Comment submitted by Lily Lodhi, Temple University

We commend the EPA and its staff in the development of Academic Laboratory Rules. This rule provides greater flexibility than the existing RCRA regulations for laboratories. We are encouraged and look forward to the final rule and ultimate implementation at our facilities. We like to bring to your attention to the following issues related to academic institutions with health care facilities: The inclusion of hospital labs, chemistry stockrooms and photography darkrooms into the definition of a lab in this rule. We are an academic institution with a medical school and associated healthcare facilities. It is not uncommon for our staff to move from one area to another. In addition, darkrooms and stockrooms are often located within a lab suite or laboratory building. I believe that this will cause confusion amongst staff (what rules apply in what areas) when they move and work in different areas. The definition of a lab needs to be broad enough so that these areas can be included without any potential compliance issues. There is only one option for the enforceability of the LMP. That option is keeping the LMP based on performance. Strict compliance with the elements of the LMP would be disastrous and might actually discourage compliance. An example might be if we state in the LMP that all unwanted materials be tagged with a yellow tag. We would be considered out of compliance if a researcher places a white tag (he may have run out of yellow tags) on the chemical instead. In addition, any future improvements to a LMP could be burdensome to implement. Another area that needs to be specifically addressed in this rule is hazard reduction procedures in the laboratory. Currently, labs are limited in this regards due to the regulatory requirements and confusion surrounding what constitutes treatment. It is our belief that academic laboratory researches have the necessary experience and equipment to safely conduct hazard reduction procedures. This could be a very good opportunity to safely reduce the volume of hazardous waste that is generated from a laboratory setting.