Guidelines for care & Use of Dry Solvent Stills [Example]

Wake Forest University 

Chemistry Department, Salem Hall 

CHEMICAL HYGIENE PLAN 

AND 

SAFETY MANUAL 

Date of Last Revision: June 13, 2007 

List of Contributors 

Michelle Adkins [WFU Environmental Health and Safety(EHS) Director], Dr. Rebecca Alexander (Chemistry Department), 

Dr. Uli Bierbach (Chemistry Department), Dr. Christa Colyer (Chemistry Department), Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant 

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director], Dr. Willie Hinze (Chemistry Department), Dr. Paul Jones (Chemistry 

Department), Dr. Bruce King (Chemistry Department), Dr. Dilip Kondepudi (Chemistry Department), Dr. Abdu Lachgar 

(Chemistry Department), Dr. Ronald Noftle (Chemistry Department), Dr. Robert Swofford, (Chemistry Department), 

Michael Thompson (Lab Manager, Chemistry Department), Dr. Suzanne Tobey, (Chemistry Department), Dr. Mark 

Welker, (Chemistry Department), and various graduate students of the Chemistry Department

I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 5 

II. TELEPHONE #S OF EMERGENCY PERSONNEL / EMERGENCY FACILITIES ...................... 7 

A. HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS EMERGENCY AND INFORMATION PHONE #S ........................................................ 8 

B. EMERGENCY EXIT PLAN FOR ALL SALEM HALL LABORATORIES ................................................................ 9 

III. THE CHEMICAL HYGIENE PLAN FOR EACH LABORATORY IN SALEM HALL ............. 10 

A. EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS OF LAB SUPERVISORS AND LAB WORKERS ...................................... 11 

1. Dr. Alexander – Lab Room #108B ..................................................................................................... 12 

2. Dr. Bierbach – Lab Room #107 ......................................................................................................... 13 

3. Dr. Brown – Lab Room # 114 ............................................................................................................ 14 

4. Dr. Buchmueller – Lab Room #1 ........................................................................................................ 15 

5. Dr. Colyer – Lab Room #114 ............................................................................................................. 16 

6. Dr. Hinze – Lab Room #109 ............................................................................................................... 17 

7. Dr. Brad Jones – Lab Room #118 ...................................................................................................... 18 

8. Dr. Paul Jones – Lab Room #113 ...................................................................................................... 19 

9. Dr. Bruce King – Lab Room #17 and 18 ............................................................................................ 20 

10. Dr. Kondepudi – Lab Room #5 ........................................................................................................ 21 

11. Dr. Lachgar – Lab Room #6 .............................................................................................................. 22 

12. Dr. Noftle – Lab Room #117 .............................................................................................................. 23 

13. Dr. Swofford – Lab Room #7 .............................................................................................................. 24 

14. Dr. Tobey – Room # 2 ........................................................................................................................ 25 

15. Dr. Welker – Lab Room #s 13 and 18 ................................................................................................ 26 

16. Undergraduate – Lab Room #s 7, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 and 111 ......................................... 27 

B. GENERAL SAFETY PROCEDURES ............................................................................................................... 28 

1. BASIC SAFETY RULES FOR ALL UNDERGRADUATE LABORATORIES ....................................... 28 

2. Cleanliness in the Research Laboratory ............................................................................................... 31 

3. Housekeeping for All Labs ................................................................................................................... 33 

4. Eyewash Fountains and Safety Showers .............................................................................................. 34 

5. Lab Fires and Use of Fire Extinguishers ............................................................................................. 36 

C. PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL WASTE ................................................................. 38 

D. PROTECTIVE DEVICES, EQUIPMENT, AND APPAREL .................................................................................. 50 

1. Personal Protective Equipment: Eyewear ........................................................................................... 50 

2. Personal Protective Equipment: Lab Coats and Gloves ..................................................................... 51 

3. VENTILATION AND PROPER USE OF HOODS ............................................................................... 53 

4. Chemical Storage in Research Labs ..................................................................................................... 61 

E. LABORATORY OPERATIONS WHICH REQUIRE PRIOR APPROVAL FROM CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT 

INSTRUCTORS ................................................................................................................................................. 63 

F. PROVISIONS FOR ADDITIONAL PROTECTION WHEN WORKING WITH PARTICULARLY HAZARDOUS 

CHEMICALS .................................................................................................................................................... 65 

2. INIMICAL CHEMICALS: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT ..................................................................... 66 

G. SPECIFIC PROCEDURES FOR SAFE REMOVAL OF HIGHLY TOXIC WASTE ................................................... 67 

1. Dr. Alexander – Lab Room #108 ........................................................................................................ 68 

2. Dr. Bierbach – Lab Room #107 ......................................................................................................... 69 

3. Dr. Brown – Lab Room #14 ............................................................................................................... 71 

