Incident Management and Waste Disposal

In the case of a chemical spill, locate the nearest spill kit. Spill kits should contain sufficient absorbent materials to effectively handle the maximum potential spill volume. The type of absorbents should be appropriate for the specific hazardous materials present. Absorbent pads are required for laboratories in which hazardous chemicals will be used. Spill kits should also include the necessary PPE to ensure the safety of personnel who are cleaning up the spill. 

Avoid breathing vapors from the spill, and alert others working in the lab. You should stop the spill, confine the spill, and consult the SDS to determine the best method of cleaning the spill. Waste should from the spill should be disposed of in consultation with the safety officer. 

After using a spill kit, the safety officer should be notified, so that the spill kit can be restocked. Items should not be taken out of the spill kit except for use in dealing with a spill. 

All buildings have fully integrated Fire Protection Systems installed. 

There are fire extinguishers containing either powder or carbon dioxide distributed throughout all buildings. All users must be familiar with the location of the nearest extinguisher and fire blanket. Fire extinguishers should only be used by those trained in their use.

Eye wash stations are located in throughout the laboratories. All users must ensure that they know where the nearest eye wash station is, how it works. Eye wash stations should be maintained and inspected regularly. 

First aid kits are available throughout SESAME. They must be fully stocked at all times. 

The waste management system is to be used for any solid or liquid waste that needs to be safely disposed of at SESAME. It does not include samples brought into SESAME: it is expected that these are removed by the user except with the agreement of the beamline scientist and the safety office. The management system should not be used for disposal of waste generated from a chemical spill. It is not applicable to gaseous waste. Waste generated in the laboratories must be stored and transported according to the same segregation guidelines as for all other chemicals.

At SESAME, there are 4 types of bins: Solid, Liquid, Spill, and General. Procedures for waste disposal depend on the type of waste.

Solid waste is categorized into two types:

Solid 1: Sharp objects (needles, syringes, scalpels, blades, broken glass)

Non-sharp objects (contaminated papers, masks, gloves, empty sample containers)

Procedure for disposal:

1. Take a plastic bag of the appropriate size
2. Write the proposal number of the experiment on the outer surface
3. Collect all waste in this bag
4. Keep the bag in a safe place and closed at all times during the experiment
5. After the experiment is finished, seal the bag and throw it in the solid bin

Solid 2: Chemical waste. Approval is required from the safety office before disposal of any chemical materials. Materials with radioactivity above background levels are not included in this category.

Procedure for disposal: Once you have permission from the safety office, each chemical should be put in one bag, put the proposal number and the name of the chemical on each bag. Bag(s) should be thrown in the solid bin separately from solid 1 waste.

Liquid waste: Contains ONLY liquid chemicals from SESAME. 

Procedure for disposal: ask the safety officer for advice and permission before disposal.