Lec# 4 Chemical Storage

&
Waste Management
 Safety Guidelines

It is the responsibility of each person that enters into the laboratory to

understand the safety and health hazards associated with potential
hazardous materials and equipment in the laboratory.
It is also the individual's responsibility to practice the following general
safety guidelines at all times.
 Safety Guidelines – 1/2
• Always wear proper eye protection in chemical work, handling
and storage areas. Contact lenses should normally not be
worn.

• Always know the hazards associated with the materials that

are being utilized in the lab.

• Always wash hands with soap and water before leaving the
work area.

• Never remove chemicals, radioactive materials from

the facility without proper authorization.
 Safety Guidelines – 2/2
• Use equipment and hazardous materials only for their intended
purposes.

• Never leave an experiment unattended while it is being heated or is

rapidly reacting.

• Do not use cracked or chipped glassware.

• Laboratory water sources and deionized water should not be

used for drinking water.

• Laboratory materials should never be consumed or tasted.

 Storage Fundamentals
• Identify incompatible chemicals – check the Material Safety Data
Sheet (MSDS)

• Isolate and separate incompatible materials

• Isolate by storing in another area or room

• Degree of isolation depends on

1. quantities
2. chemical properties
3. packaging
 General Chemical Storage System
Lab should Have:
❖ Eye Wash
❖ Safety Shower
❖ Emergency Phone
❖ Fire Extinguisher
❖ Spill Materials kits
Ideal Storage Area Set-Up

NA, LI Acids
Bases
Room Should Have:
•Eye Wash
Oxidizers
•Safety Shower
Dry
•Emergency Phone Chemical
•Fire Extinguisher s
Spill
Materials Metal Salts Flammables
Nitrates Cabinet
7
 Storage Cabinets

• Must be labeled, “Flammable - Keep Fire

Away”
• Doors on metal cabinets must have a three-
point lock (top, side, and bottom)
• Not more than 60 gal of Class I/Class II liquids
• Not more than 120 gal of Class III liquids
permitted in a cabinet
 Acids/Bases Storage
Bottles containing concentrated chemicals have color-coded caps:
• Red: Nitric Acid
• Blue: Hydrochloric Acid
• Yellow: Sulfuric Acid
• Brown: Acetic Acid
: Phosphoric Acid
• Green: Ammonium Hydroxide
For dilute solutions:
• Clear
• Black
• Orange, or Purple caps.
Video: Reaction (Explosion) of Alkali Metals with Water

https://youtu.be/I8tOtZKpi04
 Chemical Storage Don’ts
• Don’t mix waste chemicals in the same storage containers as mixing two
or more waste chemicals in one container can cause quite violent
reactions

• Don’t store chemicals near heat, sunlight,

or other substances with which they might
react
• Don’t store materials on floors or other
places where people could trip over them
• Don’t add water in concentrated acids
• Don’t store dry ice (cryogenics) in a sealed container
 Waste Management
Waste; any substance which is discarded after primary use, or is worthless,
defective and of no use.
Hazardous waste; waste with properties that make it dangerous or
potentially harmful to human health or the environment. It could be solid,
liquid or gas.
Sharps; devices or objects with corners, edges, or projections capable of
cutting or piercing skin
• Hypodermic needles and syringes
• Blades (scalpels, razors, microtomes)
• Broken lab glassware, microscopic glasses & cover slips
Waste Types
Regular waste such as wrapping, note papers, pencil shavings,
empty drink containers....

Chemical waste include all chemical products.

Biological waste include blood and blood product, micro-biology

culture plates, animal and fish carcasses, plant material, all
culture media, syringes and pipettes, soils, soiled gloves and
containers, etc.
 Glassware, Solvents and oils
• Use correct techniques for the insertion of tubing onto glassware
• Never use glassware under pressure or vacuum unless it is
designed for the job and suitably shielded

• Dispose of broken glassware – it is a risk to you and others

• Always dispose of broken glass in a glass bin or sharps bin and not
in a general waste bin

• Solvents and oils must be segregated into the

correct waste bottle or drum

• Do not put materials down the drain or in with

normal waste unless authorised to do so
Best Practices
 Best Practices
Non-contaminated waste
Domestic/office waste. Not to be used to
store or transport clinical waste.

Non-contaminated waste (sharps & broken glass)

Uncontaminated glass slides, empty reagent bottles,
broken glass etc.

Contaminated sharps & broken glass

Contaminated glass slides, empty reagent bottles,
broken glass etc.
 Best Practices

Contaminated laboratory glassware for reuse

Contaminated glassware which is specifically
designed or used for laboratory work.
They are discarded in autoclave bag for sterilization.

Contaminated materials for disposal

Used for all waste that needs to be
autoclaved, this includes:
• Culture plates, sealed blood tube, serum
cups, expired / infected blood units
• Soiled latex gloves
• Any other biohazardous materials.
 Best Practices
Protecting our environment
• Chemical that goes into the sink will generally end up in water treatment
plant.
• hypochlorite will react with organic matter and released in the
environment as “treated wastewater”.
• Heavy metals such as silver, lead, or cadmium will follow this pathway into
our watertable.
• Water supplies in the world are contaminated by hormones, pesticides,
and other organic molecules found in wastewater.