4. Dr. Buchmueller – Lab Room #1 ........................................................................................................ 74 

5. Dr. Colyer – Lab Room # 114 ............................................................................................................ 75 

6. Dr. Hinze – Lab Room # 109 .............................................................................................................. 77 

7. Dr. Brad Jones – Lab Room # 118 ..................................................................................................... 78 

8. Dr. Paul Jones – Lab Room # 14 ....................................................................................................... 79 

9. Dr. Bruce King – Lab Room # 17 ....................................................................................................... 80 

10. Dr. Kondepudi – Lab Room # 5 ....................................................................................................... 81 

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11. Dr. Lachgar – Lab Room # 6 ............................................................................................................. 82 

12. Dr. Noftle – Lab Room # 118 ............................................................................................................. 84 

13. Dr. Swofford – Lab Room # 1 ............................................................................................................. 85 

14. Dr. Tobey – Lab Room # 2 ................................................................................................................. 86 

15. Dr. Welker – Lab Room # 13 .............................................................................................................. 89 

16. Undergraduate – Lab Rooms # 7, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 111 ............................................... 90 

H. SPECIFIC DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURES FOR EQUIPMENT AND BENCH TOP SURFACES WHICH HAVE 

COME INTO CONTACT WITH HIGHLY TOXIC WASTE ........................................................................................ 91 

1. Dr. Alexander – Lab Room # 108 ....................................................................................................... 94 

2. Dr. Bierbach – Lab Room # 107 ........................................................................................................ 95 

3. Dr. Brown – Lab Room # 14 .............................................................................................................. 96 

4. Dr. Buchmueller – Lab Room # 1 ....................................................................................................... 97 

5. Dr. Colyer – Lab Room # 114 ............................................................................................................ 98 

6. Dr. Hinze – Lab Room # 109 .............................................................................................................. 99 

7. Dr. Brad Jones – Lab Room # 118 ................................................................................................... 100 

8. Dr. Paul Jones – Lab Room # 14 ..................................................................................................... 101 

9. Dr. Bruce King – Lab Room # 17 ..................................................................................................... 102 

10. Dr. Kondepudi – Lab Room # 5 ..................................................................................................... 103 

11. Dr. Lachgar – Lab Room # 6 ........................................................................................................... 104 

12. Dr. Noftle – Lab Room # 117 ........................................................................................................... 105 

13. Dr. Swofford – Lab Room # 1 ........................................................................................................... 106 

14. Dr. Tobey – Lab Room # 2 ............................................................................................................... 107 

15. Dr. Welker – Lab Room # 13 and 18 ................................................................................................ 108 

16. Undergraduate Lab Rooms # 7, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 111 ................................................ 109 

I. LABORATORY AND FUME HOOD INSPECTIONS ......................................................................................... 110 

1. Laboratory Inspection Form .............................................................................................................. 111 

J. LABORATORY EMERGENCIES .................................................................................................................... 112 

1. Emergency Procedure and First Aid Overview ................................................................................... 112 

2. Chemical Fire and Large Building Fire Emergency Procedures: ..................................................... 113 

3. Chemical Spills ................................................................................................................................... 114 

K. PROVISIONS FOR MEDICAL EXAMS, CONSULTATION & EXPOSURE ASSESSMENTS ..................................... 117 

1. A Guide to OSHA Air Concentration Acronyms ................................................................................. 117 

2. Air Monitoring .................................................................................................................................... 118 

3. Medical Monitoring ............................................................................................................................ 119 

4. Information Regarding Student First Aid and Medical Insurance ..................................................... 120 

5. Worker’s Compensation Procedures and Reporting Information ...................................................... 121 

6. Accident and Chemical Exposure Assessment Report ........................................................................ 122 

L. STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPS) FOR WORKING WITH HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS................. 123 

1. Sources of Chemical Risk Assessment Information for SOPs ............................................................. 123 

2. Summary of Regulated Chemicals Covered by this CHP ................................................................... 125 

3. An Introduction to Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) ............................................................... 126 

4. SOPs for all laboratories of Salem Hall ............................................................................................. 127 

5. Laboratory Specific SOPs .................................................................................................................. 140 

IV. TRAINING .......................................................................................................................................... 149 

A. INTRODUCTION TO TRAINING .................................................................................................................. 150 

B. CHEMICAL HYGIENE PLAN (CHP) FOR FRESHMAN CHEMISTRY LABS .................................................... 151 

1. Additional Safety Information, Chemistry Lab 108L and 111L.......................................................... 152 

2. HMIS / NFPA Chemical Hazard Ratings on Departmental MSDS Sheets ......................................... 153 

3. HMIS and MSDS Clarifications ......................................................................................................... 154 

