CARMO GALLO NETTO

É It is impossible to imagine that an institution of the size and dimensions of Unicamp, involved in intense teaching and research activity using laboratories, and which maintains one of the largest and most important hospital complexes in the country, generates a significant volume of hazardous waste, including chemical, biological and radioactive. Over more than thirty years, in the absence of an institutional program, each unit generating hazardous waste was structured for its proper disposal or stored it, accumulating a liability of approximately 95 tons. According to Professor Fernando Coelho, researcher at the Chemistry Institute and coordinator of the Waste Management Group, 80% of this chemical waste is incinerable and 92% of it has already been discarded. The remainder will be disposed of in the coming months, as a result of a program that it considers unique in the country, as although there are specific actions at several Brazilian universities, the Unicamp program addresses the issue in an institutional manner.

A proposal for management environmental campus is the next task

“The Management Group carried out the diagnosis and highlighted problems mainly in the area of ​​chemical management, a critical point in the system. Biological management was reasonably well underway, since by their nature, the materials involved cannot be stored and disposal is carried out by specialized companies”, explains Fernando Coelho. According to him, radioactive waste also has a scheme set up due to strict compliance with the determinations of the National Nuclear Energy Commission, which establishes the procedures to be followed. “The remaining chemical waste remains, which can generally be stored, a procedure adopted by the vast majority of units”, he adds.

Studies to improve waste management at Unicamp began at the end of 1999, after Fapesp launched a specific program for this purpose, focusing mainly on units that work in chemistry and providing treatment in the places that produced this waste. This meant a restriction to units that did not fit the notice, but that also generate hazardous waste and wanted to be served. The claim, transmitted in a document to Fapesp, did not produce the desired results, but triggered positive actions internally, with the creation of the Waste Management Group (GGR).

Today, ten professionals from the units that generate the most waste participate in the GGR: Institute of Chemistry (IQ), Multidisciplinary Center for Chemical, Biological and Agricultural Research (CPQBA), Faculty of Chemical Engineering (FEQ), Institute of Biology (IB) and Faculty of Food Engineering (FEA). The Radioactive, Biological and Chemical Waste Management Program, approved by the University Council in December 2003, defines standards and procedures to prevent activities at the University from degrading the environment.

Operational Cell – To implement the program, the Waste Operational Cell was created, made up of personnel specialized in the three areas – chemical, biological and radioactive waste – and safety professionals, important in the organization of work. These technical personnel work in partnership with the units, proposing solutions to local management problems, such as adequate separation and packaging, storage of waste to be kept even for a short time, and suggesting measures for cases of immediate disposal. More important is guidance on minimizing waste generation.

Coordinator Fernando Coelho explains that GGR prioritized the liability of chemical waste – those generated over a certain period of time and no longer usable. After inventory, there was a tender for the chemical waste that required incineration. This activity required meticulous study, due to its complexity and the natural concern with the suitability of the companies that would carry out the incineration and transport. Of the initial 95 tons of liabilities, only 8% of non-burnable waste remains, which must be sent to an industrial landfill for hazardous waste.

“Management means adopting continuous actions, as foreseen in Unicamp’s Strategic Planning (Planes), which guides the actions of our administration”, highlights Professor Coelho. He notes that identifying liabilities and taking steps to dispose of them constitute only one part of management. “After that, we will develop and recommend procedures that prevent the formation of new liabilities. These will be actions that, first, significantly reduce the amounts of waste generated; second, that these wastes are preferably treated when they are generated; and thirdly, that allow costs to be minimized, as it is known that many things would not need to have been stored. If there had been adequate training, much of this waste could have been treated at the point of generation and disposed of much more cheaply.”

Facilitators – Among the actions is the training of facilitators – people appointed by the units' boards and responsible for local management work, both in operational aspects and specific legislation for chemical, biological and radioactive waste. “The facilitators end up being, in fact, our eyes and hands within the units”, compares Coelho. Once the liabilities are zero, the cost of which is borne by the University, management and disposal costs will be assigned to each unit.

The program also foresees the construction of a small warehouse, which will house waste from smaller units for a certain period of time. There, the waste will be classified and packaged according to standards established by the GGR, until amounts are formed that justify mobilization for disposal. Another planned construction is a small laboratory for waste treatment, serving units that do not have the facilities to do so. This work will be carried out by the staff of the unit served, under the guidance of the Cell. Centralization of management, according to Fernando Coelho, allows waste from certain units to be used as products in others.

Environmental management - GGR's most recent task is to prepare the proposal for the Environmental Management Program for Unicamp. “It is a different and new work, including as a proposal, because hazardous waste constitutes one of the components of environmental management”, explains Coelho. In his opinion, environmental management involves water and sewage management, land use, control of atmospheric pollution and also the movement of people and traffic, which implies a large number of actions. GGR has already started studies and contacted members of the community who can help with the task. It also promoted a working meeting in December 2005, aiming to identify and raise awareness of partners at the institutional level. The approval of the program by Consu will allow its incorporation by the University administration, since the environmental issue is part of the Strategic Planning (Planes).