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Highly Hazardous Chemicals &
Chemical Spills
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Moving Procedure Fact Sheets | Hazardous
Waste Fact Sheets | top of page |
HIGHLY HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL WASTES
Certain chemical wastes must be handled by special procedures due to their highly hazardous nature. These chemicals include expired isopropyl and ethyl ethers (these chemicals typically expire 6 months after the container is opened), dry picric acid, and dry 2,4-dinitrophenylhyrdazine. These chemicals can explode during opening or routine handling. A
list of explosive chemicals can be found here. If you encounter these or other highly hazardous waste chemicals in your laboratory, leave them alone and notify VEHS immediately to arrange for disposal. Highly hazardous chemicals must NOT be handled by laboratory personnel.
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Expired ether is one of the most common highly hazardous
chemicals found in laboratories. Ether
is extremely flammable and can form explosive peroxides after exposure to air
and light. Since it is packaged in
an air atmosphere, peroxides can form even in unopened containers.
Therefore, it is very important to write the date received and the date
opened on all ether containers. Opened
containers should be disposed of through the VEHS Hazardous Waste Collection
Program within 6 months. Unopened
containers should be disposed of through the VEHS Hazardous Waste Collection
Program within one year. Ether
should be stored in the smallest container possible, away from heat and sunlight
and any source of ignition, and in a flammable storage cabinet or
refrigerator/freezer certified for storing flammable materials.
Your laboratory/department will be charged for the
disposal of highly hazardous chemicals, since they are not included in the
Hazardous Waste Collection Program budget.
The charge will be the direct cost charged to VEHS by our disposal
contractor. VEHS does not mark up
the disposal charges for these chemicals.
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Expired ethyl ether
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| Laboratory
Moving Procedure Fact Sheets | Hazardous
Waste Fact Sheets | top of page |
HAZARDOUS WASTE SPILLS
Chemical spills must be cleaned up immediately. Spilled chemicals should be treated as hazardous waste. The materials used in the spill cleanup should also be treated as hazardous waste unless the materials can be decontaminated. Chemical spills that cannot be cleaned up by laboratory personnel should immediately be reported to VEHS after evacuating and isolating the spill area.
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Moving Procedure Fact Sheets | Hazardous
Waste Fact Sheets | top of page |
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