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Labs to become responsible for high hazard waste costs by Bill Seaborn Occupational Safety and Health Programs MUSC employs hundreds of researchers and lab technicians in more than 800 labs which produce some type of solid, infectious, hazardous or radioactive waste.  When handled properly and in a timely manner, most flammable, corrosive or toxic wastes can be disposed of easily and in a cost effective manner and usually packed, labeled and on the way to a permitted disposal facility in the same day. However, when certain types of solvents and acids are left in the back of a cabinet, in some cases for years, they can become unstable and potentially explosive. At this point our hazardous waste contractor can not safely or legally transport these materials.  MUSC must hire a special group from Clean Harbors known as the “High Haz Team” (HHT) to come in and safely open and treat old chemicals, like ethyl ether or picric acid. This team is scheduled as much as three months in advance and must work at night when the employee census is greatly reduced.  And this work is very expensive.  The last time that the HHT was at MUSC, the cost to treat waste from just one lab cost $2,275, with only about 10 pounds of material treated.  In addition, a special Emergency Treatment Permit must be requested from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC).  In the past SCDHEC was very accommodating in issuing Emergency Treatment Permits and elected not to site MUSC for failure to “maintain and operate (a facility) to minimize the possibility of a fire, explosion, or any unplanned sudden or non-sudden release of hazardous waste or hazardous waste constituents to air, soil, or surface water which could threaten human health or the environment” (SC Hazardous Waste Regulation R.61-79.264.31). This may soon change as SCDHEC officials recently voiced concern over the number of high hazard treatment events MUSC has undertaken. In the future, any fines associated with enforcement actions from high hazard treatment events will be passed on to the department(s) generating the waste. Many of these problems can be avoided if researchers keep an updated chemical inventory and are aware that certain chemicals pose problems.  In the past, the Office of Occupational Safety and Health Programs relied on lab inspections and departmental training to make laboratory personnel aware of these types of chemicals. Fact sheets on some of the more problematic chemicals will be posted on the OSHP Web site soon, providing staff with a general overview of the problems associated with certain chemicals as well as ways to avoid having to dispose of these chemicals as a high hazard class. Solvents such as ether, dioxane and tetrahydrafuran can form explosive peroxides on the inside of the container and around the treads of the cap. In extreme cases the friction created when the cap is removed is enough to detonate this material. Picric acid can also become extremely unstable and explosive when left for years and allowed to dehydrate. Similar to the two above-mentioned solvents, picric acid can, in extreme cases, detonate from the friction of the cap being removed or being dropped. To get an appreciation of the possible danger of these materials, one must consider the potential explosive force of these compounds, some of which are categorized as high explosives.       Friday, April 1, 2005 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to petersnd@musc.edu or catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Community Press at 849-1778.