4. INTERPRETING CHEMICAL HAZARD HMIS RATINGS ................................................................ 155 

5. SOME HMIS RATINGS FOR COMMON CHEMICALS .................................................................... 156 

6. Summary of HMIS Ratings ................................................................................................................. 157 

7. Hazard Communication Training Log Form ....................................................................................... 159 

C. CHEMICAL HYGIENE PLAN (CHP) FOR ORGANIC CHEMISTRY LABS ....................................................... 160 

1. Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals .................................................................................... 164 

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D. TRAINING FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS, POST-DOCTORATES, AND RESEARCH UNDERGRADUATES .......... 168 

1. Certification of Safety Training Form for Graduate Students, Post-Graduates, and Summer School 

Undergraduate Research Students .......................................................................................................... 169 

2. Yearly Announcement of Gas Cylinder Safety and New Graduate Student Safety Review ................ 170 

3. Summer School Safety Training Announcement for Research Undergrads: ...................................... 171 

4. New Graduate Student and new Undergraduate Research Student Safety Orientation Announcement, 

in August of each year: ............................................................................................................................ 172 

V. CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT PURCHASE ORDER REQUEST SYSTEM .............................. 173 

VI. PURCHASING PROCEDURE FOR DEA CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ............................... 182 

VII. ALCOHOL DISPENSING PROCEDURE..................................................................................... 183 

VIII. OSHA/EPA INSPECTION PROCEDURE FOR SALEM HALL ............................................... 183 

IX. CHEMICAL INVENTORIES ............................................................................................................ 184 

A. INVENTORY OF ALL CHEMICALS AND MSDS SHEETS IN THE CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT ........................ 184 

B. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE USE OF THE ONLINE INVENTORY SYSTEM ......................................................... 185 

C. GENERAL INFORMATION FOR USERS ....................................................................................................... 187 

D. INDIVIDUAL CHEMICAL INVENTORIES OF THE CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT, SALEM HALL: ....................... 188 

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I. INTRODUCTION 

A hardcopy of this Chemical Hygiene Plan and Safety Manual will be kept in the Chemistry 

Department Stockroom, Room 110, near the MSDS sheet collection, for your reference. Individual lab 

copies of the National Research Council’s Prudent Practices in the Laboratory, 2nd edition. Washington, 

D.C.: National Academy Press, 1995, hereinafter referred to as Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, will be 

kept in each research Lab as well as the stockroom. View the online Chemical Hygiene Plan and Safety 

Manual from the University Web site at http://www.wfu.edu/chem/cheminventory/index.html , 

Throughout this manual, you will find specific references to suggested reading of certain sections 

of Prudent Practices, 2nd edition (indicated in boldface type throughout). 

You are REQUIRED to read OSHA’s “Laboratory Standard”, a copy of which is located in 

Appendix A on pages 219-225 of that monograph (or at the internet site http://www.oshaslc.gov/OshStd_data/1910_1450.html). 

This is a reprint of the most recent governmental regulation 

governing all chemical laboratories under US jurisdiction. Upon graduation and exposure to any workplace 

laboratory in the country you will soon discover that companies and institutions will appreciate spending 

less time training new employees in their particular CHP as a direct result of your having read and 

understood the present one. 

This document was prepared in a Workbook format, with the help and assistance of students, staff, 

and Faculty personnel within the Chemistry and Physics departments. All sections in black type in this 

manual are meant to be read by all Lab workers in this building. All sections in red type are presented only 

as an elaboration of the Laws presently governing Laboratory work involving the use of chemicals. They 

need not be read by anyone other than WFU Safety staff members involved with interpreting OSHA Laws 

and as guidelines for interested Faculty members and students. For example, it is not necessary to read the 

chapter titled “Emergency Telephone numbers of Lab Supervisors and Lab Workers”. Likewise, the 

chapter titled “Summary of Regulated Chemicals Covered by this SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)” is 

meant only for WFU Safety Personnel and interested Faculty members wishing to review what the Law 

stipulates in a particular situation 

Also, it is not necessarily important to read all SOPs in the chapter titled “Laboratory Specific 

SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures)”. Please read only the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) 

which apply to your particular Research Laboratory. 

The following Safety Record-keeping forms will be filled out and recorded by the Chemistry 

Department’s Laboratory Manager, Chemistry Department Faculty members, Graduate Students, qualified 

Undergraduate stockroom personnel, Physical Facilities personnel, or Mr. Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant 

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director] (phone #758-4329, or 758-4224) or Michelle Adkins, 

CHMM, Wake Forest University Director of Environmental Health and Safety: adkinsmm@wfu.edu, 

phone: 336-758-5385, cell: 336-480-8480, fax: 336-758-3088). 

