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For years you have wanted to clean up and organize your chemical storage area. But it's such a huge job, where do you begin? Our seven-step plan will give the direction and guidance you need to get this job done safely, quickly and efficiently.
Before we begin, some ground rules need to be established:
- Teachers cleaning up the chemical storage area should do so in teams. This
work should never be done alone. Students should never be involved.
- Teachers doing this work should be from the school where the work is being
done. The best time to do this type of work is immediately after school gets
out in the spring.
- Teachers should be hired on an extended contract during the summer months
to undertake this project. For an average sized school of 1000 students, it
will take a team of three to four teachers two weeks to clean up the chemical
storage area.
- Teachers on an extended contract should be covered by the school's insurance
policy in the unlikely event of an injury.
It's very important that the teachers be paid for the work they are about to undertake. This problem of old chemicals may have existed long before the teachers started working at the school. Compensation from the school district is only fair.
STEP 1: Take an Inventory
The most important step in cleaning
up a chemical storage area is
taking an accurate and complete
inventory of every chemical in
each chemical storage area, laboratory
and classroom. Without a complete
inventory you will not be able
to proceed to step #2. Don't forget
to check closets and drawers.
Details on how to take an inventory
can be found on pages 1056–1059
of our 2006 Flinn Scientific
Catalog/Reference Manual.
Please read these instructions
carefully!
Critical information will be needed from your inventory. Most particularly, you will want to know: 1) the name of the chemical, 2) its shelf location, 3) the approximate amount of chemical estimated to be in each container.
The shelf location of each chemical is important because it is likely that the same chemical will be found in several locations. Shelf location information will help you track down and consolidate these chemicals.
STEP 2: What Chemicals Do You Really Use?
It is fair to say that 40% of the chemicals you have in your chemical storage area have not been used in the last five years and probably won't be used in the next five years. Now is the time to decide which chemicals are really used. Once the inventory is completed, review your laboratory manuals, textbooks, demonstrations and science fair projects and decide which chemicals you use and which chemicals you don't use.
As you review your inventory,
you may discover an excessive
amount of some chemicals. Calculate
what quantities of these chemicals
you use every year and then decide
to keep no more than a two- to
five-year supply. Determining
how much chemical to keep will
be influenced by two factors:
the chemical shelf life and the
hazardous nature of the chemical.
The poorer the shelf life or the
more hazardous the chemical the
less you will want to keep on
hand. Shelf life and hazard information
may be found in the Flinn
Scientific Catalog/Reference Manual
under each chemical listing.
If the chemical is not hazardous
and has an indefinite shelf life,
keep a four- to five-year supply.
However, if the chemical is hazardous
and the shelf life is poor, keep
only a one-year supply on hand.
Look carefully at each bottle,
try to determine which bottle
looks the freshest or has the
best shelf life and only keep
the amount you really think you
need. Let the shelf life and chemical
hazard information found in our
Flinn Scientific Catalog/Reference
Manual guide the way.
STEP 3: Organizing Your Chemical Storage Area
You now know which chemicals you
use, which chemicals you want
to keep, and which chemicals you
would like to get rid of. Let's
now physically move all of the
chemicals in the chemical storage
area out into the laboratory area
onto the lab benches. The laboratory
next to the chemical storage area
works best. The right side of
the laboratory will become an
area for those chemicals which
you either no longer use, or have
excessive amounts of and would
like to dispose of.
The left side of the laboratory will be those chemicals you want to keep. It's important that only authorized people working on this project be allowed to enter this room. Administrators, maintenance people and others must not be allowed into this laboratory area unless they are accompanied by one of the teachers involved in the cleanup project. This laboratory should be locked when not in use. If you discover chemicals which you feel uncomfortable moving or handling, please call Flinn Scientific for further advice.
STEP 4: Bag and Can Dangerous Chemicals or Practice "Devil Control"
There are certain chemicals found
on school premises which Flinn
Scientific considers to be "devils."
A "devil" is any chemical which
has a severe hazard alert. Severely
poisonous, severely toxic, severely
flammable, severely corrosive,
strong oxidizer, carcinogen or
strong stench are all characteristics
which may qualify a chemical as
a "devil." Our list of "devils"
can be found on page 270 of our
2006 Catalog/Reference Manual.
To practice "devil control," purchase
some clear heavyweight Baggies®
with twist ties, cat litter and
a selection of clean empty quart
and gallon paint cans.
The first step in practicing "devil control" is to place each chemical container considered to be a "devil" into a clear Baggie. Secure the Baggie with a twist tie. Should the bottle break, the spill will be contained in the Baggie.
