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EPA Proposes Tailored RCRA Requirements for Academic Laboratories
Message
EPA is proposing the Academic Labs rule in order to tailor RCRA regulations to the unique environment of academic laboratories. This alternate set of regulations provides academic laboratories with increased flexibility, helping them ensure that the waste they generate is safely managed.
Action
EPA is proposing to add a new section to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) hazardous waste generator requirements. The alternative set of regulations allows college and university laboratories the flexibility to make hazardous waste determinations in the laboratory; at a central accumulation area; or at an on- or off-site treatment, storage, and disposal facility (TSDF). Colleges and universities may also choose to remain subject to existing generator requirements.
Existing generator regulations that are geared to industrial facilities may not fit well in educational facilities. Industrial waste generators typically produce large volumes of a few waste streams. College and university laboratories, on the other hand, produce a relatively small volume of many different types of waste. As such, academic laboratories find it difficult to comply with the existing regulations. The Academic Labs Rule proposal gives college and university laboratories more flexibility that helps them safely manage their hazardous waste.
For More Information
For more information about the Standards Applicable to Generators of Hazardous Waste; Subpart K; Standards Applicable to Academic Laboratories proposal, please go to Lab Waste at Educational Institutions. To find more detailed information or to ask a question, please go to the Wastes home page, and select Find an Answer or Ask a Question.