polyethylene containers for waste.
Storing flammable waste containers on a bench or floor. Store your waste containers in a cabinet, preferably an explosion-resistant solvent cabinet.
Storing waste bottles in or near a sink or floor drain.
This could allow toxic chemicals to enter the sewer, and emit toxic gas or explode.

Failure to Cap Waste Bottles

Leaving the cap off an organic waste bottle.
The only time a cap should be off a waste bottle is when you are actually putting waste into it. If you are afraid of a pressure buildup in the bottle, simply cap it loosely.
Leaving a funnel in the waste bottle.
This is unacceptable. A funnel can too easily be moved to an adjacent (incompatible) waste bottle and result in a fire or explosion. When you are done with it, cap it!

Accumulation of Excessive Waste

Ideally, you should have no more than ONE bottle of each kind of waste in your laboratory. If the organic waste bottle is full, take it to the waste boot or waste storage area. There is no purpose in having several bottles of organic waste in your lab. If a fire were to occur, it would be much more serious.

Improper Segregation of Waste

Storing acids and bases in the same cabinet.
Leaking containers or a spill could cause a violent reaction which would release large quantities of toxic gases.
Storing acids and organic waste in the same cabinet.
In the event of accidental mixing, a catastrophic fire or explosion could result.
Mixing incompatibles in a waste container.
For example, nitric acid and ethanol can form an explosive mixture.

How To Segregate Waste In The Laboratory

Proper segregation of laboratory waste is essential to good chemical hygiene and a safe workplace environment. Many workers often tend to put all of their wastes into the same cabinet or fume hood. Doing so can have disastrous results!
The guidelines for temporary storage of chemical wastes in the laboratory are really no different than those that you use for the storage of your usual lab chemicals. The most important rule is to make sure that any chemicals or wastes stored together are compatible with each other!
Therefore, proper segregation of wastes involves making sure that wastes within a bottle are compatible. Only chemically compatible waste can be mixed together and placed in a common container for disposal

Waste category	Examples of compatibility Can put in the same waste container bottle for disposal
Flammable solvents	acetone, methanol, ethanol, toluene, xylene, acetonitrile, benzene etc.. (can all be put in the same disposal container)
Halogenated solvents	halothane, methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethane, trichloroethylene (can all be put in the same disposal container)
Organic acids	formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid (can all be put in the same disposal container)
Waste category	Examples of Incompatibility Cannot put in the same container bottle for disposal
Heavy metal solutions	aqueous solutions containing arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, osmium, selenium, silver etc.. (do not mix together, keep each type separate)
Mineral acids	hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulphuric acid, perchloric acid (do not mix together, keep each type of acid in separate container)
Inorganic Bases	sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, ammonia (do not mix together, keep each type in separate container)
Oxidizers	potassium nitrate, hydrogen peroxide,potassium permanganate, bleach (do not mix together, keep all in separate containers)
Reactive wastes	phosphorus pentoxide, sodium hydride, sodium methoxide, dry picric acid, (do not mix together, keep all in separate containers)

NEVER store the following types of wastes near each other:

Acids and bases.
Organics and acids.
Cyanide, sulfide or arsenic compounds and acids.
Alkali or alkali earth metals, alkyllithiums etc. and aqueous waste.
Powdered or reactive metals and combustible materials.
Mercury or silver and ammonium containing compounds.
If a bottle broke in a waste storage area where incompatibles were present, the results could be disastrous. Remember: incompatible bottles of wastes should be stored in separate cabinets, preferably as far apart as possible! For a list of incompatible chemicals click here

Self-Auditing Checklist For Hazardous Waste Generators
ALL hazardous waste containers must comply with ALL of the following requirements at ALL TIMES.

1. Is the container sound? (No cracks, rust or deterioration permitted).
2. Is the container compatible with the waste? (No metal cans, in particular).
3. Are the contents of the container compatible with each other?
4. Is the container properly labeled, including the words Hazardous Waste and a date?
5. Are the contents of the container clearly listed?
6. Is the container closed with a properly fitting cap? (Not left with a funnel inserted.)
7. Is the waste container located in the lab (not in a hallway or storeroom)?
8. Is there less than 55 gallons of waste in the laboratory? (yes)
9. Is the waste located away from floor drains or sinks? (yes)
10. If the container is full, is it being taken to the waste boot for disposal?

WASTE CONTAINERS MUST BE CAPPED AT ALL TIMES

Taking Waste to the Waste boot
or Waste Storage Area

1. Bring your waste to the waste area or boot.
Make sure that: ALL waste containers MUST have a proper "HAZARDOUS WASTE" label with start date.
Here's an example:

ALL contents are listed
The bottle or jar has a cap that fits tightly. If liquid, there is at least 1" of room at the top of the container.
The outside of the bottle is clean and dry.
Incompatible wastes are not mixed.
Halogenated wastes are separate from "regular" organic wastes whenever possible (it is much more expensive to get rid of halogenated waste)!
The pH is known and listed on the disposal tag (yes, even for organic liquids).

2. Fill out a chemical waste disposal tag. Be sure to:

Complete all the information requested (yes, this includes pH for ANY waste liquid, including organics).
Write out chemical names -- no abbreviations and no chemical formulas (i.e. "Ether" instead of "Et2O" and "Dimethylphosphinoethane" instead of "DMPE").
Give the approximate percentage of each waste component.

The Trinidad and Tobago OSHA Act #1 of 2004

A Bill to deal with Industry Health and Safety with relevance to International Safety standards : the US OSHA and NEBOSH standards. The three main categories are :

1. Worker Injury
2. Fatal Accident
3. OSHA Violation

It covers Risk Management, Worker rights and responsibilities, Refusal to work, Trade unions, Industrial conflict, Shutdown, Accident, Injury and/or death.
It authorizes OSHA Inspectors, Other inspection bodies, Compliance auditing and Liability control.
The impact of this bill is that it requires the employer to ensure a safe workplace, where hazards are controlled, and injury to worker is minimized.


1.Guidelines published by the university of Kentucky, USA. and is copyright 1996-1997 by Rob Toreki. All rights reserved.

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