Guidelines for care & Use of Dry Solvent Stills [Example]

1. Dr. Alexander – Lab Room #108
SPECIFIC PROCEDURE FOR SAFE REMOVAL OF HIGHLY TOXIC WASTE#108
Consult with your research advisor concerning proper methods for packaging and storing extremely
hazardous waste. Research usually involves working with selective types or classes of chemicals. Prepare
brief summaries in this section for handling spent chemicals peculiar to your lab.
Two categories of hazardous waste are generated in room 108. The first is radioactive waste, which will
be disposed of according to the requirements of the office of radiation safety as outlined in the user’s
license. Briefly, short half-life ( 32 P and 35 S) will be stored separately ( 32 P in a shielded container) from
longer half-life waste such as 3 H and 14 C. These will be collected at regular intervals by employees of the
office of radiation safety.
The second category is ethidium bromide used to detect nucleic acids by gel electrophoresis. The
quantities used (except for stock quantities) are on the order of 0.05% in water or gel. Low concentration
liquid waste will be decontaminated by household bleach and disposed of in the drain after
decontamination. Low concentration gel waste will be collected and disposed of on a quarterly basis
(approximately 1 ft 3 per quarter).
Every two weeks we autoclave (steam sterilize) pipets, tilps, and petri dishes that contain small amounts of
non-patogenic E. Coli bacteria. We autoclave to mininize the smell of this waste and to minimize possible
autibiotic resistance from developing. The nonhazardous, nonregulated waste material from this operation
is deposited directly in the garbage containers in the lab.
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