100 UVM laboratory workers responded to the Lab XL Environmental Awareness questionaire in April, 2000.
| 1. Which federal agency regulates the disposal of chemical wastes: | |
| a. Occupational Safety and Health Administration | 30 |
| b. Environmental Protection Agency | 69 |
| c. Department of Transportation | 0 |
| d. National Institutes of Health | 1 |
| 2. Ultimately, most chemical waste generated in laboratories are: | |
| a. incinerated | 26 |
| b. sent to a land-fill | 27 |
| c. release to a sewer | 9 |
| d. treated | 38 |
| 3. What are the four main reasons researchers should keep containers of laboratory waste securely closed except when adding chemicals? | |
| 1 reason | 29 |
| 2 reasons | 46 |
| 3 reasons | 25 |
| 4. Which costs more, purchase or disposal of laboratory chemicals? | |
| a. disposal costs more | 78 |
| b. purchase costs more | 7 |
| c. costs are roughly the same | 15 |
| 5. In the book, "Prudent Practices in the Laboratory", what is the preferred waste management hierarchy for pollution prevention? Use a scale of 1-4 with 1 being the preferred management method. | |
| Recycling/Reuse/Recovery | remainder |
| Land Disposal | scattered |
| Source Reduction | 52 |
| Treatment | among these three |
| 6. What is the proper way to dispose of strong mineral acids? | |
| a. Dilution with water | 6 |
| b. Neutralization with lime | 17 |
| c. Collection for pick-up by hazardous waste personnel | 77 |
| d. Mixing with organic chemicals | 0 |
| 7. What is the maximum amount of acutely hazardous laboratory waste that your laboratory is allowed to accumulate ? (1) liters | |
| 69 incorrect | |
| 8. What emergency response equipment is available in your laboratory to respond to a hazardous chemical spill? | |
| 0 | 8 |
| 1-3 items | 73 |
| 4-6 items | 18 |
| 7 items | 1 |
| 9. How is waste water from your laboratory buildings treated? | |
| a. Purification before release to the sewer | 19 |
| b. pH is controlled by acid neutralization, then released to the sewer | 9 |
| c. Diluted with the rest of the building's water, then goes to the sewer for municipal treatment by aerobic digestion | 72 |
| 10. In general, how are fume hood emissions controlled in your laboratory? | |
| a. Filtration to remove particles | 22 |
| b. Carbon filtration to remove gases | 38 |
| c. Dilution with laboratory room air | 38 |
| 11. The last time you needed health and safety information about a particular chemical, what resource(s) did you use? | |
| 0 responses | 8 |
| 1 response | 57 |
| 2 responses | 25 |
| 3 responses | 10 |
| 12. Typically, what is the largest environmental impact of laboratory work? | |
| a. release of toxic chemicals through the fume hood | 2 |
| b. disposal of toxic chemicals with a hazardous waste disposal company | 29 |
| c. release of chemicals to the sewer system | 49 |
| d. energy use to cool or heat laboratory space | 20 |
| 13. The last time you disposed of laboratory hazardous waste, what four pieces of information did you put on the label? | |
| 0 | 21 |
| 1-3 | 27 |
| 4-6 | 17 |
| 7-9 | 17 |
| 10 | 4 |
| 14. What document(s) describes how to dispose of laboratory hazardous waste at your institution? | |
| 0 correct responses (The Environmental Management Plan has not yet been publicized in campus laboratories) | |
| 15. What is your current role in your laboratory? | |
| Faculty | 9 |
| Staff - Administrator | 4 |
| Staff - Lab Tech | 56 |
| Graduate Student | 23 |
| Undergraduate Student | 7 |
| 16. How many years have you been working in college or university laboratories? | |
| less than 1 year | 14 |
| 1-2 years | 14 |
| 3-5 years | 22 |
| more than 5 years | 50 |