| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 52.11 |
| Liaison | Mary-Lee Townsend |
| Submission Date | Aug. 22, 2011 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Western University
OP-21: Hazardous Waste Management
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Brandon
Watson Communications and Training Officer Physical Plant and Capital Planning Services |
Does the institution have strategies in place to safely dispose of all hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste and seek to minimize the presence of these materials on campus?:
A brief description of steps taken to reduce hazardous, special (e.g. coal ash), universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
A high percentage of chemical waste at Western consists of unopened containers, therefore, Western encourages people to avoid large volume purchases, as well as sharing chemicals that might otherwise be sent for disposal.
A brief description of how the institution safely disposes of hazardous, universal, and non-regulated chemical waste:
When handling materials that require special attention, Western follows and surpasses legislation imposed by the municipal, provincial and federal governments.
Western is currently using RPR Environmental (Responsible Chemical Waste Management) to deal with their hazardous waste. This company strives to be the leader in responsible waste management, while working with government, legal, risk management, health and safety and other professionals to ensure that all legal obligations of this industry are met.
At Western, all types of hazardous materials are collected once a week and accepted for disposal free of charge, provided that they meet the requirements outlined in the "Hazardous Materials Management Handbook".
http://www.uwo.ca/humanresources/docandform/docs/ohs1/manuals/hazardous_handbook.pdf
Some of these requirements include:
- All containers in a laboratory must be completely labeled (responsibility of the individual laboratory or department).
- All hazardous waste containers must be packaged to ensure that the material cannot spill in the case of an accident.
- All labs are required to keep an inventory and labeling system in order to ensure hazardous materials are being managed effectively and safely. If not, this provides an opportunity to segregate according to their respective hazard classes.
- For safety and transportation reasons, Western’s chemical waste contractor does not accept any unidentified substances at any time. If identification of the "unknown" cannot be made, then a characterization of the waste based on physical and chemical properties is required prior to acceptance of the material by the chemical waste contractor.
- Disposal of all radioactive wastes must be in accordance with regulations under the NSC Act. Waste must be handled and disposed of in a way that prevents unreasonable risk to the public or the environment.
The waste disposal program at Western is convenient, flexible, and easy to use.
The website URL where information about hazardous materials management is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.