5 questions – chemical safety

Q1. What are the essentials of chemical management?

 Compliance with legal requirements

 Chemical storage – compatibility and with secondary containment
 Labelling of chemicals – name of chemical, GHS stickers
 Proper disposal of chemical – quenching of unreacted chemicals, waste compatibility

Q2. What are the classes of chemicals that CANNOT be stored together?

 acids and bases,

 flammables and oxidizers,
 inorganic acids and organic acids,
 alcohols and acids

Q3. What are the major groups of chemicals used in NUS that regulated by local legislations?

 Chemical weapons
 Drugs and substances useful for the manufacturing of drugs
 Explosive precursors
 Hazardous substances
 Petroleum and flammable materials
 Poisons

Information on the group of which the chemical falls into and its regulator can be found in the OSHE
tool, Online Regulated Material Identifier

Q4. What is considered a petroleum and flammable material (PFM) that is controlled by SCDF?

 hydrocarbons with flash point of 60oC or less

 scheduled chemicals in the PFM regulations
 mixtures with a flash point of 60oC or less

Note: Literature suggests common solvents (ie. ethanol, methanol, isopropanol) diluted in water (ratio
of alcohol to water 1:9)

Q5. What is the primary purpose of the chemical fume hood?

The chemical fume hood protects the user from exposure to chemical vapours. The desired flow rate is
0.41 to 0.5 metres/second.
The fume hood must undergo certification under any of these following conditions:

• at least once every 365 days

• when relocated from one place to another

• when changes have been made to the layout of the lab with the fume cupboard.