C&EN Uncovered: Solvent Waste Levels, EPA Regulations, and Disposal

On average, from 2011 to 2021, academic labs generated around 4,300 metric tons of hazardous waste each year. One of the largest lab-used solvents discarded is dichloromethane and more than half of that waste ends up burned. In today’s episode, policy reporters Krystal Vasquez and Leigh Krietsch Boerner dive into the processes academic labs use to dispose of said waste, the consequences of new EPA regulations around dichloromethane, and what solutions academic institutions are coming up with to accommodate these new rules.


C&EN Uncovered, a project from C&EN’s podcast, Stereo Chemistry, offers a deeper look at subjects from recent stories. Check out Krystal’s story on the new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations regarding dichloromethane at https://cenm.ag/dcmregs and check out Leigh’s story about solvent waste disposal in academic laboratories at https://cenm.ag/wastedisposal.


Cover photo: Lab solvents C&EN July 15th cover photo


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A transcript of this episode will be available soon at cen.acs.org.


Credits


Executive producer(s): Gina Vitale, David Anderson


C&EN Uncovered host: Craig Bettenhausen


Reporter(s): Krystal Vasquez, Leigh Krietsch Boerner


Audio editor: Ted Woods


Copyeditor: Bran Vickers


Episode artwork: Will Ludwig


Music: “Hot Chocolate,” by Aves


Contact Stereo Chemistry: Contact us on social media at @cenmag or email [email protected]