University of Calgary
Green Scene
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Campus labs are going green
Marshall Denhoff, director of EH&S, shuts the sash on a VAV fume hood.The chemicals and equipment used in laboratories significantly contribute to labs having a greenhouse gas foot print that can be up to four or five times larger than that of a classroom or office. In an effort to reduce this footprint, the Office of Sustainability has partnered with the department of Environment, Health & Safety to develop the Green Labs Initiative.A workshop and guide have been developed to assist researchers in finding more sustainable solutions to energy, water and waste management. “The guide addresses a variety of ways in which researchers can green the lab, including more environmentally friendly products and practices such as discontinuing the use of water vacuum aspirators,” says Fred Dore, EH&S Consultant. The American Chemical Society estimates that as much as 40 percent of hazardous waste from labs results from excess or expired chemicals. This is often a result of buying chemicals in bulk to save on costs through economies of scale but the end disposal and environmental costs far out weight these initial savings. An alternative approach is to use microscale chemistry, which refers to experiments that are designed to use a lower volume of chemicals. The Green Labs initiative also encourages lab users to make other energy and water saving improvements. They suggest simple gestures like turning off lights or using task lights, defrosting refrigerators, and switching off appliances that are not in use. The initiative also provides information about more sustainable management of lab waste and informs researchers of the recycling and disposal services available to them. Also, lab fume hoods—ventilation devices used to capture hazardous air-born materials—can use as much energy as 3.5 households. As a result the University is ensuring all new installations of fume hoods are of the Variable Air Volume (VAV) type. These fume hoods are being identified with stickers that remind users to shut the sash and in turn significantly curb GHG emissions associated with sashes being left open. “By conscientiously applying a green approach to the use of energy and water consumption in each of our labs, and reducing waste, we can make a sizeable reduction in our greenhouse footprint at the University of Calgary and save on utility costs” says Marshall Denhoff, director of EH&S.  To learn more about the Green Labs initiative and to access the tool kit and resources visit ucalgary.ca/sustainability/greenlabs.
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March 11, 2010