Proposal Draft Karen Ko; karenko90@gmail.com; EH&S Student Intern Project Name: UC Berkeley Chemical Exchange Program UC Berkeley’s Chemical Exchange Program is a program maintained by the Environmental, Health, and Safety Department; it is a service that maintains an inventory of surplus chemicals available to the Berkeley community, free of charge. By using the CHEX program, UC Berkeley is not only protecting the environment, but also reducing associated hazardous waste management costs. Project Leaders: Name Kelley Etherington Title and Dept. Hazardous Materials Specialist, Hazardous Materials Management and Radiation Safety (HMRS), EH&S Project Role Lead Phone (510) 643-7195 Email Kelley_e@berkeley.edu Name Title and Dept. Phone Email
Cheryl Reinman Web Developer and Outreach Coordinator, EH&S (510) 642-1978 tortuga@berkeley.edu
Name Title and Dept. Phone Email
Andrew Fletcher Hazardous Waste Facility Supervisor (510) 642-1978 andrew.fletcher@berkeley.edu
Name Title and Dept. Phone Email
Eric Knight Programmer, EH&S (510) 643-9493 eknight@berkeley.edu
Sponsoring Department Environment, Health, & Safety • Name: Kelley Etherington Campus Gap/Need for Campus (The Problem/Current Situation) The Problem: CHEX Program has been very successful in the past, but ever since 2010, there was campus-wide furlough; there was a reduced number of hours staff worked and EH&S suspended the CHEX program. The program became dated after its hold and hasn’t been active since then.
Current Situation: EH&S is trying to solve this problem by researching successful programs at other schools. This includes, but not limited to schools, such as UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC San Diego, Stanford, and Iowa State University. Most of these websites contained listings of the chemicals available through the program with a surplus list. These inventories were only available to staff and students with a valid identification. Two websites that stood out in particular were UC Santa Barbara and Iowa State University. Some examples: UC Santa Barbara LabRAT Surplus Chemical Program • Houses over 150 chemicals ready to be distributed • Some chemicals valued over $200/bottle • Acid, bases, and salts are the most common surplus reagents • “Shopping Cart” website interface • Website:
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http://www.sustainability.ucsb.edu/labrats/labrats-programs/labratssurplus-chemical-program/ Inventory: http://www.sustainability.ucsb.edu/labrats/labratsprograms/labrats-surplus-chemical-program-2/
Pros Website looks very clean and inviting Easy to access Has an “Add to Shopping Cart” option Fun and easy # of chemicals available States condition of the chemical (full, half full, never opened etc) Search “name”, “formula” or by alphabets option
Cons Website interface very time-consuming to produce (taking every picture and documenting each one)
Iowa State University Chemical Acquisition and Redistribution Program • Around 75 chemicals in the inventory • Some chemicals have pictures while some don’t • Similar to Santa Barbara’s inventory, like a shopping cart option o “Request” button on the right side • Chemical name, quantity, package ID • Free of charge • To request chemicals o Mark the containers you wish to receive o Provide the requested information • EHS will file order requests on a first come, firstserved basis • Website/Inventory: http://legacy.ehs.iastate.edu/default.asp? action=article&ID=356 Pros Very simple and to the point Has pictures
Cons Some chemicals do not have pictures Pictures can be time-consuming to produce
States unopened
States exact quantity but may be hard to picture in head (0.1kg, 0.025kg) Website has no description of what the program is all about
States the quantity “Request” option UCLA
Surplus Chemical Redistribution Program • Inventory list updated once a month • Couple of hundred of chemicals in the inventory • High in demand: chlorinated solvents, formaldehyde, hydrochloric acids • Publicized through website and pickups, updated inventory sheets in trucks, training sessions, word of mouth • Around $14.30/pound saved • Packaging: has to be unopened and never used
