. "Managment of Chemicals." Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1995.
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Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals
NOTE: Store flammables in a storage cabinet for flammable liquids or in safety cans.
Separate chemicals into their organic and inorganic families and then related and compatible groups, as shown. Separation of chemical groups can be by different shelves within the same cabinet.
Do NOT store chemicals alphabetically as a general group. This may result in incompatibles appearing together on a shelf. Rather, store alphabetically within compatible groups.
This listing is only a suggested method of arranging chemical materials for storage and is not intended to be complete.
purchased materials in order to facilitate inventory control of the materials.
Provide a definite storage place for each chemical and return the chemical to that location after each use.
Avoid storing chemicals on bench tops, except for those chemicals being used currently.
Avoid storing chemicals in laboratory hoods, except for those chemicals being used currently.
Store volatile toxics and odoriferous chemicals in a ventilated cabinet. Check with the institution's environmental health and safety officer.
Provide ventilated storage near laboratory hoods.
If a chemical does not require a ventilated cabinet, store it inside a closable cabinet or on a shelf that has a lip to prevent containers from sliding off in the event of a fire, serious accident, or earthquake.
Do not expose stored chemicals to heat or direct sunlight.
Observe all precautions regarding the storage of incompatible chemicals.
Separate chemicals into compatible groups and store alphabetically within compatible groups. See Table 4.1 for one suggested method for arranging chemicals in this way.
Store flammable liquids in approved flammable liquid storage cabinets.
In seismically active regions, storage of chemicals requires additional consideration for the stability of shelving and containers. Shelving and other storage units should be secured. Shelving should contain a front-edge lip to prevent containers from falling. Ideally, containers of liquids should be placed on a metal or plastic tray that could hold the liquid if the container broke while on the shelf. All laboratories, not only those in seismically active regions, can benefit from these additional storage precautions.
4.E.2Containers and Equipment
Specific guidelines regarding containers and equipment to use in storing chemicals are as follows:
Use corrosion-resistant storage trays or secondary containers to retain materials if the primary container breaks or leaks.
Provide vented cabinets beneath laboratory hoods for storing hazardous materials. (This encour-
