Hazardous Waste Storage

Remember that your laboratory is a "satellite accumulation area". By law, you can only accumulate up to 55 gallons of hazardous waste per waste stream. Remember that:

• Large amounts of hazardous waste present an unnecessary risk to you and your coworkers.
• Plastic containers get old and brittle and can eventually leak.
• Old dusty containers with faded labels or corroded caps will soon violate container management rules from the previous section.
• Several universities received fines in excess of $1 million due in part to chemicals that had expired. Don't let chemicals expire.
• Some chemicals age and become more dangerous. For example, ethyl ether can form unstable peroxides in the presence of heat and light and become explosive over time.