Introduction
Arizona State University possesses multiple research and experiment laboratories that daily produce significant amounts of chemical waste. Some types of waste the University generates are hazardous and may cause a big danger to environmental safety and people’s health. In the contemporary world, the issues related to the production, storage, and disposal of hazardous chemical waste are taken very seriously.
The world still remembers various tragedies caused by leaks, releases, and exposures. Modern science knows enough about the effects that various chemicals have on human bodies and nature around. This is why every research facility that works with dangerous chemicals is obliged to create, maintain, and carefully follow very accurate policy considering operations including hazardous waste, its storage, and disposal.
Arizona State University has staff involved in working with biological pathogens, chemical substances, radioactive and poisonous materials, flammable liquids, explosives, dangerous gases, corrosive, and water-reactive waste. The University has created a very serious and accurate policy towards the operations and manipulations involving hazardous waste.
Besides, the University has multiple programs training the staff to correctly work with hazardous materials, use them properly, dispose them at the right time and in the most careful way, store them without creating more danger and react to various incidents that may happen during such work.
All the hazardous waste is being packaged and stored until the pick-up time. After that, it is transported to licensed waste disposal facilities. The materials that can be recycled are directed to recycling centers.
Use of Language: Issue and Proposed Solution
Understanding the seriousness of the issue and the importance of the correct policy applied towards such aspect of work as hazardous waste management, I have read the policy Arizona State University presents. The University leaders understand that even minor errors in such policy may cause misunderstanding or lead to incidents that will affect not only the staff of the University but may turn out as a disaster on a state level.
In order to avoid dangerous situations, only well-trained professionals and licensed staff are allowed to perform operations including work with hazardous materials.
From Arizona State University’s policy, according to hazardous waste disposal, it is seen that the faculty and staff involved into work with dangerous materials “are encouraged to participate in the one-hour Hazardous Waste Management program” (EHS 401: Hazardous Waste Management, par. 5).
To my mind, this is the passage in the University policy text that I would like to be changed. I suggest replacing the phrase “are encouraged to participate” with the words “are obliged to take the program”.
The staff of the faculty that works with hazardous chemicals has to be prepared to manage those chemicals and be qualified and properly trained to be able to do it the right way. According to my opinion, the polite language of the policy operating such words as “encouraged” or “it is recommended” does not fully reflect the serious attitude that is required for such issues.
Instead, I suggest using words “must” and “with no exceptions.” This will help the reader of the policy understand that all the workers that use store or dispose of dangerous materials are reliable and professional in their field. Such change will make the staff and members of other faculties and laboratories feel safer.
Information: Issue and Proposed Solution
Another change I would like to suggest for Arizona State University’s policy regarding the management of hazardous waste considers the part about responsibilities of the hazardous waste generator. The policy presents a six-point plan or scheme of working with the dangerous materials that every facility member involved in generating hazardous waste must be trained to perform.
It includes the use of instructions from the Environmental Health & Safety Web Site, regulations about the operation, choice, labeling and marking of the containers for the hazardous waste disposal and scheduling an online request for the waste pick-up (EHS 401: Hazardous Waste Management, par. 6). To my mind, it would be appropriate to include a point about the storage of the hazardous waste into this scheme.
As a reader of the policy, I would like to know where the waste goes until the pick-up time. Besides, not all types of waste can be stored together. I think the plan of responsibilities for hazardous waste management presented in the policy should mention that materials that are incompatible with other types of waste must be stored separately.
Conclusion
Overall, the policy considering hazardous waste management reflects all the necessary and most important information and is presented in a logical and clear way. The language is formal and understandable for any reader. The only changes I would like to make in this policy consider the use of certain words and adding more information.
To my opinion, the language used in the policy describing such serious issue as hazardous waste management should be more strict and definite.
The reader of the policy should be able to percept that Arizona State University is a highly professional facility that daily works with very dangerous chemicals, the staff of this facility is well-trained and ready to face complicated situations and solve various issues and that the University treats the requirements of health and safety very seriously.
Works Cited
EHS 401: Hazardous Waste Management. ASU. 2011. Web.