CHARLESTON AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. –
Approximately 739 facilities on Charleston AFB require a constant pulse of electricity to make the air mobility mission possible.
Small and easily overlooked electrical products, such as light bulbs and batteries, provide the simplest of everyday functions to Charleston AFB and have a few requirements of their own - mandated by federal law.
Although conventional fluorescent bulbs, non-alkaline batteries and compact florescent light bulbs provide lower energy consumption for the base, they also pose a risk. The Environmental Protection Agency classifies them as universal waste and requires special considerations for their disposal.
Charleston AFB is considered a large quantity generator of these universal waste products, and its universal waste handling was a point of interest recently during the internal Environmental, Safety and Occupational Health Compliance Assessment and Management Program evaluation conducted in June.
The evaluation team identified potential areas where Charleston AFB can improve its management of universal waste items.
The universal waste items are common to everyday workplaces, and untrained personnel may misunderstand the hazards they present, said Tommy Hardin, the hazardous waste program manager for the 437th Civil Engineer Squadron asset management flight.
Their classification as universal waste, similar to hazardous waste, is because the primary substances used in the products, such as mercury and cadmium, pose an environmental and health hazard in large quantities.
"As much as one part per million of cadmium makes it hazardous waste. Mercury is 0.2 part per million," he said.
The asset management flight tracks disposal of waste across the entire base, and to properly manage the universal waste affecting everyone's lives, it takes everyone's help, said Mr. Hardin.
"Even though family housing, billeting and the dormitory are exempt from this regulation, we're still trying to do the right thing," he said.
Dormitory and family housing residents may swap old bulbs for new ones through dormitory mangers and at the Self-Help Store.
Because of the many varieties of bulbs that exist, a general rule is to identify them by their tubular or spiral shape, he said.
For the offices on base generating universal waste, spent bulbs must be kept in a closed cardboard box with taped ends. The original box may be used, but new bulbs should be placed in a separate box. The Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility, located across from the Auto Craft Center, provides cardboard boxes to store spent bulbs as well as universal waste labels to properly identify the contents of each box.
Labels are placed on the box and marked as "universal waste-lamps," along with the date the first bulb was placed into the box. Lamps must only be stored up to six months from the start date.
Several types of batteries are also classified as universal waste. They include nickel-cadmium, lithium, lead-acid and mercury types. These batteries are more widely seen as rechargeable batteries and the type used to power modern electronic devices, opposed to the common alkaline batteries used in a television remote or smoke detector.
Batteries are to be accumulated in separate containers by battery type, not by manufacturer. Work centers generating waste must tape the ends of the batteries to prevent a short circuit and potential fire and place them in Department of Transportation approved plastic drums.
Universal waste labels are also required for battery containers. They should be marked "universal waste-batteries" and include the type of battery, along with the accumulation start date.
Used batteries should not be accumulated more than six months from the start date and must be delivered to the TSDF. To turn in used batteries to the TSDF, a hazardous waste turn-in document must be included with a material safety data sheet for each type of battery and manufacturer.
"There is a reason things are regulated," said Jeff Garrett, 437 CES asset management flight chief. "Otherwise we end up with this hazardous stuff in other places and we will end up having to get rid of it then.
"Following the rules is one thing, but it's also the right thing to do."
To contact the Charleston AFB TSDF for disposal, call 963-5181 or 963-7805.