Hazardous materials technical services

Regular hazardous material transfers

This service is designed to transfer hazardous materials within uOttawa (on-site) and includes the pick-up at one location and the drop off at another location on campus.
An example of this service would be:

• Transferring a 4L bottle of acetone from main campus to ARC
• Transferring hazardous materials for laboratory relocation (moves within campus)

To request this service please complete the Regular Hazardous Materials Transfer Request Form.

Important Note: this service does not include the relocation of non-hazardous equipment or materials.

Special hazardous materials transfers

This service is designed to transfer or dispose of hazardous materials for uOttawa (off-site).

A few examples of this service are:

• Disposing of wastes generated off-site (Field Stations to Campus for disposal)
• Relocating Research from a location off-site back to uOttawa

** Costs may not always be covered by the OCRO

For special transfer requests we recommend planning ahead of time as the logistics involved in the transportation of hazardous waste and hazardous materials requires a significant amount of resources. To request this service please contact [email protected]  and a representative of the department will contact you shortly for scheduling and the respective logistics.

Sensitive equipment transfers

This service is designed to transfer equipment that contain hazardous materials or sensitive components that require special considerations during transport. To request this service please contact [email protected]  and a representative of the department will contact you shortly for scheduling and the respective logistics.

Process validation

The City of Ottawa sewer bylawprohibits the discharge of hazardous materials into the municipal sewer system. Since most uOttawa lab sinks and floor drains discharge into the municipal sewer system, careful consideration must be put into how the wastes generated from a given activity will be disposed of.

In order to facilitate compliance with the bylaw, the  environmental management team can review the waste being generated by a given research or teaching activity and advise on whether sewer disposal is permitted within the city by-law.

In order to request this service email [email protected] and kindly title the subject line “method validation request”. Please include the following information with your request:

• A written standard operating procedure for the activity; and
• An estimation of the total volumes and the average concentrations of contaminants to be generated by the activity.

If this documentation and calculations are not available our department can help guide users through the process.

Supply of spill kits

Any space on campus that stores hazardous materials (solvents, oils, acids, bases, etc.) or has equipment that could release hazardous materials in the event of a malfunction (e.g. fuel storage tanks) requires a spill kit. Universal spill kits are supplied by the environmental team to any space at the University of Ottawa that meets these criteria. Some chemicals required specialty spill kits for which a universal spill kit is not appropriate (e.g. mercury and hydrofluoric acid spill kits). Please contact [email protected] to discuss how your laboratory can obtain one. 

Every spill kit is barcoded and maintained as part of the University’s inventory. If you are unsure as to whether or not you need a spill kit, please contact [email protected] and include the info listed in ‘How to request a spill kit?” below.

Pending approval, spill kits may also be borrowed for field work conducted by uOttawa students and researchers. If you are interested in this, please contact [email protected] with at least 5 business days’ notice.

How to request a spill kit?

To request a spill kit please contact [email protected]. Please include the following information:

• PI name
• Faculty
• Building and lab number
• Types of chemicals handled or stored and their approx. volume
• Type of spill kit requested (e.g. universal, hydrofluoric acid, mercury, other)

How do I report a spill?

If this is an emergency dial protection services at 613-562-5411 or at extension 5411. Every spill should be reported by using the incident report form. 

What do I do if I used my spill kit?

Once a spill kit has been used, even if it is only partially used, it must be replaced. Following a spill report, the environmental management team will replace your used spill kit. Every chemical spill that occurs at the University of Ottawa must be reported. In order to report a spill complete the incident report form. Once submitted, the environmental team will replace your spill kit and collect the used kit for disposal as hazardous waste.

Spill response training

Spill response training is offered by the environmental team several times throughout the year. This training provides instructions regarding the safe handling of chemical and hazardous material spills, including:

• uOttawa’s spill response procedure
• Responsibilities of parties during a spill
• Procedures for safely handling minor and major spills
• A look at the supplies found inside the Spill Kits and their usage 

***Note that due to COVID-19 an online training module is being developed to replace the in-person course. In the interim period, training is being delivered by Microsoft Teams. Please contact [email protected] or visit the spill response training websiteto schedule a training session for yourself, your students, or your group.

Where should my spill kit be located?

Space permitting, the universal spill kit should be hung on the wall or  near the entrance door with a spill kit poster affixed above the hooks. The environmental team will supply the hooks and posters to labs that require them. (Please contact [email protected] to request signs or hooks).

If there is insufficient space on the wall, your spill kit should be located near the entrance to the lab and must be in a highly visible location where all laboratory personnel can easily access the kit. Spill kits are emergency equipment and as such caution must be taken as to not obstruct access to it.

Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) — Exposure Kit

An HF exposure Kit is not a spill kit. Any exposure to HF must be medically evaluated. Exposed people and responders must take necessary precautions to prevent self-exposure. An exposure kit includes the PPE required to assist in the event someone working with HF came into unwanted contact with it including calcium gluconate, 2 pairs of Neoprene gloves, 1 heavy duty polyethylene waste bag and calcium carbonate (antacid tablets).

Exposure kits must be immediately accessible at all times when working with HF.

Fume hoods, associated ventilation exhaust systems and plumbing components can potentially be contaminated with biological material, chemicals or radioisotopes. The equipment must be assessed, cleaned or decontaminated in order to protect workers working on the equipment and to ensure waste materials are managed in an environmentally safe manner.

This work must be carried out by specialized contractors with the proper training and equipment. The Office of the Chief Risk Officer can provide information and guidance about the environmental aspects of laboratory decommissioning and the decommissioning process. The following procedure provides more information about decommissioning fume hoods, exhaust systems, and plumbing systems in laboratories.

Scope of work for laboratory, fume hood, associated exhaust systems and plumbing systems decontamination (PDF, 142KB)

Please contact [email protected] for more information.