EPA Urges Universities to Better Manage Waste

Doctors, researchers and officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) convened yesterday at Harvard Medical School (HMS) to discuss ways to help universities manage hazardous waste.

During a question-and-answer session, one attendee lauded the conference for opening a dialogue between two groups--scientists and regulators--who are often at odds.

The event followed EPA's announcement last Monday that it will start a new campaign focusing on getting universities to comply with federal standards on waste disposal.

As part of this campaign, the EPA announced actions against the University of New Hampshire for violations of waste control laws.

Frank Labato, director of the department of Environmental Health and Safety at the University of Connecticut and a speaker at one afternoon panel, said the EPA responded to a "turf issue" rather than a serious offense. However, he said, it showed that the EPA was serious about pursuing action against violators.

During the day-long conference, speakers presented their experiences in trying to meet standards for waste control and gave ideas for future improvements.

"It needs to be as easy to do it properly as improperly," said Peter Schneider, director of Boston University's Office of Environmental Health and Safety.

With this goal in mind, many speakers suggested using the Internet to educate and disseminate information.

On its Web site, HMS offers its employees instructions for dealing with hazardous materials in a variety of situations they might encounter.

All speakers acknowledged the need for involvement by all members of the research community to achieve the necessary changes.

The change needs to come unilaterally from presidents, lab directors and student groups, Schneider said.

To help involve more people, regulations must be written in plain sensible English because arcane regulations are often not followed, Schneider said.

Harvard's Associate Vice President for Facilities and Environmental Services Tom E. Vautin, who did not attend the conference, said yesterday that Harvard has been working toward these goals for several years and that no specific actions have been taken as a result of EPA's recent action.