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Performing a chemical inventory more than just best practice

Lab Safety Advisor, August 29, 2006

Performing a chemical inventory isn't just good practice, it can save you from great harm

For years, the back halls and dark closets held the laboratory's dirty little secrets: Cans and partially used bottles of chemicals, some with the labels damaged or absent altogether, or chemicals stored alphabetically or just haphazardly on unsteady shelves.

When storing chemicals it is wise to do a thorough chemical inventory to determine just what you have and continue to use. If a chemical has been sitting on the shelf for two years or more, it is probably time to place it in a lab pack for proper disposal. Liquid chemicals, especially acids, should be placed on sturdy shelves no more than shoulder height (approximately five feet above the floor). Make sure you know the incompatibility properties of each chemical. You wouldn't want to store acetic acid next to nitric acid or ammonium nitrate next to a flammable liquid.

A chemical incompatibility chart can be found on pages 108-109 in Chapter 8 of my book, Complete Guide to Laboratory Safety.

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