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![[UC Berkeley, Office of Environment, Health & Safety]](subhead.gif)
Academic Research and Teaching Laboratories
(March 28, 1994)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Overview of Drain Disposal in Academic Research
and Teaching Laboratories
- Potential Problems at the EBMUD Water
Pollution Control Plant
- Potential Problems in the Lab Sinks and
Campus Sewers
- Characteristics of Hazardous Waste
3. General Rules for Drain Disposal
4. Specific Guidelines for Drain Disposal
in Academic Research and Teaching Laboratories
APPENDICES:
Appendix I: Class A Chemicals, allowed
(little or no hazard)
Appendix II: Class B Chemicals, small quantities
(moderate hazard)
Appendix III: Class C Chemicals, prohibited
(high hazard)
References and EH&S Telephone Numbers
Interim Guidelines for Drain Disposal of Chemicals
In University of California at Berkeley
Academic Research and Teaching Laboratories
1. Introduction
Disposal of chemicals into the sanitary sewer is regulated by
Federal and State laws and regulations, by the local East Bay
Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) Ordinance and by the EBMUD
Wastewater Discharge Permit issued to Campus. These laws and
regulations prohibit any drain disposal of hazardous wastes and
limit the allowable wastewater concentration of a number of
specific substances. The University of California at Berkeley is
committed to protection of the local community and the
environment through strict compliance with these laws and
regulations. Discharge of hazardous chemical wastes into the
campus sanitary sewer system is prohibited by Campus Policy
(Drain Disposal Policy, October 1, 1990).
The range of substances that can be considered hazardous waste
is enormous. Indeed, almost any substance is a hazardous waste
if it is disposed of in large quantities or in high
concentrations. Federal and California hazardous waste laws
permit laboratories to drain dispose of small amounts of some
chemicals in quantities that do not pose a hazard to human
health or the environment.
The following guidelines for drain disposal of chemicals at UC
Berkeley were developed by the Hazardous Waste Management
Committee, together with the Office of Environment Health and
Safety. These guidelines are based on State Law, EBMUD
regulations and permits, and on procedures set forth in the
National Research Council publication "Prudent Practices
for Disposal of Chemicals from Laboratories", National
Academy Press, Washington D.C., 1983 (Reference 1) and
"Prudent Practices for Handling of Hazardous Chemicals in
Laboratories", National Academy Press, Washington D.C.,
1981 (Reference 2). Drain disposal is permitted, by Campus
policy, only within the guidelines set forth in this document.
Notice:
EBMUD regularly monitors campus wastewater. Failure to comply
with wastewater discharge regulations could lead to fines of up
to $25,000 per day and/or restrictions in laboratory water use.
2. Overview of drain disposal of chemicals from laboratories
Campus laboratory drain systems are connected to sanitary sewer
systems, and their effluent drains to the EBMUD water pollution
control plant. Chemicals may be prohibited from drain disposal
for a variety of reasons.
Potential Problems at EBMUD Water Pollution Control Plant:
Chemicals may be prohibited from disposal to the water pollution
control plant because they:
- interfere with the biological processes of sewage
treatment,
- are not digested in the sewage treatment process, pass
through treatment and are released as pollutants to the air
- are released to San Francisco Bay where they are toxic to
aquatic organisms or where they accumulate in Bay sediments,
- concentrate in the sewage treatment sludge, compromising
EBMUD's ability to use the sludge for beneficial purposes.
UC policies governing drain disposal of chemicals from
laboratories have specifically been formulated to comply with
these prohibitions. Bay Area Air Quality Management District air
toxics regulations require EBMUD to reduce their release of
reactive organic gases (ozone precursors) and other toxic
organics. One strategy EBMUD uses to reduce air emissions from
the water pollution control plant is source control, limiting
the release of chemicals through permit restrictions. For
example, for campus EBMUD has set very low limits for discharge
of chlorinated hydrocarbons to the wastewater, which are
eventually released as toxic air contaminants from the water
pollution control plant.
