Lab Closeouts and Office Vacating Procedures

REPORT ABANDONED WASTE OR LAB CLOSE OUT

Introduction

When an individual leaves Louisiana State University or transfers to a different laboratory the primary responsibility for the proper disposal of all hazardous materials and equipment used in laboratories lies with the principal investigator.

The Operations Manager assists faculty in vacating their labs and office; or with moving from one space to another. The Operations Manager coordinates efforts with faculty and when necessary will arrange for student help, campus movers, EHS, Property Management, etc.

When vacating a space the faculty member/staff member is responsible for returning that space into “move in” condition, less ordinary wear and tear or routine maintenance needs. Remove all files, papers, books, office supplies, posters and from the vacated space. Notify the Operations Manager/Building Coordinator of all equipment designated for surplus, or for reallocation.

Equipment and furnishings acquired within a building project budget are considered to belong to the institution and will stay with the building. Similarly, installed equipment that serves other building occupants may not be removed without coordination with the other users, the space committee and explicit permission of the department chair.

Notify the Operations Manager/Building Coordinator of any routine maintenance and/or repairs. Costs for repairs for damages beyond ordinary wear and tear; and the cost for the removal of remaining equipment and furnishings may be charged to the individual leaving the space.

Occupants moving out of a space should communicate their schedules to the Space Committee and Building Coordinator at least six months prior to vacating the space.

Laboratory Close Out Checklist

Equipment Inventory (Contact building coordinator)

  • List of all equipment in lab.
  • List of equipment that PI is moving (includes tagged and untagged items)
    • Nothing with a tag can be moved without prior approval from properly management and LPAA
  • Clean and decontaminate all equipment in lab.

Chemical Inventory (contact Taylor Santaloci)

  • Report that you are beginning a lab closeout by clicking the "Report Abandoned Waste/Lab Closeout" button at top of page
  • Ensure Chemical Inventory is up to date in EHS-Assistant (including chemicals in fridge, freezers, fume hoods, cabinets, drawers, etc.)
    • Items not inventoried need to be added. Items no longer present in inventory need to be removed
  • Make a list of chemicals that are moving
    • All items will need to be removed from the inventory
      • Removal reason- Removed from campus
    • Do NOT delete your inventory remaining on campus.
  • Discard all solutions, mixtures, samples and hazardous waste.
    • Submit hazardous waste pick up requests

Radioactive Materials Inventory (Contact Wei-Hsung Wang)

  • Transfer radioactive waste to radiation safety office

Biological Materials Inventory (Contact Abigail Fish)

  • Discard biological samples, cultures, animal tissues and sharps following university procedures
  • Coordinate with Biological Safety Manager for shipment and/or transport of biological materials.

Controlled Substances

  • Contact the DEA for information on disposal and transfer of the controlled substances. Controlled Substances may NOT be transferred to another researcher.

Shared Facilities

  • Ensure all researcher owned material is out of shared facilities. Dispose of material accordingly.
  • Clean and decontaminate shared equipment

Compressed Gas

  • Contact supplier for return instructions.

Laboratory Closeout Inspection by EHS and building coordinator.

Six months prior to vacating space, the Principal Investigator/Responsible Individual should meet with the Operations Manager/Building Coordinator to discuss procedures and the timeline.  The Operations Manager will notify representatives from EH&S (578-5640) and Radiation Safety Division (578-2008) that an investigator is vacating a laboratory.

Sustainability

Recycle all paper, plastic, cardboard, and metal per LSU procedures. Additional assistance can be provided by Sustainability Manager Lisa Mahoney. Paper shredding options are available thru both the Building Coordinator and LSU Imaging Services.

Equipment Inventory-Property Management

A complete inventory will be completed by the Operations Manager/Property Custodian prior to any dismantling or packing of university equipment/property

The Investigator will provide a list of everything that they want to take with them to another institution.  Property Management will need a list of both tagged and untagged items.  Before anything can be removed; prior approval has to come from Property Management and LPAA.

The Operations Manager/Building Coordinator will set a time for EHS to meet with the PI.

The chemicals that are leaving the University with the PI will need to be moved to one area of the lab. The bar codes will need to be removed from the PI’s chemical inventory in the EHSA. Instructions and bar code readers can be provided.

Chemicals

PI’s exiting the University are required to follow all lab closeout procedures as required by their department. PI’s with chemicals in their labs are required by EHS to follow EHS chemical closeout policies. Failure to follow the EHS requirements can and will result in substantial monetary charges to the Department.   

PI and lab occupants will address their chemicals 6 months to 6 weeks prior to departure.

PI and lab occupants will gather outdated, used, unusable, expired, or damaged barcoded chemicals. These barcoded chemicals can be removed as a waste pickup from the PI inventory in EHSA. PI and lab occupants will create the waste pickups in the EHSA. Hazardous waste labels are not required. Instructions will be provided. 

