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September 30, 2002 Volume 27, Issue 9 |
To ensure adherence to Environmental Protection Agency regulations, MSU's Office of Regulatory Compliance is providing an online training course for faculty, staff and students who generate hazardous waste.
Tracy S. Arwood, regulatory compliance officer, said departments should submit to ORC a complete list of those handling hazardous waste-including students. To register, departments may send lists via campus mail to Marian Hughlett, hazardous waste officer, at Mail Stop 9563, or by facsimile to 325-8776.
"Everyone who handles hazardous waste must be trained in the proper storage and disposal of hazardous materials according to EPA guidelines," Arwood explained.
Once ORC receives the department's list, each person will be registered for online training and provided detailed instructions for completing the required course, she explained.
"For those who recently have attended an ORC-sponsored training seminar, records will indicate that initial training is completed and a refresher course will follow annually," she added.
The records of initial and refresher training will be maintained by the ORC office. For more information, telephone Hughlett at 325-8543.
The Office of Regulatory Compliance provide s several recommendations for proper management of chemicals according to state and federal regulations.
An experienced faculty or staff member monitoring the chemical holdings in your department should ensure that:
--Chemicals always are labeled.
--Containers are monitored regularly for leaks and spills.
--Surplus chemicals are assigned reasonable expiration dates and all are disposed of properly following expiration.
--Waste chemicals are identified in a timely fashion and the Hazardous Waste Officer contacted to arrange appropriate pickup of chemicals.
Access to chemical areas should be restricted to those with a need to enter and annual inspections of the area should reassess the status of surplus/waste chemicals.
Failure to maintain chemicals and chemical storage areas adequately can result in fines, accidents and increased disposal costs assessed to individual departments.