EPA agreement will leader to greener labs at New Jersey college

An agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark will help bring “green chemistry” to school laboratory experiments at the institute and other colleges and high schools in the area. These green chemistry experiments use innovative techniques and technologies in lab experiments, which minimize the need to use reagents, usually some type of solvent, to produce chemical reactions. The agreement grew out of a complaint in which the EPA cited the school for violating federal rules that govern how to handle hazardous waste. NJIT must spend at least $125,000 to showcase greener lab practices. It also must measure the amount of solvents and energy reductions that can be achieved when practices, such as microwave technology, are used in laboratory experiments rather than traditional chemistry practices.

To view the EPA news release, click here.