Potential Problems in Laboratory Sinks and Campus Sewers:
Chemicals may be prohibited from disposal to laboratory drains
because they can:
- create hazards of fire, explosion, or local air pollution
or stench,
- react with other chemicals to form hazardous gases,
- corrode lab and building plumbing,
- leak out of old pipes as liquid to pollute campus grounds,
- escape from sewer pipes as air pollutants
- expose plumbers to contact or inhalation hazards.
Laboratory drains are generally interconnected; a substance that
goes down one sink may well come up as a vapor in another. Sinks
are usually communal property, and there is a very real hazard
of chemicals from two sources contacting one another; the
sulfide poured into one drain may contact the acid poured into
another, with unpleasant consequences for all in the building.
Much of the campus plumbing infrastructure is old and may not be
resistant to chemicals placed into the drains. The cost of
replacing corroded plumbing can easily exceed the cost of
disposal of corrosive chemicals as hazardous waste.
Characteristics of Hazardous Wastes
Hazardous wastes are prohibited from discharge. Chemical wastes
are hazardous if they are:
- corrosive
- reactive
- ignitable
- moderately or highly toxic
3. General Rules for Drain Disposal
The following general rules apply to drain disposal of chemicals
from laboratories at UC Berkeley*.
Laboratory disposal of chemicals is limited to occasional
disposal of small amounts of chemicals, as detailed in the
guidelines below. Large scale or continuous disposal of any
chemical is permitted only with the written approval of the
Hazardous Waste Management Committee. (The Office of
Environment, Health and Safety should be contacted to obtain
this approval.)
4. Specific guidelines for drain disposal
We divide chemicals into three groups with regard to drain
disposal in laboratories:
Class A chemicals include many simple organic and
inorganic compounds, as well as common inorganic chemicals. This
includes most normal biological metabolites and nontoxic
cellular constituents (proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates,
soluble fats, and their precursors and catabolites). A partial
list of Class A chemicals, derived from State regulations and
Appendix K of Reference 2, is provided below in Appendix I.
Class B chemicals include all of those listed as toxic
(T) in the California Code of Regulations Section 22-66261.30
et. seq. that are water soluble, except for those listed as
Class A chemicals in Appendix I or Class C chemicals in Appendix
III. Class B chemicals also include all inorganic salts listed
in refer ence 2 as "high hazard" in tables 6.1 and
6.2. A partial list of Class B chemicals appears in Appendix II.
Class C chemicals include all chemicals that are not
soluble as defined above, chemicals that cause unacceptable
concentrations of offensive, toxic or explosive vapors, and
chemicals that are toxic or reactive at concentrations below 1
ppm in aqueous solution. Class C chemicals include the chemicals
identified in the Main Campus EBMUD Wastewater Discharge Permit
"Priority Pollutant Management Plan" Compliance
Requirement (Federal Clean Water Act priority pollutants listed
in 40 CFR Part 122 Appendix D, Tables II and III). A partial
list of Class C chemicals appears in Appendix III.
Appendix I - Class A
Class A chemicals. Chemicals of little or no hazard in
dilute aqueous solution. These are suitable for disposal
down the drain with in quantities of up to about 100 g of solute
per laboratory per day.
Class A chemicals include many simple organic and inorganic
compounds, as well as common inorganic chemicals. This includes
most normal biological metabolites and nontoxic cellular
constituents (proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, soluble
fats, and their precursors and catabolites).
1. ORGANIC CHEMICALS
Normal biological metabolites and nontoxic cellular constituents
(proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, soluble fats, and their
precursors and catabolites).
