Laboratory Design and Operation for a Sustainable Planet:

Building Gates and Removing Fences

Division of Chemical Health and Safety

Balancing Safety and

Sustainability in Lab

BuildingsRalph Stuart, CIHStephen Posner

Environmental Aspects and Impacts of Laboratories

Ventilation 35-50% of energy for 15% of campus floor

space Electricity Use

Probably similar to ventilation Solid and Hazardous Wastes

Lower financial impact, high regulatory impact Regulation

EPA’s Higher Education enforcement initiative Emergency Response Teaching and Research

Ventilation UVM Campus wide impact:

Between 4 and 8 times as much energy per sq foot relative to other campus spaces

Energy use associated with labs is high value – 10 times as much income as energy expense at UVM

Design Issues Ventilation rates range from 6 to 10 air

changes per hour; a wide range considering operational cost impact

Design rates are speculative and primarily based on control of fire hazard and odors

There are behavior change opportunities with regard to ventilation, but facility design is the driving force in the environmental footprint

EPA Labs-21 program for lab design http://www.labs21century.gov/

The Safety and Sustainability “Dilemma”

Ventilation design has a major impact on laboratory safety, but the best design can easily be overridden by poor use practices

Example 1: Fume hoods Containment is provided by the glass sash

rather than air flow Keeping the sash as low as possible is the best

approach to safety (and can have energy benefits)

Example 2: Chemical storage Lab odors often result from poor handling,

storage and disposal practices.

Electricity Use

Proliferation of instrumentation drives electrical demand

Electrical equipment in the laboratory creates a lot of waste heat, which can drive ventilation rates even in non-hazardous areas Example: storage of biological

samples at cold temperatures or in freezer farms

Labs are not part of the Energy Star universe (See the Labs-21 wiki at http://tinyurl.com/labs21wiki)

Solid and Hazardous Waste

Disposal of trash from lab buildings creates the concern of potential contamination with chemical or biological materials.

Community perception can drive choices

Chemical wastes are regulated by the states and EPA very tightly, which creates significant practical challenges

Biowaste regulations are less organized but have practical challenges as well

Environmental Regulations

RCRA and state variations for hazardous waste CERCLA for emergency planning CWA and local regulations for sewer disposal CAA and local regulations for fume hood exhaust HAZWOPER for spill clean up Whatever carbon rules come down Miscellaneous materials (asbestos, PCBs, Hg,

pharmaceuticals, etc.) Electronic virtual campus

http://www.c2e2.org/evc/

Education and Research: Green Chemistry

EPA / American Chemical Society chemical studies research and education linked to environmental issues Laboratory operations are not

thought of as part of this aspect yet MIT green alternatives web site:

http://tinyurl.com/mitgcwiz

The Next Frontier: Labs and Climate Change

The ACUPCC requires the development of a greenhouse gas inventory and a Climate Action Plan that sets “carbon neutrality” as an institutional goal. Laboratory energy management will be a key

component of this plan on research campuses RMI project on identifying institutional

challenges to Climate Action Planning EPA regulations on carbon emissions will reinforce

this PCC Outreach to the UVM lab population began in

January

Conclusions

There is the potential that safety and sustainability considerations will compete with each other, both operationally and programmatically

Our experience at UVM is that these can be important partners at both levels, but this partnership has to be consciously pursued and coordinated

Safety and sustainability professionals can provide coaching to facility and lab staff, but the people “on the ground” are the ones who make progress happen.