If you have hazardous waste, please be aware and prepare for the July 30th EPA/CDPHE inspection:
On Wednesday July 30th the CU-Boulder campus will be inspected by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) for compliance with hazardous waste generation, storage, and disposal regulations.
In years past, we have received findings related to out-of-date EH&S training, out-of-date SAA inspections, container management (containers not closed or leaking, not in secondary containment), storage compatibility, and waste labeling. Please ensure the following items are addressed at your waste storage areas (SAAs) and in SciShield to ensure that we do not receive inspection findings:
• Ensure all SAA inspections have been completed in SciShield.
• Complete all assigned EH&S trainings. These can be found under your “training” tab on your SciShield profile.
• All waste containers must be closed/sealed, non-leaking and must be located in a designated satelite accumulation area (SAA).
• Liquid waste containers must be in secondary containment (e.g., chemical storage cabinet, plastic bin/tray, fume hood, etc.).
• Waste containers must be segregated by chemical compatibility (e.g., acids need to be separated from bases; flammables need to be separated from acids and bases).
• Each waste container must have a completed hazardous waste tag affixed to it. Be sure that all containers, boxes, etc. storing chemically contaminated items have a tag attached!
• The waste characteristic(s) must be checked on the hazardous waste tag. Multiple characteristics can apply: Ignitable, Toxic, Oxidizer, Corrosive, and/or Reactive.
• The hazardous waste tag shall list all waste components, even in trace amounts, totaling 100%. DO NOT abbreviate waste components (e.g. write out Isopropyl Alcohol; not IPA).
• Cross-off/destroy original labeling and hazard markings on EMPTY containers. Mark “EMPTY”.
• DO NOT submit hazwaste tags for waste containers that only partially full to EH&S. Please wait until the week of August 4th to request pick-up of partially full containers.
• If you have FULL containers, please submit the top copy of the hazardous waste tag to UCB 413 to request a pickup as soon as possible.
For more information, please see the attached Hazardous Waste Generator's Guide. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to give us a call (303) 492-6025 or email ehs@colorado.edu. For urgent matters, please call. It may take us 24 hours to respond to emails.
HazWaste_Generators_Guide_-_PDF_2024_1752528000_145196.pdf
Thank you for your help!