By JEFFREY BRAINARD
The Environmental Protection Agency last week
proposed an experiment that the agency said
could help three colleges in New England better
manage hazardous material and waste on their
campuses.
The project would involve Boston College, the
University of Massachusetts at Boston, and the
University of Vermont in testing ways to streamline
and centralize the handling of hazardous materials.
The EPA has said environmental infractions
are widespread on college campuses, and the
agency and state authorities have cited and
fined several colleges for violations in recent
years. Government and university officials have
agreed that many problems have stemmed from
circumstances unique to colleges, and the pilot
project is designed with some of those circumstances
in mind.
For example, research laboratories generate
only small quantities of chemical waste, and
the labs may be numerous and dispersed on a
campus. Those factors can make it difficult
to adequately track and dispose of wastes, the
EPA said in its announcement.
The proposed study would exempt the three colleges
from the EPA's standard rules for handling hazardous
waste for the four years of the project. During
that time, the agency would instead hold the
colleges to a more-flexible standard that assessed
their overall performance at insuring environmental
safety. The agency said the study could provide
a model for colleges.
"This will relax the EPA's proscriptive-type
regulations to allow us to develop rules that
best fit us, while not increasing the risk to
the environment and people," said Suzanne Howard,
director of environmental health and safety
at Boston College.
The EPA described the study in the July 27
Federal Register, and invited public comment
by August 26.
