What If the Next School Chemical Incident Comes from a Bottle Left Behind Decades Ago?

Description:

Legacy Chemicals in School Laboratories: Hidden Hazards and Opportunities for Hazardous Waste Professionals

What if the next chemical incident at a school isn’t caused by a student mistake—but by a bottle someone left behind decades ago?

Across North America, many school laboratories contain legacy chemicals that have accumulated over generations of teachers, curriculum changes, and limited disposal resources. These materials often remain in stockrooms not designed for long-term chemical storage and are managed by educators with little training in hazardous materials management.

Through laboratory inspections and safety consultations nationwide, the Laboratory Safety Institute frequently encounters aging oxidizers, peroxide-forming solvents, mercury compounds, reactive metals, and unknown chemicals in school stockrooms.

This webinar will explore the systemic factors that allow legacy chemicals to accumulate in schools and the role hazardous waste professionals can play in addressing the issue.

Rather than presenting a single solution, this session is intended as a conversation with the NAHMMA community—consultants, waste haulers, facility managers, and environmental program leaders—about how we can collectively help schools reduce legacy chemical hazards and prevent the problem from recurring.

Participants will explore:

• Common hazards encountered in school laboratory stockrooms
• Why legacy chemicals accumulate in K–12 laboratories
• Disposal challenges schools face as very small quantity generators (VSQGs)
• Opportunities for collaboration between schools and hazardous materials professionals
• Strategies to prevent legacy chemicals from returning

Hosted by NAHMMA and presented by the Laboratory Safety Institute, this session invites the hazardous materials management community to explore how we can work together to support safer science education.

Presenters: 

Elizabeth Braun, PhD- Director of Educational Content and Learning, Laboratory Safety Institute

Christina McKeon- Interim Executive Director, Laboratory Safety Institute