Schools' Chemical Hygiene Officers
Chemical Disposal
There have been several state-funded chemical clean-outs for high schools. Schools with chemicals on the state banned-chemicals list should have them properly disposed of as soon as possible. For private chemical disposal services, there are several companies certified to transport hazardous waste. For information on specific companies, consult the SAFECHEMRI listserv to find out who other Chemical Hygiene Officers have used in the past. You may want to call several companies to compare costs.
Chemical Storage
Common mistakes made in the utilization of acid storage cabinets
- Incompatible storage of concentrated nitric acid (oxidizer) with glacial acetic acid (a
flammable acid).
- Incompatible storage of concentrated nitric acid (oxidizer) with ethyl alcohol or
acetone (flammable, but not acids).
- Storage of multiple bottles of the same reagent (EPA regulations allow storage of no
more than one year’s supply of any one hazardous chemical)
- Storage of acids in bottles with glass stoppers instead of vapor-proof screw-on plastic
caps.
- Storage of bases in acid cabinets (mixing concentrated acids and bases results in an
extremely exothermic reaction).
- Storage of concentrated acids with concentrated ammonia (also a base). Acid and
ammonia vapors mix and form a white coating of ammonium chloride on everything
in the cabinet.
- Storage of acid bottles without appropriate secondary containment such as plastic
tubs.
- Use of a metal cabinet to store acids. Corrosive acid vapors are best contained by a
cabinet made out of coated wood or plastic laminate.
Rhode Island Department of Health