48 � Division of Chemical Heal

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[1_TD$DIFF]Ask Alice H. . .

D ear Alice,

Help, I just came into a ‘‘new’’ laboratory.(You know the one that they give to the newperson, but nobody has been in for a couple ofyears.) Much to my surprise (not really), thereare a number of containers in one of the hoods.How should I handle these?

Mis-Stored.

Dear Mis-Stored,You are absolutely correct; fume hoods

should never be used for storage. Yet, unfortu-nately that is exactly the case in many labora-tories. You are also correct in that you need tohandle these carefully, as you don’t want yourlaboratory to become a site of a potential explo-sion. So, you are going to have to be somethingof a private detective, safety person, and hazar-dous waste person – in order to handle thissituation appropriately. Here are some generaltips to follow:

1. Contact your Health and Safety person foryour department to review the situation.

2. Try and determine the contents of the con-tainers (look at the labels, and see if you canfind any other information that may helpyou identify the materials currently beingstored).

3. Develop a plan of action with your wastehandling person to remove the material.

4. Follow appropriate precautions and useappropriate personal protective equipmentfor the materials being handled.

While these general tips will not solve yourspecific situation, this is the best starting point.You will need to work with your localresources in order to properly dispose of thematerials. The next step of course is not to getinto this situation again. Here are some tips tohelp prevent this situation in the future:

1. Hoods should not be used for chemicalstorage. Work with your Health and Safetyperson to develop a proper storage planfor the chemicals that are in use. Make

th and Safety of the American Chemical Society

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sure that the proper storage cabinets are inplace.

2. Label, label, label. Labels are the first line ofdefense. All containers should be properlylabeled and should contain enough informa-tion for the material to be safely handled.Refer to the Hazard Communication Guide-lines for good labeling techniques.

3. When it is time to dispose of a chemical, do itand do it properly. Work with your depart-ment and follow the appropriate waste hand-ling protocols and utilize your localresources.

4. Pre-planning. More is not always better.Order only what is needed that way youdon’t have to worry about how you are goingto deal with the ‘‘left over’’ material.

Hopefully, this situation is becoming a rarephenomenon, but everyone who works in alaboratory needs to be responsible for thematerials that they use. You may know whatit is – but that person who has the laboratoryafter you may not.

Dear Alice,We are about to use liquid nitrogen in our

laboratory. We know the obvious frostbitehazard, but are unsure about some of the otherhazards. Do you have any specific recommen-dations?

It is about to get cold in here.

Dear About to be Cold,Cryogens do pose a number of hazards. You

are absolutely correct in that the obvious one isassociated with the ‘‘freezing’’ of skin (or othertissues). And it is wonderful that you haverecognized that there are other potentialhazards. Two other potential hazards are:

1. The rapid expansion of liquid nitrogen candisplace oxygen. Store cryogenic liquids inwell ventilated areas.

2. Cryogenic liquids can pose an explosionhazard due to the rapid thawing and pres-sure build up if the material is trapped in avessel, tube or other container without pres-sure relief. Be aware of the potential forpressurization.

1871-5532/$32.00

doi:10.1016/j.jchas.2008.11.008