EHS Assistant

EHS Assistant is a new program used to facilitate USU’s Environmental Health and Safety programs. It is designed to streamline the process of signing up for trainings, submitting requests, etc.

Mandatory Hazardous Material Pickup Changes

Utah State University has made some changes to Hazardous Waste pickups. We have changed to the EPA’s RCRA Sub Part K. These regulations were created to address the specific needs of hazardous waste handling at Colleges and Universities. Hazardous Waste will now be named “Unwanted Materials”. Most changes associated with sub-part K will happen behind the scenes but, rest assured that all “Unwanted Material” will still be handled and disposed of in the same environmentally safe and prudent manner as it has always been.

With this switch to sub-part K, comes some changes to the pickup request web site. Once you submit your request for a pick-up of “unwanted material”, you will be taken to a page where you can print the “Unwanted Material” labels. You MUST print the Unwanted Materials Label and attach it to the Unwanted Materials container. The EHS office is unable to pick up items without the proper label attached to them. If you have multiple containers of the same item with small containers, you can place them in an outer disposable box and attach just 1 label to the box. The Old labels are no longer required. If you generate Unwanted Materials that accumulate over several days, or more, please contact us and we can provide labels for those situations.

Request an Unwanted Materials Pickup

Instructions for Unwanted Materials Pickup Requests

Utah State University has transitioned to the EPA’s RCRA Subpart K regulations for handling laboratory waste. As a result, all hazardous waste and unwanted materials for disposal (laboratory and non-laboratory) are now officially referred to as "Unwanted Materials".

Please follow these steps to request a pickup:

A. Registration and Login

• Log in to the EHS Assistant using your university A# and password.
• First-time users: You will be prompted to create a "Waste Request" profile.
  • Click on the "Hazardous Waste" icon to begin.
  • When prompted to create a profile, click "Yes".
  • Settings: Click "Edit" on the location field, check the "Allow Any Location" box, select your specific building and room, and click Save. Once this is set, you should not be asked for this information for future requests.
• Remote Access: If you are having issues accessing EHSA and are working remotely, you may need to log into the universities GlobalProtect - VPN to access the EHS Assistant (EHSA).
  • Using the VPN secures your connection to USU’s network, protecting sensitive data from interception and giving you access to campus-only resources.

B. Creating a Pickup Request

• Click on the "Hazardous Waste" icon to begin.
• Enter Container Details: Provide as much information as you can for each item you need picked up.
• Rule: You must fill out one container entry per item, unless you have multiple containers of the exact same chemical, in which case you can list them as one entry and specify the total number of containers (e.g., 5, 10, etc.) in the ‘# of Conts’ field.
• Chemical Description: Use the search function or manually type the description as it appears on the container label (manual is easiest as the search is often unhelpful).
• If the container has no label, mark it as "unknown".
• Empty Containers: If a container is completely empty (no pourable liquid or solids remaining), you do not need to request a pickup. You may deface or remove the label and dispose of it in the regular trash.
• EXCEPT for fuels, gas cylinders, and aerosols. All fuel containers, gas cylinders, aerosol cans, or similar, should be disposed of through university hazardous waste management regardless of being ‘empty’.

Labeling Requirements (Mandatory)

• Print Labels: Once you submit your request, you will be directed to a page where you can print your "Unwanted Materials" labels. Click the green "Print Unwanted Materials Label" box to generate them.
• Attach Labels: You must cut the labels to size and tape them securely to the corresponding containers.
• Note: The EHS office cannot pick up any items that do not have the proper "Unwanted Materials" label attached.
• Small Containers: If you have multiple small containers of the same material, you may place them in a single disposable outer box and attach one label to that box.

D. Confirmation and Support

• You should receive a confirmation email shortly after submitting your request. If you do not receive this email, your request may not have been processed correctly.
• Need Help? If you have questions or require special labels for materials that accumulate over several days, please contact:

Dale Elwood
Email: dalef.elwood@usu.edu
Phone: 435-797-1053

Definitions from OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200

Hazardous chemical means any chemical which is classified as a physical hazard or a health hazard, a simple asphyxiant, combustible dust, or hazard not otherwise classified.

Hazard class means the nature of the physical or health hazards, e.g., flammable solid, carcinogen, oral acute toxicity.

Hazard not otherwise classified (HNOC) means an adverse physical or health effect identified through evaluation of scientific evidence during the classification process that does not meet the specified criteria for the physical and health hazard classes addressed in this section. This does not extend coverage to adverse physical and health effects for which there is a hazard class addressed in this section, but the effect either falls below the cut-off value/concentration limit of the hazard class or is under a GHS hazard category that has not been adopted by OSHA (e.g., acute toxicity Category 5).

Gas means a substance which (i) At 122 °F (50 °C) has a vapor pressure greater than 43.51 PSI (300 kPa) (absolute); or (ii) Is completely gaseous at 68 °F (20 °C) at a standard pressure of 14.69 PSI (101.3 kPa).

Health hazard means a chemical which is classified as posing one of the following hazardous effects: acute toxicity (any route of exposure); skin corrosion or irritation; serious eye damage or eye irritation; respiratory or skin sensitization; germ cell mutagenicity; carcinogenicity; reproductive toxicity; specific target organ toxicity (single or repeated exposure); or aspiration hazard. The criteria for determining whether a chemical is classified as a health hazard are detailed in Appendix A to § 1910.1200—Health Hazard Criteria.

How to Print

To print the label, click on the green “Print Unwanted Materials Label” box.

You will then be taken to the label page. Print the label(s), cut them to size, tape them to the corresponding container.

Please Take a few minutes and read through the new Lab Procedures Manual.