Section 722.300  Definitions

The following definitions apply for Subpart K:

"College or University" means a private or public post-secondary degree-granting academic institution that is accredited by an accrediting agency listed annually by the U.S. Department of Education.

BOARD NOTE:  The Department of Education maintains on-line lists of accrediting agencies on the Internet at the following address:  www.ed.gov/

admins/finaid/accred/accreditation_pg6.html#NationallyRecognized.

"Eligible academic entity" means a college or university, a non-profit research institute that is owned by or which has a formal written affiliation agreement with a college or university, or a teaching hospital that is owned by or which has a formal written affiliation agreement with a college or university.

"Formal written affiliation agreement" for a non-profit research institute means a written document that establishes a relationship between institutions for research or education and which is signed by an authorized representative, as that term is defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.110, from each institution.  A relationship that exists on a project-by-project or grant-by-grant basis is not considered a formal written affiliation agreement.  "Formal written affiliation agreement" for a teaching hospital means a "master affiliation agreement" and "program letter of agreement", as these terms are defined in the document entitled "Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education:  Glossary of Terms", incorporated by reference in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 720.111, with an accredited medical program or medical school.

"Laboratory" means an area owned by an eligible academic entity where relatively small quantities of chemicals and other substances are used on a non-production basis for teaching or research (or diagnostic purposes at a teaching hospital) and are stored and used in containers that are easily manipulated by one person.  Photo laboratories, art studios, and field laboratories are laboratories within the meaning of this definition.  Areas such as chemical stockrooms and preparatory laboratories that provide a support function to teaching or research laboratories (or diagnostic laboratories at teaching hospitals) are also laboratories within the meaning of this definition.

"Laboratory clean-out" means an evaluation of the inventory of chemicals and other materials in a laboratory that are no longer needed or which have expired and the subsequent removal of those chemicals or other unwanted materials from the laboratory.  A clean-out may occur for several reasons.  It may be on a routine basis (e.g., at the end of a semester or academic year) or as a result of a renovation, relocation, or change in laboratory supervisor or occupant.  A regularly scheduled removal of unwanted material, as required by Section 722.308, does not qualify as a laboratory clean-out within the meaning of this definition.

"Laboratory worker" means a person who handles chemicals or unwanted material in a laboratory.  This may include, but is not limited to, any member of faculty or staff, a post-doctoral fellow, an intern, a researcher, a technician, a supervisor or manager, or a principal investigator.  A person does not need to be paid or otherwise compensated for his or her work in the laboratory to be considered a laboratory worker.  An undergraduate or graduate student in a supervised classroom setting is not a laboratory worker.

"Non-profit research institute" means an organization that conducts research as its primary function and which files as a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code (26 USC 501(c)(3)).

"Reactive acutely hazardous unwanted material" means an unwanted material that is one of the acutely hazardous commercial chemical products listed in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 721.133(e) for reactivity.

"Teaching hospital" means a hospital that trains students to become physicians, nurses, or other health or laboratory personnel.

"Trained professional" means a person who has completed the applicable RCRA training requirements of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 722.117(a)(7), for an LQG, or who is knowledgeable about normal operations and emergencies in compliance with Section 722.116(b)(9)(C), for an SQG or VSQG that opt into 35 Ill. Adm. Code. 722.Subpart K.  A trained professional may be an employee of the eligible academic entity or a contractor or vendor who meets the requisite training requirements.

"Unwanted material" means any chemical, mixtures of chemicals, products of experiments, or other material from a laboratory that is no longer needed, wanted, or usable in the laboratory and which is destined for hazardous waste determination by a trained professional.  Unwanted material includes reactive acutely hazardous unwanted material, material that may eventually be determined not to be solid waste under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 721.102, or a hazardous waste under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 721.103.  If an eligible academic entity elects to use another equally effective term instead of "unwanted material", as allowed by Section 722.306(a)(1)(A), the equally effective term will have the same meaning, and the material designated by that term will be subject to the same requirements as "unwanted material" under Subpart K.

"Working container" means a small container (i.e., two gallons (7.6 ℓ) or less) that is in use at a laboratory bench, hood, or other work station, to collect unwanted material from a laboratory experiment or procedure.

(Source:  Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 16994, effective November 7, 2024)