Reimagining Laboratory Waste Safety: A Risk Assessment Approach Grounded in Accident Data and Institutional Practices in University Science and Engineering Fields

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Across universities, technical colleges, corporate and governmental research institutes, and hospitals, diverse wastes are generated as a consequence of education, research, and clinical activities. In response, it is increasingly imperative to strengthen autonomous management grounded in sound scientific judgment and in strict compliance with relevant regulations, with due regard to environmental protection, safety assurance, and occupational hygiene. This study examines global and domestic practices and emerging challenges surrounding laboratory waste and─aiming to improve future handling and risk assessment while ultimately reducing accident occurrence─proposes practice-grounded recommendations for risk assessment and risk mitigation in the collection and management of laboratory waste. Retaining the original risk assessment formula, we respecify the scoring criteria with reference to a decade of institutional accident data, calibrating probability and damage scales to better reflect observed experience. Under the redefined criteria, the consistency between model-based risk rankings and the empirical ranking of accident frequency is improved, with high-incidence scenarios receiving commensurately elevated scores and lower-incidence scenarios de-emphasized. The new criteria provide a more realistic reflection of institutional risk and a clearer basis for prioritizing mitigation, optimizing waste-removal intervals, and aligning resource allocation. We argue that this reimagined, practice-anchored framework offers a robust basis for reducing accident likelihood and strengthening safety practices in science and engineering education.