On 22 September 2016 the Georgian Environmental Protection Division conducted an unannounced Compliance Evaluation Inspection of our Hazardous Waste Operations. These inspections cover 124 (although all not are applicable) items to determine whether the Institute is in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act. Items covered include proper waste handling, proper and timely waste disposal, safety procedures, training and record keeping.

As well as EHS’s Central Waste Accumulation Area, the Inspector visited two operating laboratories, a maintenance zone, and a chemical storeroom.  Overall, we did very well. There were three areas in which improvements were desired.

• We occupied our new waste accumulation area in August, at the time of the inspection, the Contingency Plan for this area had not been completed. It has been now.
• Containers of spent fluorescent lamps are required to be dated with the date the first lamp is put into the container, this was not the case on some of the containers.  We have been aggressively training personnel who deliver these lamps to the accumulation facility on labeling requirements.  We are also revising the online training program to emphasize this requirement.
• We have several locations on campus where hazardous waste is accumulated that require weekly inspections.  The inspector found nothing wrong with this approach nor with the areas.  However, the personnel responsible for the weekly inspection were not available and inspection logs could not be located.  We are taking action to correct this.