Hazardous Waste

All waste produced in the Sample Prep Labs should be appropriately disposed of at SLAC. You are prohibited to transport waste back to your home institution. Designated areas exist in the labs for sharps, broken glass, and hazardous waste. Sharps, broken glass, and hazardous waste must never be disposed of in the trash cans or sink drains.

• Containment

  

  Bottles, jars, and plastic bags are available for containing chemical waste. Place hazardous waste in an appropriately sized container and ensure it is tightly sealed. Separate solid waste from liquid waste (e.g. kimwipes from acid). Do not mix incompatible wastes (e.g. flammable solvent with oxidizer).

• Labeling

  

  All hazardous waste must be labeled. Labels, found on hanging rolls in the lab, must include chemical name and approximate concentration, physical state, relevant hazards, your name, the date, and the beamline or extension where you can be reached. It is especially important that you provide approximate concentrations for heavy metals such as lead, mercury, selenium, arsenic, chromium, cadmium, and silver.

• Disposal

  

  Once contained and labeled, hazardous waste should be placed into the lab’s hazardous waste cabinet. Waste should be segregated by hazard type into the appropriate bin.

Non-hazardous Lab Waste

Non-hazardous lab waste like proteins, biological buffers, and salts may be eligible for sink disposal. Candidates for sink disposal must be approved by the lab manager in advance.

Special Considerations

If you are producing large volumes of waste, please let us know before you begin your experiment.