CONTRIBUTION OF TOXICOLOGY STUDENTS OF THE DEGREE IN CHEMISTRY TO THE ISO 14001 CERTIFICATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CADIZ, SPAIN

The University of Cadiz (UCA) has been traditionally aware of environmental topics and concerned about sustainability. One of the mainstays of the Science Campus is constituted by studies and research in that field. Strategic Plans of the UCA drawn up in 2005 establish the lines of action of the institution with regards to its interest in the environment.

In the last years, the UCA has defined its environmental policy, designed its environmental management system and implemented it. As a culmination of these actions, ISO 14001 certification was requested, and obtained in February 2011. Thus, UCA became one of the first Spanish universities to obtain this external recognition, joining the limited group of the European ones owning it. The entire community -faculty, staff and students- contributed to the achievement of the certification. The effort was huge, as defined by the own certification organisation in its report. This is easy to understand bearing in mind that the UCA is an institution made up of several thousand members divided into several collectives, distributed through four campuses and many establishments with well different characteristics.

With regard to students, the Green Office of the UCA (internal organ devoted to sustainability subjects) conducted a campaign to increase awareness by placing stickers or posters containing appropriate pieces of advice in key places.

The role of science students is particularly relevant because the weight of their contribution is greater, due to the fact that they usually generate significant quantities of wastes coming from the chemicals they handle in laboratory practicals. Within our Toxicology courses the more complex practicals which involve the greater number of reagents, have always been carried out by the students of the degree in Chemistry, specifically in the “Integrated Laboratory of Biochemistry and Toxicology” (ILBT).

This work looks at ILBT students. At the beginning of the course teachers give students explicit directions for proper segregation and disposing of waste materials. Wastes include different categories of chemicals, being the most important quantitatively the non-solvent organic compounds, metal solutions and non-chlorinated organic solvents; and also biological samples, broken glass and other materials impregnated with chemicals or otherwise hazardous. Teachers exercise strict control during the laboratory practicals in order to avoid mistakes due to any confusion, ignorance or negligence.

At the end of the practical sessions of the course 2011/2012, we provided these students with a survey focused on their perceptions and attitudes regarding the selective collection of laboratory waste, as well as their knowledge about the certification process in the UCA. Results clearly indicated that our students of Chemistry are absolutely used to manage laboratory wastes, doing it as routine and as an obligation, and at the same time out of conviction -they do not know another way of proceeding. However, they were not aware of having contributed to the achievement of the ISO 14001 Certification by the institution to which they belong.