Hazardous Waste Management
The Florida Tech Environmental Health & Safety(EH&S) Office is responsible for ensuring that lab workers have the appropriate containers to dispose of various kinds of Hazardous Waste. We offer containers for solid and liquid waste that comply with the Department of Transportation’s hazardous materials shipping regulations (49 CFR 173.24). Our staff will pick up and replace any full containers as well as empty chemical containers for disposal.
According to the EPA, solid waste is discarded material in any physical state that is generated by industrial, commercial, or academic and research activities. For a material to be defined as a hazardous waste it must have hazardous qualities as defined below:
- Waste exhibiting hazardous characteristics (40 CFR 261.30-5)
- Ignitability
- Corrosivity
- Reactivity
- Toxicity
- Waste that is on a list (40 CFR 261.30-5)
- F-listed wastes or wastes that are not from a specific industrial or manufacturing process.
- K-listed wastes or wastes that are from specific industries or processes, and therefore are source specific.
- P-Listed (H) wastes or wastes that are considers “acutely hazardous” when discarded.
- U-Listed (T) wastes. P-Listed and U-listed wastes apply to commercial chemical products that are considered hazardous when discarded.
All university personnel (faculty, staff, and students) that generate or work in close proximity to hazardous waste are required to annually complete an in-person or online training that teaches them to perform their duties in a way that ensures the facility's compliance within the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act regulations (40 CFR 265.16). Facility personnel must successfully complete the training within six months after the effective date of these regulations or six months after the date of their employment or assignment to a facility, or to a new position at a facility, whichever is later. See relevant links for training information.
EH&S staff oversees the hazardous waste program for Florida Tech, but our continued success depends on the efforts of faculty, staff and students. Please use the information provided in the right pane to educate yourself on the proper management of your waste.
If you have any questions about the appropriate disposal method of a waste please contact EH&S at hazwaste@doinghg.com.