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INTRODUCTIONS
Laboratory waste is waste that is generated from laboratories. This waste can be broken down into a number of categories:
- Infectious waste
- General waste
- Poisonous waste
- Chemical waste
- Hazardous wastes
Reducing laboratory waste will have a number of benefits such as ;
- To promote laboratory safety and health
- To a hygienic working environment
- To enhance orderliness in the laboratory
- To keep away laboratory vermin, pest and rodents
- To comply with legal safety requirements
The best strategy for managing laboratory waste aims to maximize safety and minimize environmental impact, and considers these objectives from the time of purchase. There is a strategic hierarchy for managing chemicals and waste to accomplish these objectives. This are
- Elimination of wastes
- Substitute hazardous experimental materials for non-hazardous ones. For example, use aqueous-based, biodegradable scintillation fluids whenever possible.
- Mechanical control by placing barriers between source and the personnel e.g. fume chambers
- Management control e.g. by supervision and applying rules and regulations
- Use of personal protective equipment
In order to minimize the amount of hazardous waste presented for disposal, it is important to follow these guidelines:
- a) Avoid overstocking:one of the main sources of laboratory waste is surplus stock – the result of over buying.
- b) Do not accept donations of materials that you don’t plan to use..
The overriding principle governing the prudent handling of laboratory waste is that no activity should begin unless a plan for the disposal of nonhazardous and hazardous waste has been formulated
There are four tiers to waste management to reduce its environmental impact:
- Pollution prevention and source reduction
- Reduce volume of materials through not purchasing excess of surplus materials
- Reuse generated materials; treatment, reclamation, and recycling of materials within the waste;
- Disposal through incineration, treatment, or land burial.
Clearly, the best approach to laboratory waste is preventing its generation. Examples include reducing the scale of laboratory operations, reducing the formation of waste during laboratory operations, and substituting nonhazardous or less hazardous chemicals in chemical procedures.
The initial responsibility for implementing this hierarchy rests with trained laboratory personnel. These individuals are in the best position to know the chemical and physical properties of the materials they have used or synthesized. They are responsible for evaluating hazards, providing information necessary to make an accurate waste determination, and assisting in the evaluation of appropriate strategies for management, minimization, and disposal.