Moving Laboratories at UVM
Laboratories Changing Location or Supervision
There are many details involved in moving laboratory operations
from one room to another. Assuring that chemicals are properly
disposed of, that equipment and furniture are clean and safe
to move, and that there are no accidents in the process of
moving the laboratory are all processes where we can help. And these
are all much more difficult under time pressures or if information
about the laboratory has left with the previous occupant.
For these reasons, laboratories should be “decommissioned” several
weeks in advance when they are moved, renovated, closed or
the laboratory supervision changes. For laboratories changing
location or supervision, the decommissioning process consists
of an evaluation of the chemicals in the laboratory in order
to determine whether specific uses can be found for them within
the next year. Chemicals unlikely to be used in that time should
be disposed of. This process maximizes the value of the
laboratory space available and to prevent the accumulation
of chemicals of unknown quality.
Laboratory supervisors and/or department chairs should follow
the procedure below to help of Environmental Safety
staff with the decommissioning process.
- Download our decommissioning
form (PDF)
and send it to Environmental Safety at 667 Spear Street at
least
2 weeks prior to the laboratory moving date. This information
can be faxed to ES at 656-5407.
- If there are 20 or fewer chemical containers to be discarded,
tag each one with a completed UVM “Laboratory Waste”
tag. If there are more than 20 chemical containers, contact
ES staff at esf@uvm.edu for special assistance.
- Unknown chemicals must be identified prior to moving. If you
have unknowns, extra time must be allotted for ES staff to assist
in identifying the chemical. Unknown chemicals can be dangerous
and identification can be very expensive and time consuming,
so please make every effort to maintain the integrity and accuracy
of chemical labels and collect any information possible about
the unknown chemical.
- The transportation of hazardous chemicals is subject to
Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations and must be
managed by Environmental Safety staff. Under no conditions
may laboratory staff transport hazardous chemicals in personal
vehicles.
If you have questions about this procedure, or would like to
take this opportunity for a general safety consultation, call
us at esf@uvm.edu.
Last Updated:
February 28, 2007
