II.    IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
 

OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY (EOHS)	292-1284 NIGHTS....911
FIRE OR HEALTH EMERGENCY	911
OFFICE OF RADIATION SAFETY	292-1284
BIOSCIENCES ANIMAL FACILITY	292-3370
BIOSCIENCES SAFETY COORDINATOR	292-5517 (Steve Lawton)
BUILDING COORDINATOR	292-5517 (Steve Lawton)

 

III. DEFINITIONS:

INFECTIOUS AGENTS are CLASS 2 etiologic agents. It is recommended that CLASS 1 be treated as CLASS 2. CLASS 3 etiologic agents require additional precautions.  See CDC guidelines.

CONTAMINATED WASTE has been in contact with infectious agents or contains hazardous  chemical agents.                .

DECONTAMINATED WASTE has been treated to kill infectious agents or cleaned to remove hazardous chemicals.

HAZARDOUS WASTE:  contaminated waste plus uncontaminated sharps.

SHARPS: Any item capable of causing puncture wounds or cuts. This includes discarded hypodermic syringes, cannulas, needles, scalpel blades, coverslips, microscope slides, all glass or plastic pipettes (including Pasteur pipettes), PLASTIC PIPETTE TIPS, broken glass, and metal shards. Syringes are not resheathed, clipped, or broken before discard.
 

IV.  WASTE CONTAINERS AND THEIR DISPOSAL:

TYPES OF APPROVED WASTE CONTAINERS
1 Biohazard autoclave bags

2 Plastic sharps containers or needle collection containers
3Incinerator boxes (called burn boxes) for infectious waste; have red plastic liners

4 Strong cardboard boxes or other containers for uncontaminated hazardous waste

5 Safety cans for solvent disposal

WHERE TO OBTAIN THE CONTAINERS Off campus suppliers (charge) Hospital Stores or off campus suppliers (charge) EOHS or Biosciences Hazardous Waste Cage (free) Find your own (free) Lab Stores or off campus suppliers (charge).
HOW TO DISPOSE OF FILLED CONTAINERS Place in burn boxes.  Seal with waterproof tape. Total Weight should not exceed 40#. Identify box with room number & call EOHS at 292-1284 for pick up.
 
 

V. ADDITIONAL NOTES ON HAZARDOUS WASTE POLICIES:

A.  FLAMMABLE SOLVENT WASTE STORAGE

• A suitable solvent storage cabinet must be used for all containers of flammable solvent greater than ½ gallon in size, or if the total volume of all flammable solvents amounts to more than two gallons kept in one room.

• OSHA hazard communication regulations require manufacturers to provide purchasers and users of hazardous chemicals with Material Safety Data Sheets. These MSDS's include physical and chemical properties and known acute or chronic health effects including carcinogenicity, exposure limits and emergency and first aid procedures. It is the responsibility of the researcher not only to be aware of such hazards but also to inform and educate all those who might come in contact with that hazard. Each hazard has its peculiarities and each spill has its own resolution. Learning each hazard and its emergency resolution must be standard orientation for everyone who could be exposed to that hazard. Also it is necessary to avoid thinking a spill is resolved after it is off the lab bench or floor. If a hazard is disposed unthinkingly into a normal trash receptacle, any unknowing housekeeper is at risk. MSDS's should be consulted for specific instructions. Only brief guidelines are given here.

• HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL SPILLS should be reported immediately to the Office of Environmental & Occupational Health and Safety. They will issue instructions and send special assistance if  necessary.
• CYTOTOXIC DRUG SPILLS require special precautions to isolate. Inexpensive CD spill kits with double latex gloves, goggles, respirators and spill mats are available. 
• MERCURY SPILLS require specific precautions to avoid inhalation, ingestion or absorption. The Office of Environmental & Occupational Health and Safety (292-1284) should be notified immediately and a mercury spill team will be dispatched. 

C. PROHIBITION OF CHROMIC ACID AS GLASS CLEANER

Due to the extreme toxicity of chromates (including carcinogenicity), and the expense of their proper disposal (it is illegal to simply dilute chromic acid and run it down drains), the practice of using chromate solutions to clean glassware is PROHIBITED.  See MSDS Chromium Trioxide and Other Chromium (VI) Salts.

NOCHROMIX or similar substitute should replace this outdated practice. 
PLEASE REFERENCE: 
STANDARD OPERATING PRODEDURE FOR CHROMIC ACID SUBSTITUTION
 

• Laboratory gloves are not to be worn in lobbies, rest rooms, administrative offices, libraries, vending areas, elevators, college glassware facility, or stores. It is assumed that one is wearing gloves for protection from a lab hazard. That hazard is most probably on the outside of the glove. For this reason, lab gloves should not leave the immediate lab area to prevent contamination of door knobs, elevator switches, and other public areas.  If a chemical or biological hazard must be conveyed outside the immediate laboratory area through public spaces, it must be packaged in a sealed, secondary container to facilitate cleanup or decontamination should the hazard be accidentally spilled or dropped.  When such hazards are properly protected in transit, gloves are superfluous.  If gloves are worn to protect clean glassware from grease or fingerprints, they become immediately contaminated with grease from hundreds of building occupants as soon as an elevator button or door pull is touched thus defeating the purpose of the gloves.  Contaminated gloves should be discarded in Red Lined Biohazard Burn Boxes.

