Project XL

Boston College is proud to be a partner in the New England University Laboratory Project XL. The other partners are:

• University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston)
• University of Vermont (UVM)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MADEP)
• Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (VANR)

Through this collaboration, which began in 1999, the university partners have implemented laboratory specific Environmental Management Plans. The goal of the project is to create a single comprehensive health and safety program for the laboratories that combines hazardous materials and hazardous waste management, rather than the current regulatory framework which divides the two issues into OSHA (Chemical Hygiene Plan) and EPA (RCRA) regulations.

Project XL requires that participants reach beyond compliance and develop areas of enhanced environmental performance. The university partners have engaged in a number of activities designed to improve laboratory waste management practices — comprehensive training of lab workers, innovative waste labeling and identification procedures, and collection and reporting of detailed data about laboratory waste in order to better identify pollution prevention opportunities. Because of this work, Campus Safety, Environmental Health Management Association (CSHEMA) awarded BC, UVM and UMass Boston an Award of Distinction in Unique and Innovative Safety Programming in July, 1993.

The current Project XL Rule is scheduled to expire in September, 2006.

Campus Consortium on Environmental Excellence (C2E2)

Boston College is a member of the C2E2, a working group of colleges and universities from across the nation who are interested in sharing the best environmental compliance tools for universities. C2E2's mission is to "support the continuous improvement of environmental management in higher education through promotion of professional networking, information exchange, resources and tools, and the development of innovative regulatory models."

The organization has been involved in supporting the New England Universities Laboratories Project XL, hosting a virtual environmental campus tour, developing a white paper on the use of hand-held electronic tools in environmental health and safety activities, and taking part in national conversations about improving environmental performance at colleges and universities. C2E2.org is the home of a number of resources including the multi-university Project XL reports, Best Management Practices, the poster, Measuring Environmental Performance, and emergency management tools.