Decrease environmental impacts from lab work
2011
Decrease environmental impact from lab work
For further information about the Sustainability University see
www.mls.adm.gu.se, chose In English.

Think environmentally when ordering chemicals: If you can choose between
chemicals, choose the chemical least harmful for the environment (this often
coincides with harmfulness for humans). Is it possible to substitute dangerous
chemicals with less dangerous alternatives?

Is it possible to miniaturize your experiment? Is it possible to execute the
experiment or analysis with decreased volumes? Use as small amounts of
chemicals as possible.

Minimize the use of disposable plastic goods. Sometimes it works fine to reuse
plastic goods. Discuss with your supervisor in order not to compromise the
reliability and to avoid contamination.

Handle chemical residues correctly. Chemical residues which cannot be
guaranteed not dangerous are handled as dangerous waste for further
information (www.sahlgrenska.gu.se/internt/miljo/)

Do not evaporate harmful solvents. It is not allowed evaporate harmful solvents
in e.g. a fume hood.

Defrost the freezer. An iced freezer uses up to double the amount of energy
compared to a defrosted one.

Close the hood to the fume hood when it’s not being used. A fume hood where
the hood is not properly pulled down can draw through 7 x more air (= energy)
than a closed fume-hood