"Burn Boxes" are 18" X 18" X 28" cardboard incinerator boxes marked INFECTIOUS WASTE-BIOHAZARD in red plus 6.5 mil red plastic liners are available from the waste cage on the loading dock of the building or from the Office of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety. Boxes and liners are free.
    The boxes are constructed using plastic strapping tape or carton tape. Masking tape is NOT acceptable as it quickly loses its strength when damp. Place the box upside down with the Biohazard symbol inverted then fold bottom flaps inward so that the flap with the box manufacturer's label is visible. Tape securely. Flip the box over and insert liner.
     When reasonably full, the red liner is securely tied off using a strong tape. Should the sealed box be inverted accidentally in transit, this taped red liner can prevent leakage only if it is tightly closed! The box lid is then folded down so that the red identification square is visible, and secured with plastic strapping or box building tape. Mark the box with your building and laboratory room number.
     Filled boxes should be placed in the  hall outside your laboratory door. If you desire a regular collection, you must call EOHS.  Alternatively, you can utilize EHS's Infectious Waste Pickup OnLine Notification at the EHS Web: 

http://www.ehs.ohio-state.edu/env-affairs/biohazard.html

Waste currently is collected on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 
     As it is very expensive for the University to incinerate these boxes, please do not use burn boxes for non hazardous waste just because they are free to you!!!

These are disposable rigid plastic containers with "locking" tops in sizes up to 8 gallons. They are marked BIOHAZARD-CONTAMINATED and are available from Lab Stores or from scientific supply houses.

SHARPS are: Any item capable of causing puncture wounds or cuts. This includes discarded hypodermic syringes, cannulas, needles, scalpel blades, cover slips, microscope slides, all glass or plastic pipettes (including Pasteur pipettes), PLASTIC PIPETTE TIPS, broken glass, and metal shards. Syringes should not be resheathed, clipped, or broken prior to disposal.
 

• There is no need to autoclave the contents of sharps containers. When filled, a sharps container is closed with its locking lid and then placed in a burn box containing a red plastic liner. The plastic liners must be protected from sharps since leaks from a burn box create obvious alarm. 

• Plastic or metal solvent waste disposal cans are available from Lab Stores or outside suppliers. Cans should be used for all discarded solvents including chloroform, acetone, ethyl ether, methanol, formaldehyde, phenol, toluene, methyl chloroform, or xylene.  Keep track of the kind and amounts of organic compounds added to a can and record on the tags provided by EOHS. Full cans will be picked up and returned by EOHS.
• NOTE: solvent waste cans are NOT for disposal of mercury, mercury contaminated solvents, lead, selenium, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, silver, barium, sulfides, cyanides or unbuffered mineral acids or bases pH<5 or >9.  These items must be collected separately has Hazardous Waste. 

• No animal carcass or tissue is to be disposed through normal refuse disposal systems. All animal tissue or carcasses used in experimental studies including classroom labs are to be processed by the Animal Laboratory Facility.

• If the unit is in a room that carries a Radiation sign, call Radiation Safety at 292-1284 to  have the equipment checked for contamination.  If the unit is cold, they will place a tag on it certifying it for disposal.
• Decontaminate any biological residue and fill out decontamination form.  The refrigerator needs to look chemically and biologically clean. 
• OBTAIN REFRIGERATION DISPOSAL PROTOCOL SHEET FROM PHYSICAL FACILITIES AT 292-1512 .  FILL IN PERTINENT INFORMATION AND SEND IT ALONG WITH A 100W TO PHYSICAL FACILITIES.  THEY WILL CHARGE ~ $50 TO ARRANGE PICK-UP AND HAVE A CERTIFIED TECHNICIAN REMOVE AND RECYCLE ALL FREON AND OIL.  THEY WILL PLACE THEIR TAG ON THE COMPRESSOR  STATING THAT THE UNIT IS CLEARED OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS.
• If the unit is part of departmental inventory, send surplus property release form to Surplus Materials Disposal and Recycling to get equipment legally removed from departmental inventory.

• The Office of Environmental Health and Safety will gladly recycle all exhausted batteries including silver, lithium, mercury, NiCad or lead acid.  Simply call 292-1284 to arrange a pick up.

K.HARD TRASH DISPOSAL

• Hard trash is anything too large, too bulky, too heavy, or too solid to  be compacted in refuse trucks without damaging the refuse equipment.
• If the material is part of Departmental Inventory, send Surplus Property Release Form to Surplus Materials Disposal & Recycling to get equipment legally removed from departmental inventory.
• Call Hard Trash Removal at 292-0892 to arrange for disposal pick-up. 
• The College buildings' loading docks are not dump sites.  Please do not dump unwanted trash expecting it to miraculously disappear without calling for proper disposal. 

• Asbestos is present in most buildings constructed prior to the early 1980's usually in the form of plumbing insulation, floor tiles, chemical resistant lab tops, hood inner panels & ductwork, or sprayed fire retardant.  In this encapsulated form, it presents little or no hazard.
• However, plumbing work or renovations can disturb asbestos creating airborne hazard.  Therefore, in older buildings all repair and renovation areas must be certified to be free of asbestos or abated prior to work.  Help in determining the need for abatement can be obtained from EHS at 292-1284.

• Never pipette by mouth--use a vacuum or pipette bulb.
• Do not smell or taste chemicals.
• Skin contact with chemicals should be avoided.
• Any chemical operation giving off toxic fumes should be carried out in functioning  chemical fume hood.
• Eating, chewing, cosmetic application and installation/removal of contact lenses are not permitted in the laboratory.
• Glassware, utensils, or ice generated for laboratory use should not be used in contact with food/drink for human consumption.
• After contact with laboratory chemicals, hands and forearms should be washed before using the rest room or breaking for lunch or a snack.