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EPA Regulations for Fume Hood Disposal in Illinois

The Illinois Pollution Control Board implements and enforces the regulations established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Laboratories within the state of Illinois must abide by the EPA-IPCB statutes and the policies instituted by their internal review boards, which address issues concerning the scientific, ethical and professional conduct of academic and commercial researchers. Adherence to the EPA regulations governing the safe disposal of laboratory fume hoods in the state of Illinois is relatively simple and inexpensive.

  1. Environmental Protection Act - Special Waste 415 ILCS 5/3.475

    • The section entitled "Special Waste 415 ILCS 5/3.475" of the Environmental Protection Act--Illinois Compiled Statutes (EPA-ILCS) identifies and regulates the disposal of hazardous waste in the state of Illinois. Infectious medical waste, industrial process waste, organic and inorganic waste, pollution control waste, biological byproducts and hazardous chemicals have been designated as "special waste." The standard operating procedures established for a laboratory must include the proper protocols for the disposal of "special waste" and "non-special waste"--organic and inorganic material, respectively. The Illinois Pollution Control Board is responsible for issuing permits for the disposal of "Special Waste".

    Illinois EPA-IPCB Regulations for Fume Hood Disposal

    • According to the Illinois Pollution Control Board Bureau of Land, which was established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, although hazardous materials are employed during experimentation within the confined space of laboratory fume hoods, the fume hood itself has not been designated by the EPA-ILCS as "special waste". An IPCB Permit for the disposal of a laboratory fume hood is not required under Illinois EPA's regulations. However, the laboratory is expected to maintain a record containing documentation regarding the cleaning, decontamination and method of disposal of its fume hoods.

    Documentation for Cleaning, Decontamination and Disposal of Non-Special Waste

    • The EPA-Illinois Pollution Control Board does require that the fume hood undergo thorough cleaning and decontamination by the laboratory technician prior to its disposal. In addition, the laboratory technician must certify that the fume hood is "Non-Special Waste," "Non-Hazardous Waste" and does not violate the EPA-415 ILCS 5/3.475 statutes. The laboratory does not need to submit the Certification of Decontamination to the Illinois Pollution Control Board. The laboratory is only required to keep this documentation in its permanent laboratory records. The documentation must include the date that the cleaning and decontamination were performed, the method used for decontamination and the specific chemicals used for decontamination. Upon completion of the process for decontamination, the laboratory technician may discard the fume hood by relegating it to the regular land fill, or the fume hood may be recycled and sold as scrap metal.

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