Hazardous Waste Disposal
- EHSA
- Training
- How to Manage Hazardous Waste
- Pickup Procedures
- Hazardous Materials Pickup Request Hints
- EPA Regulated Waste
EHSA
Environmental Health and Safety Assistant (EHSA)
As of July 3, 2023, the process for waste pickup requests transitioned to an online platform: Environmental Health and Safety Assistant (EHSA).
EHSA is used to submit waste for chemical, biological, and radioactive waste pickup requests.
Submit a Pickup Request
New users will need to register for EHSA and use Purdue Login to access the system. Refer to the Quick Reference Guides in the Training/Resources section below for steps to get established as a new user and to submit a pickup request.
Benefits
Users have benefitted from using the new waste pickup request process in the following ways:
- Increased transparency to see submitted requests
- Access to electronic records for waste pickups
- Ability to create waste pickup request templates
- Ease of duplicating repeat pickup requests
- Request supplies such as disposal tags online
EHSA has also helped create consistency among customer requests and streamline the submission process through a single online system.
Training/Resources
- Register as a new user/set up a waste request profile in EHSA: Quick Reference Guide (PDF)
- Create a hazardous (chemical) or biological waste pickup request in EHSA: Quick Reference Guide (PDF)
- Creating a Biological Waste Pickup Request in EHSA (Video)
- Creating a Chemical Waste Pickup Request in EHSA (Video)
- Creating Biological Waste Pickup Requests in EHSA (PDF)
- Creating Chemical Waste Pickup Requests in EHSA (PDF)
Contact
For general questions and those related to the EHSA system, contact purdueehsa@purdue.edu. For hazardous (chemical) waste questions, contact 765-494-0121 or hazwaste@purdue.edu.
How to Manage Hazardous Waste
Introduction
EHS offers pickup services for all hazardous (chemical) waste generated on the West Lafayette campus. A waste pickup request should be submitted through EHSA online (refer to prior section) by the generator of the waste to initiate pickup services. Once the pickup request has been processed, EHS staff will come to your lab to pick up the waste.
Pickup Procedures
- Prior to pickup, all waste must be placed in a designated area within the room where the waste was generated.
- All waste must be placed in an appropriate container.
- All containers must be capped and labeled.
- Complete and submit a hazardous (chemical) waste pickup request through EHSA (see first section above).
If unknown chemicals are present in your lab, please see the Unknown Chemicals page on the EHS website for assistance.
All empty containers should be triple rinsed and either reused or thrown in the trash. With their rinsate being collected.
If you have questions regarding pickup procedures please call 765-494-0121, email hazwaste@purdue.edu or refer to the Hazardous Waste Disposal Guidelines.
Hazardous Materials Pickup Request Hints
Chemical Description:
- Provide full chemical names when submitting a request. Do not use acronyms, abbreviations or formulas.
- The chemicals must be in percent form adding up to 100%. The percentages of each chemical should be accurate but can be rounded to the nearest whole number. For example, 0.01% Benzene can be conveyed on a pickup request as "Trace Benzene", or "<1% Benzene". The following is an example of a good chemical description: "Acetone 50%, Tetrahydrofuran 10%, Chloroform 20%, Acetic Acid 10%, Water 10%, Trace Silver".
- The description on the container label must exactly match the description entered in the online pickup request.
- When submitting trade products, read the description of the chemical components on the label, or request an SDS from the manufacturer. This information will provide you with a proper chemical description for the product. If you have an SDS for a product it can be attached to the online pickup request.
Amount of Waste in Container:
Estimate as accurately as possible (i.e. +/- 10%). Use mass units for solids and volume units for liquids.
Spent or Useable:
The material is only useable if you are certain that the chemical is uncontaminated and can still be used for its intended use. Otherwise, consider it spent.
Physical State of the Material:
Solid, liquid and gas are the only designations that should be used. In general, keep solid and liquid wastes separate. If you have a mixture containing both solids and liquids, the rule of thumb is that if any portion of the waste flows as a liquid, call it liquid.
EPA Regulated Waste
The names and approximate percentages of all the materials listed below must appear in the description of a waste mixture if they are present in any quantity. Quantities under 1%, regardless of how small, can still be listed as "<1%" or "trace".
Regulated Toxic Chemicals ("D-Listed"):
- Arsenic
- Barium
- Cadmium
- Chromium
- Lead
- Mercury
- Selenium
- Silver
- Endrin
- Lindane
- Methoxychlor
- Toxaphene
- 2,4-D
- 2,4,5-TP (Silvex)
- Benzene
- Carbon Tetrachloride
- Chlordane
- Chlorobenzene
- Chloroform
- o-Cresol
- m-Cresol
- p-Cresol
- Cresol
- 1,4-Dichlorobenzene
- 1,2-Dichlorobenzene
- 1,1-Dichloroethylene
- 2,4-Dinitrotoluene
- Heptachlor
- Hexachlorobenzene
- Hexachlorobutadiene
- Hexachloroethane
- Methyl Ethyl Ketone
- Nitrobenzene
- Pentachlorophenol
- Pyridine
- Tetrachloroethylene
- Trichloroethylene
- 2,4,5-Trichlorophenol
- 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol
- Vinyl Chloride
Regulated Solvents ("F-Listed"):
- Acetone
- Benzene
- n-Butyl Alcohol
- Carbon Disulfide
- Carbon Disulfide
- o-Cresol
- p-Cresol
- Cyclohexanone
- Ethyl Acetate
- Ethyl Benzene
- Ethyl Ether
- 2-Ethoxyethanol
- Ethylene Glycol Monoethyl Ether
- Isobutyl Alcohol
- Methanol
- Methyl Ethyl Ketone
- Methyl Isobutyl Ketone
- Nitrobenzene
- 2-Nitropropane
- Pyridine
- Toluene
- Xylene
"F-listed" Halogenated Solvents
- Carbon Tetrachloride
- Chlorinated Fluorocarbons (CFCs)
- Chlorobenzene
- Chloroform
- 1,2-Dichlorobenzene
- 1,2-Dichloroethane
- 1,1-Dichloroethylene
- Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane)
- Tetrachloroethylene
- 1,1,1-Trichloroethane
- 1,1,2-Trichloroethane
- Trichloroethylene
- 1,1,2-Trichloro-1,2,2-Trifluoroethane
Common Solvents and Liquids that Contain the Above Regulated Chemicals:
- Aromatic Hydrocarbons
- Creosote
- Degreaser Solvents
- Diesel Fuel
- Duplicating Fluid
- Dry Cleaning Fluids
- Fuel Oil
- Gasoline
- Jet Fuels
- Kerosene
- Lacquer Thinner
- Mineral Spirits
- Naphtha
- Oleum
- Paint Thinner
- Petroleum Distillates
- Petroleum Ether
- Petroleum Naphtha
- Stoddard Solvent
- Thinner
- Turpentine
- Varsol
- White Spirits
- Spent Fixer & Developer
Campus Safety Contacts
If you see something, say something.
Purdue Police
Phone: (765) 494-8221
Purdue Fire
Phone: (765) 494-6919
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