PI and lab occupants will gather all created solutions, mixtures, samples, and waste. All created solutions, mixtures, samples, and waste MUST have complete chemical descriptions and chemical names on the required hazardous waste labels.  Abbreviations, chemical formulas or structures are not acceptable. PI and lab occupants will empty all beakers, flasks, evaporating dishes. PI and lab occupants will not flush hazardous chemicals or chemical mixtures down drains or discard them in the trash. PI and lab occupants will close all containers securely. PI and lab occupants will create the waste pickups in the EHSA.    

PI and lab occupants will ensure that all waste chemicals have been removed from refrigerators, freezers, fume hoods and bench tops as well as storage cabinets, drawers, and under sinks. 

Chemicals which are usable and barcoded can be transferred to another PI within the EHSA. This can be done by the leaving PI or requested by the new lab. No chemicals can be moved to new labs without the bar code transfer in EHSA being completed. Instructions will be provided.

Radioactive Material 

Initiate contact with the Radiation Safety group so they can assist PI with moving out of space and amend radioactive material license. Radiation Safety

The investigator will ensure that radioactive waste is transferred to Radiation Safety using the normal waste pickup schedule and procedure. The investigator must arrange (through Radiation Safety) for any remaining radioactive materials or equipment to be transferred (through Radiation Safety) to another user.  Questions regarding these procedures should be directed to the Office of Radiation Safety.

If radioactive materials were used in the lab a final meter and/or wipe survey will need to be done with Radiation Safety, as appropriate, to ensure that no radioactive contamination remains.

Shared Facilities

Shard facilities include storage units such as refrigerators, freezers, cold rooms, stock rooms, flammable liquids cabinets, waste collection areas, etc. They are of special concern, particularly if no one is assigned to manage the area.  Departing researchers must carefully inspect any shared facility in order to locate and appropriately dispose of their hazardous materials.  The PI must also ensure that contact information on remaining shared equipment is amended accordingly

Biological 

Discard all Microorganisms, cultures, animal tissues, and sharps following University Biological Procedures. Locate an appropriate person to take responsibility for retained samples. Contact EHS at 578-5640, Biological Safety, for specific information. 

If moving biological safety cabinets, decontaminate following University procedures before moving and recertify before use in the new location.

Controlled Substances

The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) issues controlled substance permits to individual researchers. Abandonment of a controlled substance is a violation of the DEA permit under which it was held. Permission to dispose or transfer ownership of a controlled substance to another individual must be received from DEA.  If controlled substances are found and the licensee is unknown, contact EHS at 578-5640.

Investigator and lab staff will pack, move, and/or ship all materials in the laboratory.  The investigator or a designated member of his/her staff will perform a final survey of the lab spaces to ensure that no waste, chemicals or other materials remain in the lab.  

Gas Cylinders - Remove gas connections, replace cylinder caps, and return to Shipping and Receiving

Equipment - Clean, disinfect and decontaminate all equipment as is appropriate before departing, including equipment where biohazardous materials were used or stored. Alert EHS and Facilities Services of exhaust or filtration equipment used with extremely hazardous substances or organisms

Deface or cover hazard labels on equipment that will be removed from the lab or discarded. When discarding laboratory equipment: remove capacitors, transformers, mercury switches, mercury thermometers, radioactive sources, chemicals and biohazards before disposal

Notify Building Coordinator when laboratory clean-up is complete. Contact EHS to arrange a close-out inspection

Investigator or a designated member of his/her staff will decontaminate and clean all surfaces including hoods and equipment.  

When the lab has been vacated, the Operations Manager/Building Coordinator, the investigator, or a designated member of his/her staff will notify the appropriate Biological & Chemical Safety and Radiation Safety auditors that the lab spaces have been cleared so that final inspections can be completed.

Consult the Web Pages for Biological Safety, the Chemical Safety and Radiation Safety for guidance

 Offices should be returned to the condition in which they were found.  All shelves, file cabinets, drawers and walls should be cleared of all papers, files, text books, posters, signs, personal items and all other non-university property should be removed.  Any items remaining for the next user should be labeled by the PI

A final equipment inventory will be conducted by the Operations Manager before investigator leaves the University.  

Computer Files

Personal files and software should be deleted from computers.  If computer will be used by remaining researchers; then research documents and software necessary for viewing images or data should remain on computers for analysis.  If lab will be vacated then all computers, printers and scanners should be returned to the Chemistry IT department.  Computers will be cleaned and setup for the next user.  

Research Documents          

Notebooks and data are the property of LSU and cannot be removed. Copies can be made for writing publications.

Other Documents

All sensitive documents should be placed in a shredding bin.  Other paperwork should be placed in a recycling bin.  See Operations Manager/Building Coordinator for bins.

Keys and Lab Coasts

All keys and lab coats must be located and returned to the Operations Manager.