Unknown Chemical Waste

Faculty and Staff must make every effort to provide an accurate description of all chemical waste. Unknown chemical waste presents a serious problem for EHS. Without an accurate description, chemicals can not be disposed of in a safe manner. Disposal companies will not accept chemical waste without an accurate description and analysis of unknowns can easily cost up to several hundred dollars.

When a laboratory determines that it has a chemical waste material that it cannot identify, contact EHS. We will assist you in making a proper identification of the chemical. In cases where together we cannot identify the chemical, a sample of the unknown will be sent to an analytical laboratory for identification.

In the past, EHS has assumed the cost of the identification of unknowns. Due to the high cost of analysis, EHS reserves the right to institute a charge-back program for the charges associated with this analysis.