Several committees were established by the National Association of Physicians for the Environment to investigate and report on various topics at the National Leadership Conference on Biomedical Research and the Environment held at the 1--2 November 1999 at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. This is the report of the Committee on Minimization and Management of Wastes from Biomedical Research. Biomedical research facilities contribute a small fraction of the total amount of wastes generated in the United States, and the rate of generation appears to be decreasing. Significant reductions in generation of hazardous, radioactive, and mixed wastes have recently been reported, even at facilities with rapidly expanding research programs. Changes in the focus of research, improvements in laboratory techniques, and greater emphasis on waste minimization (volume and toxicity reduction) explain the declining trend in generation. The potential for uncontrolled releases of wastes from biomedical research facilities and adverse impacts on the general environment from these wastes appears to be low. Wastes are subject to numerous regulatory requirements and are contained and managed in a manner protective of the environment. Most biohazardous agents, chemicals, and radionuclides that find significant use in research are not likely to be persistent, bioaccumulative, or toxic if they are released. Today, the primary motivations for the ongoing efforts by facilities to improve minimization and management of wastes are regulatory compliance and avoidance of the high disposal costs and liabilities associated with generation of regulated wastes. The committee concluded that there was no evidence suggesting that the anticipated increases in biomedical research will significantly increase generation of hazardous wastes or have adverse impacts on the general environment. This conclusion assumes the positive, countervailing trends of enhanced pollution prevention efforts by facilities and reductions in waste generation resulting from improvements in research methods will continue.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has implemented an enhanced and comprehensive program to reduce the use of radioactive materials and to minimize the generation of radioactive and mixed wastes. The primary drivers for this program were increasing waste management costs, difficulties in disposing of certain types of radioactive wastes, particularly mixed wastes, and the increasing burden of managing radioactive materials in accordance with new regulatory requirements. These minimization efforts, coupled with the development of new on-site waste treatment options and the use of commercially available waste processing facilities, have resulted in significant reductions in the use of radioactive materials in bench research and the resultant amounts of radioactive and mixed waste generated and disposed off-site. A survey of users of radioactive materials was conducted to examine the reasons for this reduction and to predict future ordering trends. The primary factors contributing to reductions in ordering appear to be rapidly increasing use of non-radioactive research techniques, and increasingly burdensome safety and security regulations governing the use of radioactive material, which tend to discourage their use. The downward trends in use and disposal of radioactive materials at the NIH appear to be continuing.

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