Once the chemical bottle is in the Baggie, spread a thin layer of cat litter in the bottom of a paint can, place the sealed Baggie with the chemical container into the paint can and fill the remaining portion of the can with cat litter. Place the lid on the paint can and label the can clearly with the chemical name, chemical formula and hazard risk. Your "devil" chemical is now well protected! The metal paint can may be dropped, kicked, or even involved in a fire and the chemical container inside will not break. Should a leak occur, the cat litter will absorb the chemical and the spill will be contained inside the can.
Most "devils" may only be used once or twice during the school year, yet you need to properly protect and store these chemicals when they are not being used. Bags and cans are a very effective, yet inexpensive way to protect these "devil" chemicals.
STEP 5: Improve the Chemical Storage Area Facility
Now that the chemicals have been
moved out of the chemical storage
area and into the laboratory,
you have an opportunity to make
some improvements to the chemical
storage area. First of all, give
the room a good cleaning. Make
sure the shelves are firmly attached
to the wall and are in good condition.
If the shelves are not in good
condition, some type of repair
or replacement should be made.
Check the shelf clips carefully
to make sure they are in good
condition and not corroded. Put
"lips" on the shelves to prevent
bottle roll-off. (If you want
to learn more about shelf lips,
please turn to page 1005 of our
2006 Flinn Scientific Catalog/
Reference Manual where we
have a "How To:" box on making
your own shelf lips.) Inspect
the rest of the chemical storage
area. Do any other improvements
need to be made?
STEP 6: Organize Chemicals by Compatible Families
Now that the "devil" chemicals
have been bagged and canned, and
the storage area has been improved,
it's time to return the chemicals
you want to keep back into the
chemical storage area. Before
these chemicals are moved back
into the chemical storage area,
you must decide how they are to
be stored and organized. In the
past, they may have been stored
alphabetically. This is wrong!
Chemicals should be stored and
organized by compatible chemical
families. Pages 1060–1063
of the 2006 Flinn Scientific
Catalog/Reference Manual
describe how to properly store
laboratory chemicals. Thousands
of schools across the United States
have adopted the Flinn Suggested
Chemical Storage Patterns for
the storage of their laboratory
chemicals. Many states recommend
the Flinn Suggested Chemical Storage
Patterns as the preferred method
of chemical storage.
First, separate your chemicals into compatible families by dividing the chemicals into inorganic and organic families, then subdividing them further into their unique compatible chemical families. For instance, oxidizers are broken into five different families. Nitrates are stored in Inorganic #3, except ammonium nitrate which is isolated. Chromates and permanganates are stored in Inorganic #8. Chlorates and perchlorates are stored in Inorganic #6, and nitric acid is stored separately in a dedicated acid cabinet.
Before the chemicals are moved back into the chemical storage area it is very helpful to label each chemical bottle with the appropriate compatible chemical family storage number. It is also helpful to label each shelf with the compatible family number. Labeling both the chemical shelving and the chemical bottles with the appropriate Flinn compatible chemical family number will allow you to easily locate and return the chemicals to their appropriate storage location. Without this labeling, you'll soon find your chemical storage area in disarray. You may make your own bottle and shelf labels or pre-printed labels may be purchased from Flinn Scientific, Inc. (All Flinn chemicals are already labeled with this information.)
STEP 7: Chemical Disposal—Your Options
Now that your chemicals have been properly bagged, canned, labeled and placed back into the chemical storage area using Flinn's Suggested Compatible Family Shelf Storage Patterns, your task is now complete ... almost.
As you walk out of the chemical
storage area feeling good about
what you have accomplished, you
soon realize you still have all
of those chemicals that need to
be disposed of. What are your
options for chemical disposal?
Flinn has devoted 27 pages in
its 2006 Catalog/Reference Manual
to disposal procedures. First
read about your options on page
1068 and if you want to dispose
of small quantities of chemicals,
refer to the disposal procedures
found on pages 1069–1093.
We hope our seven-step plan to clean up your chemical storage area has given you the direction and courage needed to improve the safety profile of your school. It's no small task to clean up a chemical storage area, but with a well defined plan and the support of your school administration, this job can be done.
Good luck! If you have any questions, please feel free to call us. We're here to help! |
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| © 2006 Flinn Scientific, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction
permission is granted to science teachers who are current customers
of Flinn Scientific, Inc. No part of this material may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including, but not limited to photocopy, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from
Flinn Scientific, Inc.
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