Alcohols
Alkanols with fewer than 5 atoms
Alkanediols with fewer than 8 atoms
Sugars and sugar alcohols
Alkoxyalk anols with fewer than 7 carbon atoms
butanol, 1-(n- butyl alcohol)
butanol, 2- (sec- butyl alcohol)
ethanol
ethanol,2- (2-butoxyethoxy)
ethylene glycol
glycerol
methanol
methyl 1-propanol, 2- (isobutyl alcohol)
methyl 2- butanol, 2- (t-amyl alcohol)
methyl 2-propanol, 2- (tert - butyl alcohol)
propanol, 1- (n - propyl alcohol)
propanol, 2- (isopropyl alcohol)
Aldehydes
Aliphatic aldehydes with fewer than 5 carbon atoms
acetaldehyde
butyraldehyde
formaldehyde
gluteraldehyde
propionaldehyde
Amides
RCONH2 and RCONHR with fewer than 5 carbon atoms
RCONR2 with fewer than 11 carbon atoms
formamide
propionamide
methylpropionamide, N-
butanamide
Amines**
Aliphatic amines with fewer than 7 carbon atoms
Aliphatic diamines with fewer than 7 carbon atoms
benzylamine
butylamine, N-
dimethylamine
dipropylamine
propylamine
pyridine
Carboxylic Acids**
Alkanoic acids with fewer than 6 carbon atoms
Alkanedioic acids with fewer than 6 carbon atoms
Hydroxyalkanoic acids with fewer than 6 carbon atoms
Aminoalkanoic acids with fewer than 7 carbon atoms
Ammonium, Sodium, and Potassium salts of the above acid classes
with fewer than 21
carbon atoms
acetic acid
citric acid
oxalic acid
potassium binoxalate
propanoic acid
formic acid
sodium acetate
sodium citrate
** N.B. those organic compounds with a disagreeable odor, such
as dimethylamine, 1,4 butanediamine, butyric acids and valeric
acids, should be neutralized, and the resulting salt solutions
flushed down the drain, diluted with at least 1000 volumes of
water.
Esters
Esters with fewer than 5 carbon atoms
ethyl acetate
isopropyl acetate
methyl acetate
methyl formate
methyl propionate
propyl formate, n-
Ethers
dioxane, 1,4-
dioxolane
tetrahydrofuran
Ketones:
Ketones with fewer than 6 carbon atoms
acetone (2- propanone)
cyclohexanone
methyl ethyl ketone (2- butanone)
methyl isobutyl ketone
pentanone, 2-
Nitriles:
acetonitrile
propionitrile
Sulfonic Acids:
Sodium or potassium salts of most are acceptable
2. INORGANIC CHEMICALS
This list comprises water-soluble compounds of low toxicity
hazard cations and anions.
Compounds of any of these ions that are strongly acidic or basic
should be neutralized before disposal down the drain.
3. PROPRIETARY PRODUCTS
Alphabetical Lists of Commonly Used Class A Chemicals
CLASS A Organic
CLASS A Inorganic
Appendix II - Class B
Class B Chemicals: Chemicals of moderate hazard. These are
suitable for disposal down the drain with excess water in
quantities no greater than 1 gram of solute per laboratory per
day. The final concentration in wastewater must not exceed 1 ppm
after flushing with an appropriate amount of water.
1. ORGANIC CHEMICALS
Commonly used Class B organic chemicals:
2. INORGANIC CHEMICALS
Cations of the following metals :
Anions and neutral compounds:
Appendix III - Class C
Class C Chemicals: Chemicals that may not be drain disposed
in any amount except by written approval of the Hazardous Waste
Management Committee. (The Office of Environment, Health and
Safety should be contacted to obtain this approval.)
1. ORGANIC CHEMICALS
2. INORGANIC CHEMICALS
Chemicals containing the following metals and compounds
Specific commonly used Class C inorganic chemicals
3. EPA priority pollutants (40 CFR Part 122 Appendix D,
Tables II and III)
Table II - Organic toxic pollutants in each of four fractions
in analysis by
gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (gs/ms)
Volatiles</ |
