• Accident Reporting
• Asbestos
• Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Program
• Barricades
• Biohazards
• Chemical
• CPR First Aid
• Electrical
• Emergency and Fire
• Equipment
• Facility Space Management
• Fiberglass
• Fluorescent Lights
  • Fluorescent Light Ballast / Capacitor Disposal
  • Safe Handling and Disposal of Fluorescent Bulbs
• Food Borne Illness
• Fume Hood Fans, Ducts, and Motors
• General Safety
• Glass
• Hazardous Materials
• Laboratory Safety
• Lead
• Personal Protective Equipment
• Radiation
• Restricted Entry Areas
• Right to Know
• Safety Committee
• Safety Concerns - Animal Areas
• Utilities
• Vehicles
• Welding and Cutting
• Winter Safety

Fluorescent Light Ballast / Capacitor Disposal

Purpose:

To establish a policy and procedure for the handling and disposal of fluorescent light ballast's / capacitors containing polychlorinated biphenyl's (PCB) at all locations of the Penn State University.

Policies and Procedures:

The University is required by environmental regulations, 40 Code of Federal Regulations 302.6, to ensure the proper disposition of greater than one pound of PCBs. Definition: All light ballast's/capacitors manufactured prior to 1979 that are not marked "NO PCB", shall be assumed to contain PCBs.

• For projects requiring the removal of greater than 16 ballast's, PCB containing ballast's/capacitors should be detached from lamp fixtures and placed into containers marked "PCB". They are not to be stored at or delivered to Surplus and Salvage.

  When greater than sixteen ballast's are to be removed, a representative sample of ballast's from that building or area with similar work history, i.e. 4 ballast's, should be inspected to determine PCB content and the remainder may be assumed to be similar.

• If ballast's/capacitors are leaking, Environmental Health and Safety should be notified for assistance immediately (814) 865-6391.
• Overhead ballast's/capacitors should be allowed to cool before removal.
• Ballast's with manufacturer marking "NO PCB" may be disposed of in the municipal trash or labeled with an additional "NO PCB" sticker (available from EHS) and delivered to salvage.
• EHS will arrange to have the containers of greater than 16 PCB light ballast's disposed of by a commercial vendor.

Date of Policy:

January 15, 1996