Chapter Six / Environmental Health & Safety

Chapter Six:

Chemical, Radioactive & Biological Waste

Some of the teaching, research, and patient care activities conducted at PLU result in the generation of chemical, biological, or radioactive wastes. While there is a myriad of complex laws and regulations governing hazardous waste disposal, following are some principal guidelines.

Waste Minimization

Please make every effort to minimize your waste stream through:

Recycling
Using less hazardous chemical substitutes
Keeping inventories of potentially redundant materials
Buying smaller quantities
Using micro-scale experimentation

All research personnel can work together to reduce the volume of hazardous wastes generated by the university.

Chemical Waste

The PLU Hazardous Waste Management program provides guidelines for storing and disposing of chemical waste. The Chemical Hygiene Officer (x7558) or Environmental Health & Safety Manager will provide you with the guidelines and explain to you the specific requirements of segregation and labeling.
Make sure that chemical waste does not get into the general waste stream or go down the drain, and that it is not disposed of by intentional fume hood evaporation.
For training on how to manage chemical waste, contact the Environmental Health & Safety Manager at x7233.
For chemical waste pickup, call the Chemical Hygiene Officer at x7558 or Facilities at x7380.

Radioactive Waste

Make sure that radioactive waste does not get into the general waste stream. DO NOT MIX chemical or biological waste with radioactive waste. For disposal procedures, contact the RSO at x6181.

Biological Waste

Make sure that biological waste does not get into the general waste stream. Deposit biological waste in a biohazard waste bin. Environmental Services will pick up infectious waste and deliver it to the Biology Department for treatment.
Medical waste shall go into the special orange plastic waste bags that are labeled with the universal biohazard symbol or with the word "Biohazard" or "Biohazardous Waste" and provided by the Biology Department.
Sharps, such as needles or syringes, contaminated with blood or other potentially infectious materials shall be placed into a rigid plastic sharps container.
Sharps that are not contaminated must also be contained in a rigid container.

Resources

Waste Pickup, x7380

Chemical Hygiene Officer
Terry Nicksic, x7558
nicksitd@plu.edu

Radiation Safety Officer
Audrey North, x6181
(253) 538-6181
northal@plu.edu

Environmental Health & Safety

Chapter Six