| Summary: | The academic laboratory provides academic assistance during the learning process, which often generates many types of hazardous wastes. To enhance safety and minimize the environmental effect in the academic laboratory, it is crucial to have proper laboratory waste disposal management. The objective of this study is to determine the risk associated with waste disposal in the academic laboratories by identifying the hazard in the waste disposal process in the laboratories of one of the higher educational institutions in Northern Malaysia, based on Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment, and Risk Control (HIRARC) model. The first step involves hazard identification conducted through a hazard checklist, inspection at the workplace and interview with the laboratory personnel. Each hazard was assessed, and the risk was calculated based on the likelihood of occurrence and severity of harm. Several risk control options to reduce or eliminate the risk were proposed. The HIRARC model identified thirty critical hazards in the waste disposal process, with 50% classified as medium risk and the remaining 30% and 20% as high risk and low risk, respectively. Therefore, the waste disposal process can be deemed hazardous to laboratory personnel. The main hazards were chemical (47%), physical (30%), biological (16%), and ergonomic (7%). The high-risk activities were associated with chemical and biological hazards. Engineering control, administrative control and usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) are among the control measure presented in this study. The control measures and corrective actions applied could improve the safety of the laboratory users and prevent accidents from taking place.
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