Tyler Jones

321000444
Biological Waste Facility

Introduction
On October 28th a group of thirteen EHSC students along with Dr. Wilkinson
toured the Texas A&M Biological Waste Facility on campus lead by Monica Hartman
and Josh Freeman. In the facility, the group discussed the different rules and
regulations as well as the different processes of the facility.
This facility deals with all biological wastes produced by the University. This
waste equals roughly 30,000 lbs. of material a month1. The majority of this waste
comes from either the Veterinarian School and from labs across campus. Big portion
of their waste also comes from the adjoining Necropsy lab where they dissect
animals to determine reason for death and to do other research
Below I will expand on these sites and the different regulations and
guidelines used for the facility. This will be done by a superscript relating it the
guideline or regulation that pertains to it and where I have obtained that
information.
Site Features
The Biological Waste Facility is located at 211 Sippel Road and serves a
population of around 60,000 people. The facility is composed of two different types
of waste disposal systems, digesters and an incinerator. Also contained in the same

facility there are containment areas, a Necropsy lab, and a processed waste
container holding area.
Most waste is first processed through the Necropsy lab where it is studied or
put through any possible final processing so that it will fit inside the appropriate
waste processor. Not all waste from the Necropsy lab is sent through the biological
waste system though and is then marked for special
disposal by a tag system.
Waste coming into the facility, regardless of
origin is held in one of the two containment
refrigerators. Here, waste is allowed to accumulate to
justify a running of the waste
processors. The first of the two
containment areas is the noninfectious containment areas
where most of their everyday
waste is stored (Figure 1).
Secondly, there is the infectious
area, separated from the noninfectious by a curtain, where
any waste that has been
determined to be infected by
any possibly hazardous disease
or chemical is stored (Figure 2).
Any waste that is considered
especially hazardous will not be
stored and will be processed immediately, an example being
mad cow disease1.
The facility holds two digesters that both use NaOH to Figure 2: The Infectious
Containment Cooler
dissolve the waste. The first one, the Agrilyzer, is from their
previous facility and will soon be decommissioned (Figure 3).
It can process up to 2,000 lbs. total including solution and is only used once or twice
a year. The second, new, digester was installed in 2004 with a cost of
$1 million (Figure 4). This digester can process much more material
and while using less acid in the process. This is accomplished by
running for 10 hours at a time at 300 degrees Celsius. Samples of the
finished waste are taken twice at a time and examined to make sure
the process is working correctly. Wastes, including the NaOH used
are disposed of by dilution with
water and release to the Wastewater
Treatment Facility. This must be
done on a timely schedule with
Figure 3:
communication with the Wastewater
Agrilyzer
Treatment Facility so as to not disrupt
Digester
their processes.
Most waste is processed
Figure 1: The Non-Infectious
Containment Cooler.

Figure 4: Main Digester

Figure 5: Incinerator

through the sites incinerator (Figure 5). It is cheaper to run

since it is run off of natural gas. The waste produced from
incineration is also easier to dispose of since it can be sent
to the landfill. The incinerator used was retrofitted to the
building and installed in 2002. It can process 750 lbs/hr
with a maximum load of 2,000 lbs. To run, the incinerator
must first be calibrated for certain emmisions2. This is done
through the Certified Emissions Monitoring System. After
the waste is burned, the remaining ash/waste must be
brushed out manually and tested for heavy metal content
before being shipped off to the landfill. Waste going into the
incinerator must be watched to prevent too many highly
flammable components from going in at the same time such
as pigs with high fat content which cause a flash burn that
can send unwanted ash up the smoke stack.

Regulatory Requirements
While the Digesters must be carefully watched because they use dangerous
acids and discharge into the Wastewater Treatment Facility, the only permit
required of the Biological Waste Facility in the Digester section is the general
National Pollutant Discharge System (NPDES) permit the University already holds1.
The Incinerator is required to have a Title V Air Permit regulated under the
Clean Air Act. This ensures that the amount and contents of the smoke coming out of
the incinerator are not polluting too much or releasing any harmful chemicals into
the air. A stack monitor that measures ppm of Carbon Monoxide and Oxygen release
does this.
The ash that is created from the incinerator is also regulated in that it must
be tested for harmful characteristics before being disposed of in a landfill. This is
regulated under RCRA with a New Source Review permit3.
The TCEQ also does audits of the site occasionally to ensure that scales have
been registered and other equipment is up to standard.
Comparisons
Texas A&Ms Biological Waste Facility operates a much larger capacity than a
normal municipal facility might operate. This is due to the added flow from the
Veterinarian School in addition to additional off-campus contributors. A fair
comparison might be that of multiple large hospitals since medical and biological
wastes are treated similarily.

References
1. Monica Hartman (TAMU EHS) and Josh Freeman (site manager) word of
mouth.
2. "42 U.S. Code 7661c - Permit Requirements and Conditions." 42

U.S. Code 7661c - Permit Requirements and Conditions. LII / Legal

Information Institute, n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2014.
3. "New Source Review." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d.
Web. 06 Nov. 2014.