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Chemical waste is a waste that is made from harmful chemicals (mostly produced by large factories). Chemical waste may fall under regulations such as COSHH in the United Kingdom, Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 in Canada, or the Clean Water Act and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act in the United States. In the U.S., the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as well as state and local regulations also regulate chemical use and disposal. Several international agreements have been made between Canada and the United States including the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, and US-Canada Municipal Waste Import-Export agreement, and Border Plan 2012. Chemical waste may or may not be classed as hazardous waste. A chemical hazardous waste is a solid, liquid, or gaseous material that displays either a “Hazardous Characteristic” or is specifically “listed” by name as a hazardous waste. There are four characteristics chemical wastes may have to be considered as hazardous. These are Ignitability, Corrosivity, Reactivity, and Toxicity. This type of hazardous waste must be categorized as to its identity, constituents, and hazards so that it may be safely handled and managed. Chemical waste is a broad term and encompasses many types of materials. Consult the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), Product Data Sheet or Label for a list of constituents. These sources should state weather this chemical waste is a waste that needs special disposal.

Guidance for Disposal of Laboratory Chemical Wastes
In the laboratory, chemical wastes are usually segregated on-site into appropriate waste carboys, and disposed by a specialist contractor in order to meet safety, health, and legislative requirements. Innocuous aqueous waste (such as solutions of sodium chloride) may be poured down the sink. Some chemicals are washed down with excess water. This includes: concentrated and dilute acids and alkalis, harmless soluble inorganic salts (all drying agents), alcohols containing salts, hypochlorite solutions, fine (tlc grade) silica and alumina. Aqueous waste containing toxic compounds are collected separately. Chemical wastes are divided into listed wastes, characteristic wastes, universal wastes, and mixed wastes. Wastes are handled by Treatment, Storage, and Disposal facilities (TSD). Listed wastes are classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as wastes that are determined are hazardous. The lists include the F-list (wastes from common manufacturing and industrial processes), K-list (wastes from specific industries), and P- and U-lists (wastes from commercial chemical products). Characteristic wastes are wastes that do not meet any of the listings above but that exhibit the characteristics of hazardous waste. Universal wastes are defined as common household wastes such as batteries, pesticides, mercury-containing equipment like thermostats, or fluorescent and halogen bulbs. Mixed wastes contain both radioactive and hazardous materials. Many industries produce chemical waste including construction, laboratories, vehicle repair, dry cleaning and photo printers. These industries are required to monitor air emissions, ground water contaminants, and require special permits for the storage and disposal of certain chemical materials classified as hazardous waste. At TSD facilities the waste is processed to change the physical, chemical, or biological characteristics of the waste to minimize its threat to the environment.  Chemical waste must be contained properly while stored in a laboratory or facility, and after it is transported to a treatment facility. Treatment of liquids and solids range from incineration, dilution, and separation into organic and inorganic compounds. Corrosive, reactive, and radioactive waste are disposed of individually. 

Waste elemental mercury, spent acids and bases may be collected separately for recycling.

Waste organic solvents are separated into chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvent waste. Chlorinated solvent waste is usually incinerated at high temperature to minimize the formation of dioxins. Non-chlorinated solvent waste can be burned for energy recovery.

In contrast to this, chemical materials on the "Red List" should never be washed down a drain. This list includes: compounds with transitional metals, biocides, cyanides, mineral oils and hydrocarbons, poisonous organosilicon compounds, metal phosphides, phosphorus element, and fluorides and nitrites.

Moreover, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) prohibits disposing certain materials down any UVM drain. Including flammable liquids, liquids capable of causing damage to wastewater facilities (this can be determined by the pH), highly viscous materials capable of causing an obstruction in the wastewater system, radioactive materials, materials that have or create a strong odor, wastewater capable of significantly raising the temperature of the system, and pharmaceuticals or endocrine disruptors.

Broken glassware are usually collected in plastic-lined cardboard boxes for landfilling. Due to contamination, they are usually not suitable for recycling. Similarly, used hypodermic needles are collected as sharps and are incinerated as medical waste.

