Final Report Requirements 2015
One of the most important functions of the TGIF is to keep track of efforts funded by the TGIF to green
the campus and report back to the student population. This report is the core of our documentation and
our transparency to the public; please give a full description of tasks and activities for the project you
worked, even those that were unsuccessful. This information will be included in the TGIF Annual Report
as well as provide important feedback/advice for future projects.
Please write a report that includes the following components by 5pm on June 1, 2015. Final reports
must include the following information; information beyond the listed elements is always welcome and
encouraged. Please include any photos or graphics relevant to your project. This form is for completed
projects only. Projects continuing beyond June 1, 2015 should use the June 1 Project Update form
instead.
1. Project Leaders’ Names: Michael C. Kumpf; Emery Wilson
2. Project Title: College of Chemistry Chemical Reuse Facility Expansion
3. Fiscal Sponsor and any Partnering Organizations: “Be Smart About Safety Funds” were used to
provide for engineering controls installed to accommodate highly toxic gases in the storage
location.
4. Project Summary
a. Goals of the project- what did you set out to accomplish? To reduce the amount of
highly toxic and toxic gases in the laboratory setting.
b. What campus need/gaps were you trying to fill? There was no other option other than
disposal to address the legacy build up of these gas cylinders. This program filled a gap
that allowed the opportunity for reuse instead of disposal. The campus had no other
program like it.
c. Accomplishments and successes – what went well? We identified right away several gas
cylinders that were in good shape and could be put into this reuse facility. We delivered
several cylinders out to other groups free of charge. We avoided costly disposal of over
20 gas cylinders and avoided potential environmental impacts of toxic gas disposal.
d. Challenges and obstacles – what were the challenges/obstacles in this project and how
did you handle these? Training student assistants to safely handle these items was time
consuming. Our student turnover was high, so training became repetitive and not very
efficient. The decision was made to dedicate 1 student to this task instead of making it a
duty of all our students. This helped save time and improved efficiency.
Another obstacle was convincing owners to release their gas cylinders to us for reuse.
The shelf life is very long for most of these toxic chemicals so unless the bottle was
damaged or experiencing corrosion, an owner may very well keep it for 15+ years. The
owner saw the benefit of releasing the cylinder to us for reuse, which saved them from
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the eventual cost of disposal; some of these could cost hundreds or thousands of dollars
to dispose of. We saved them this expense.
e. Did you have to make any changes from your original application submission? NO
f. Is there anything you wish you had known before you started the project? NO
g. Is there anything about the process you wish you could have changed or do over?
Dedicating only 1 student Assistant to the job instead of training many to do the task.
h. Feedback to TGIF – Is there anything that TGIF could have done to better advise or help
your project? NO
i. Copy of final Timeline from project start to completion
Sustainability Impact
a. What quantitative and/or qualitative sustainability impacts/metrics did your project
have? The program realized quantitative success in diverting over 20 toxic gas cylinders
from disposal and into the reuse program.
b. Do you expect on-going benefits (annual cost savings)? Please include estimates of
these impacts. The program will continue on at the expense of the College of Chemistry’s
EHS&S program. We expect to divert about 5-10 toxic gas cylinders annually. Each
cylinder costs somewhere between 300-800 dollars to dispose of and 200-600 to
purchase. So savings could be as high as 6k-8k to College Principal Investigators
annually.
Visibility / Outreach (examples include building renovations, signs, a garden, etc.)
a. Please include any examples of publicity with your final report (if possible, please send
original files with your final report) 2 forms of the Final Poster are available on the
Share drive in our folder. Pictures are included.
b. Photographs of your project (if possible, please send original .jpg or other photo files
with your final report)
Conclusions and next steps – will your project continue on into the future, and if yes, who will
be carrying on the project? What are the next steps for this project? Will it need continual
financial or staffing support and who will be meeting those needs?
Budget Summary – include an official copy of a ledger with all expenses listed