Chemical Safety

Roger Adams Laboratory Weekly Jerrican Pickup Program

CWM-TRK-05 Form:

History

In the past, laboratories in and near the Roger Adams Laboratories (RAL) brought Jerricans of solvent and oil wastes to what was called the RAL "solvent pen" each Friday morning to pour off the wastes into 55 gallon barrels. On August 23, 2002 the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign received a notice of violation from USEPA regarding the usage of the RAL "solvent pen." The University's response to the violation was to create a program that would eliminate the use of the solvent pen. That program is the RAL Weekly Jerrican Pickup Program presented here. The goal of the program is to maintain compliance with state and federal regulations and provide an increased level of safety for those who handle solvent and oil wastes, while continuing to accommodate the needs of the research community.

The weekly collection is for Jerricans only, and only for laboratories in the Chemistry department at UIUC that generate more than one Jerrican of solvent waste every two weeks. The regular ChemTrak waste pick up program (using CWM-TRK-01 and CWM-TRK-03 forms) must be used for other waste containers and for labs that generate less than one Jerrican of solvent waste every two weeks. Jerricans will be returned as long as the Jerrican is in good condition.

Please contact the Chemical Safety Section via email if you have questions.

Procedures for the Program:

Be sure that all Jerricans are marked with a unique number that allows you to identify which Jerrican is being used with each CWM-TRK-05 form. Example: John Doe's lab has 8 Jerricans-each is identified by a number written on the Jerrican or on the blue or green tag: JD-1, JD-2, JD-3, etc.
Collect only oil, non-halogenated and halogenated solvents in jerricans. Absolutely NO heavy metals (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, Se, Ag), extremely toxic chemicals or wastes with a pH ≥ 12.5. Aqueous acidic waste (hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, etc.) should be collected separately. Heavy metal, toxic and corrosive wastes should be processed through the regular ChemTrak program for UIUC hazardous wastes.
Obtain a copy of the CWM-TRK-05 form for each Jerrican that is used for solvent or oil waste collection. Record each addition of waste to the Jerrican on the CWM-TRK-05 form that corresponds to that Jerrican. Chemicals that make up 1% or more of the volume of the jerrican must be recorded. Since many chemicals are repeatedly added over time, the chemical name should be listed once and each time it is added to the Jerrican an amount should be added in the "Approximate Amounts Added" field. It is understood that exact values are sometimes impossible to record, and that approximations will need to be made. The chemical names do not need to be in any particular order on the form.
CWM-TRK-05 form(s) are to be dropped off in the drop box located in the nitrogen room inside of Roger Adams Laboratory (RAL). The deadline to drop off CWM-TRK forms is Monday at 10:00am. Forms added to the box after 10:00am will not be processed and the waste will not be collected that week! You may wish to make copies of the forms to know which jerricans qualify for collection the following day (Tuesday).
On Tuesday from 1:30 to 2:30 pm, DRS personnel will arrive at your laboratory to pick up the Jerricans that correspond to the forms submitted on Monday. Please be sure that someone is in the laboratory at that time and that the Jerricans are ready to be picked up. Ideally, have all Jerricans in one area within your lab either on a cart or in an area where they are not posing a tripping or spill hazard.
Jerricans will be returned to your laboratory the following afternoon (Wednesday), by DRS personnel. Please be sure to have the laboratory location written on each Jerrican so they can be returned promptly.

Points to note:

Anyone who generates chemical waste should be trained in chemical management for laboratories (including the Lab Standard and Chemical Waste management). Contact DRS for more information: via email or see the CSS website: www.drs.uiuc.edu/css/
Jerricans are to be 10L size. If 20 liter Jerricans are used, they can only be filled half full.
DRS has the right to refuse any jerrican that has an appearance that does not match what was listed for collection. They also can refuse any jerrican that is cracked, damaged or overfilled.
If a problem arises with waste in a Jerrican (reacts when bulked) due to improper identification of the chemicals in the Jerrican on the CWM-TRK-05 form, the Jerrican will have to be lab-packed for disposal and will not be returned.
No container can be collected without a barcode label. Jerricans brought for collection that did not have a CWM-TRK-05 form submitted will not have a barcode and will not be accepted by DRS for pickup.
Always be prepared to know what to do if something should cause a rupture, leak or other emergency while using the Jerricans. Accidents DO happen. If you are prepared, you can minimize the injury and/or damage that can result
The waste generator is responsible for identifying the waste so that the appropriate handling and processing for disposal can be determined. This is critical for University compliance with EPA regulations and the safety of DRS personnel. DRS created the CWM-TRK-05 form to make identifying waste for pickup as easy as possible.
CWM-TRK-05 forms and form instructions are available online. Use the links at the top of this page to view and/or download each. The CWM-TRK-05 form is available in two formats: pdf (printable only) or Word, which allows you to edit and save the information on your computer.

Holiday Schedule:

If Monday is a holiday: CWM-TRK forms are due by 10:00 am on Tuesday, collection will be 1:30 pm-2:00 pm Wednesday.
If Tuesday is a holiday: CWM-TRK forms are due by 10:00 am Monday, collection will be 1:30 pm- 2:00 pm Wednesday
There will be no solvent collection the week of Christmas.