Chemical Compatibility Guideline
Many chemicals may react adversely when combined. It’s recommended that incompatible chemicals are stored in separate areas of the lab.

Acids should be separated from alkalis, metals, cyanides, sulfides, azides, phosphides, and oxidizers. The reason being, when combined acids with these type of compounds, violent exothermic reaction can occur possibly causing flammable gas, and in some cases explosions.

Oxidizers should be separated from acids, organic materials, metals, reducing agents, and ammonia. This is because when combined oxidizers with these type of compounds, inflammable, and sometimes toxic compounds can occur.

Container compatibility
When disposing hazardous laboratory chemical waste, chemical compatibility must be considered. For safe disposal, the container must be chemically compatible with the material it will hold. Chemicals must not react with, weaken, or dissolve the container or lid. Acids or bases should not be stored in metal. Hydrofluoric acid should not store in glass. Gasoline (solvents) should not store or transport in lightweight polyethylene containers such as milk jugs. Moreover, the Chemical Compatibility Guidelines should be considered for more detailed information.

Laboratory Waste containers
Packaging, labelling, storage are the three requirements for disposing chemical waste.

Packaging
For packaging, chemical liquid waste containers should only be filled up to 75% capacity to allow for vapour expansion and to reduce potential spills which could occur from moving overfilled containers. Container material must be compatible with the stored hazardous waste. Finally, wastes must not be packaged in containers that improperly identify other nonexisting hazards.

In addition to the general packaging requirements mentioned above, incompatible materials should never be mixed together in a single container. Wastes must be stored in containers compatible with the chemicals stored as mentioned in the container compatibility section. Solvent safety cans should to be used to collect and temporarily store large volumes (10-20 litres) of flammable organic waste solvents, precipitates, solids or other non-fluid wastes should not be mixed into safety cans.

Labelling
Label all containers with the group name from the chemical waste category and an itemized list of the contents. All chemicals or anything contaminated with chemicals posing a significant hazard. All waste must be appropriately packaged.

Storage
When storing chemical wastes, the containers must be in good condition and should remain closed unless waste is being added. Hazardous waste must be stored safely prior to removal from the laboratory and should not be allowed to accumulate. Container should be sturdy and leakproof, also has to be labeled. All liquid waste must be stored in leakproof containers with a screw- top or other secure lid. Snap caps, mis-sized caps, parafilm and other loose fitting lids are not acceptable. If necessary, transfer waste material to a container that can be securely closed. Keep waste containers closed except when adding waste. Secondary containment should be in place to capture spills and leaks from the primary container, segregate incompatible hazardous wastes, such as acids and bases. Several types of chemical waste may be recycled after separation and purification, and some wastes are transported across international borders for treatment. In North America, the transport of hazardous recyclable wastes are governed under the Export and Import of Hazardous Waste and Hazardous Recyclable Material Regulations. This regulation is for materials considered hazardous, or greater than 50 parts per million in concentration. Some materials may also be disposed of at sea, including fish waste, inert inorganic and organic material, ships, aircraft, platforms or other structures made from iron, steel, or concrete.

Mapping of chemical waste in the United States
TOXMAP is a Geographic Information System (GIS) from the Division of Specialized Information Services of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) that uses maps of the United States to help users visually explore data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxics Release Inventory and Superfund Basic Research Programs. TOXMAP is a resource funded by the US Federal Government. TOXMAP's chemical and environmental health information is taken from NLM's Toxicology Data Network (TOXNET) and PubMed, and from other authoritative sources.

Electronic Chemical Waste
In developing countries, chemical waste is a significant concern for governments, particularly in China, India, and across Africa and Latin America. Electronic wastes such as laptop computers, printers, mobile phones, pagers, digital photo and music devices, refrigerators, toys and televisions are being improperly disposed of and pose a significant environmental threat due to chemical compounds in these devices. In addition, after incineration, valuable materials such as silver, gold, palladium, copper and indium are being discarded as opposed to collected which would provide a substantial opportunity for recycling.