The challenge of managing hazardous wastes from class laboratories

CHAS 20

Ralph Stuart, rstuart@esf.uvm.edu and Denise Dubois, ddubois1@uvm.edu. Environmental Safety Facility, University of Vermont, 667 Spear St., Burlington, VT 05405
Class laboratories present special issues in managing hazardous chemical and biological wastes. In many classroom situations, the responsibility for the correct management of the wastes and related safety issues in the class laboratory is ambiguously assigned. This ambiguity adds stress to a teaching assistants' already-divided attention and can result in poor management of laboratory waste. We have observed incorrect labeling of wastes, poor housekeeping and potential contamination of a variety of laboratory surfaces in class laboratories as a result of this problem.

This presentation will discuss some of the challenges we have observed at UVM and some of the approaches we are taking to resolving these issues.

 

Teaching Safety
9:00 AM-11:45 AM, Tuesday, August 21, 2007 Seaport -- Seaport A, Oral

Division of Chemical Health & Safety

The 234th ACS National Meeting, Boston, MA, August 19-23, 2007