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How inventory is managed: Date chemicals when they come; no strict system, but if chemical has been sitting on shelf for a long time, they would toss away Website: http://map.ais.ucla.edu/portal/site/UCLA/menuitem.789d0eb6c76e7ef 0d66b02ddf848344a/? vgnextoid=77d3f73c63571110VgnVCM100000dcd76180RCRD Inventory: http://ehs.ucla.edu/Pub/SurplusChemicalsforRedistribution.pdf
Pros Very simple and to the point States date received States manufacturer (not too sure if this is important or not?) States “last updated” on bottom right hand corner Lots of chemicals available
Cons No pictures States exact quantity but may be hard to picture in head (0.1kg, 0.025kg) PDF File (not as user friendly as clicking “request” button) Have to email chemical requests (extra step)
Recommendation: CHEX would like to implement a website interface like UC Santa Barbara’s except without the pictures. Pictures would be too time-consuming. CHEX would like to have an interface with these factors: • Shopping cart interface • Searchable by name, keyword, and cas# o Under the chemical name, the condition and weight/volume is listed. Example:
Project Implementation Steps • Obtain chemicals and update EH&S inventory database • Revamp and make improvements to web site interface o In Chex website, add link or reference to College of Chemistry’s reuse program to direct chemistry personnel to their reuse program o Provide tips on website for reuse, recycle, waste minimization, savings, storage limits, hazards, peroxide formers, inventory management, tracking age/purity/usefulness of chemicals. • Develop outreach materials (flyers), create email messages for campus wide distribution and advertise the program • Develop criteria to educate campus on what can be reused • Create mini CHEX programs by giving campus ideas, tools to create one in their department; make EH&S the facilitator but don’t take possession of chemicals Education and Outreach Before Donation, acceptance guidelines are posted on CHEX website to see if chemicals are qualified. Acceptance guidelines for donation • Containers must be in good condition: Clean, no broken caps, brittle plastic, or cracked glass. • Containers must have original labels that are complete and clearly legible. • Chemicals must be in original containers, and must be 50% or more of the original volume. • Chemicals must be of the original purity and concentration (no mixtures) • Peroxide forming chemicals like Diethyl Ether and Tetrahydrofuran cannot be accepted within 6 months of the expiration date. • Spontaneously combustible chemicals (DOT hazard class 4.2) are not acceptable. • Explosive chemicals (DOT hazard class 1) are not acceptable. • Lecture bottles past their transportation expiration date are not acceptable • Infectious or potentially infectious materials are not acceptable
Request/Donate Donate: 1. Person A would access Chemical Inventory for donation • Check off the chemicals they want to donate (Fixed names of chemicals) • The chemicals will get posted to the CHEX Website • Provide email address and location after submitting for donation • Does Chemical Inventory provide contact information and condition of the container? • EHS will get an email notification 2. EHS will then view the CHEX database/website • Ask person A for any additional information if needed Request: Person B will check CHEX to see what they want • Searchable by cas#, chemical name, keyword • Open to anyone with a Calnet ID • Shopping cart interface • After requesting chemicals, Person B will then provide name, email address and location for delivery EHS Approval: • When Person B hits checkout, EHS will get an email o EHS will get an email about the location, size of the container, condition • When EHS goes to pick up chemicals, they will also screen material for usability • Once approved, EHS will transport chemicals to Person B’s lab Rejection: • If EHS rejects chemical o Chemical will be removed from the website/in charge of updating inventory o Can this be automated? o EHS will email person B with disposal instructions Benefits to Campus & Environment/Metrics/Costs Savings Waste reduction: o Reducing hazardous waste reduces the amount of fuel it takes to ship the chemicals and hazardous wastes to and from campus, therefore reducing carbon dioxide emissions Savings: o Estimated cost savings for disposal reductions: $8,400/year
o Estimated cost savings for chemical purchasing reduction: $22,680/year Budget Salary/Benefits for programmer Outreach
EH&S - $3,200 Student - $4,000