The issue of radioactive waste disposal, however, is becoming more complicated, some say.
The closing of the nation's only major disposal site in July 1994 forced universities to begin storing radioactive waste on campus.
But University officials say the fact that Harvard was prepared for the shutdown demonstrates the extent of Harvard's turnaround.
"We realized we might be required to store whatever we made on site," Casey said. "Harvard reduced its production [of radioactive waste] astronomically."
The type of waste Harvard previously stored at the national site makes up only 0.4% of the radioactive waste produced in University labs, according to Ring.
The waste now occupies about "half a drum" in a specially designed room in the basement of the Albert Building at the Medical School, Ring said.
Other radioactive waste produced by Harvard is stored at a site in Southboro, Massachusetts, Casey said.