The particular Safety Record-Keeping Forms and their storage locations in the Chemistry 

Department or elsewhere are listed below. Generally, the forms will be kept in the Chemistry Stockroom, 

room #110, in the top two file drawers of the tan colored OSHA file storage cabinet, next to the side-room 

#110D. If any particular form is kept elsewhere in the building or with the WFU Environmental Health and 

Safety Department, its location will be listed below. 

Spare Keys to the Chemistry Department‟s OSHA drawer are kept with the WFU Environmental 

Health and Safety Department, c/o Mr. Scott Frazier or Ms. Michelle Adkins. 

� Eyewash Fountain and Safety Shower Inspections, Physical Facilities, c/o Scott Frazier 

� Fume Hood Air-Flow Inspections, Physical Facilities, c/o Scott Frazier 

� Filled out Accident and Chemical Exposure Assessment Report forms, OSHA drawer, Chemistry 

Department Stockroom # 110 

� Sophomore Chemistry Lab 221L Safety Quizzes, OSHA drawer, Chemistry Department 

Stockroom # 110 

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� Freshman Chemistry Lab Safety Agreement Forms, room #8A, wooden storage cabinets in back of 

room 

� WFU Hazard Communication Training Log – signature forms, OSHA drawer, Chemistry 


� Signed “Basic Safety Rules For All Undergraduate Labs” Forms, room #8A, wooden storage 

cabinets in back of room 

� Signed “Certification of Safety Training for Graduate Students” Forms, OSHA drawer, Chemistry 


� Alcohol Use Logbooks, over the 200 proof alcohol containers, locked Solvent room # 20, Loading 

Dock area 

� Yearly Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms “Special Tax Stamp” receipt for Chemistry 

Department (and rest of Reynolda Campus), locked Solvent room # 20, Loading Dock area, near 

the 5 gallon size containers 190 Proof alcohol 

� Filled Out “Weekly Hazardous Waste Storage Area Inspection” Forms, in locked Solvent Room # 

20, Loading Dock area, near the 55 gallon Hazardous Waste Solvent drums 

� Logbook for 55-Gallon Solvent Hazardous Waste Drum in locked Solvent Room #20, Loading 

dock area, on top of the spare 55 gallon waste solvent drum 

� All WFU Chemical Waste records, including copies of manifests and records having to do with 

chemical waste companies, c/o Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant Environmental Health and 

Safety (EHS) Director], campus phone number 758-4329, cell phone # 336-782-6107, and 

Copies of the Waste Company‟s Packing Slip listing of all waste chemicals collected from the 

Chemistry Department are kept by the Chemistry Department laboratory manager in the top drawer 

of the OSHA file cabinet, Chemistry Department Stockroom # 110 

� All original WFU Chemical Waste records, including Hazardous Chemical Waste Manifests and 

records having to do with chemical waste companies, at the WFI , c/o Scott Frazier [WFU 

Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director], campus phone number 758- 

4329, cell phone # 336-782-6107. The Chemistry Department Lab Manager keeps copies of the 

Chemistry Department‟s Hazardous Chemical Waste Manifests as well as original typed lists of the 

actual specific names of all the Chemistry Department‟s waste chemicals for RECRA (Resource 

Conservation and Recovery Act) records 

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II. Telephone #s of Emergency Personnel / Emergency Facilities 

THE DEPARTMENTAL EMERGENCY TELEPHONE IS LOCATED IN THE 

STOCK ROOM #110, PHONE # 758-4712. 

THE DEPARTMENTAL FAX # FOR THE FAX MACHINE LOCATED IN THE 

MAIN OFFICE, ROOM #110B, IS 336-758-4656. 

THIS NOTICE IS ALSO POSTED ON THE WALLS NEXT TO EACH INDIVIDUAL 

RESEARCH LABORATORY TELEPHONE IN SALEM HALL 

WFU ASSISTANT ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY DIRECTOR 

NAME: Scott A. Frazier 

OFFICE TELEPHONE: 758-4329 (or 4224) 

HOME TELEPHONE: 945-9184 

PAGER: 607-8945 

CELLULAR PHONE 782-6107 

SAFETY DIRECTOR AND CHEMICAL HYGIENE OFFICER FOR SALEM HALL 

NAME: Michael A. Thompson 

TITLE: Laboratory Manager, Chemistry Dept. 

OFFICE TELEPHONE: 758-5324 (5325) 

HOME TELEPHONE 306-5209 

EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS 

Located on Campus 

University Police Department: 5911 (Non Emergency 5591) 

Student Health Services: 5218 

DIAL 911 FOR ALL EMERGENCIES INVOLVING REQUESTS 

FOR CITY FIRE, POLICE, OR AMBULANCE ASSISTANCE 

Your emergency call to 5911 will be coordinated by the Wake Forest University 

Police Department. They will determine whether the situation can be handled by 

University Emergency personnel or City/County Emergency agencies. 

Call Student Health Services (at 5218) for minor medical problems 

In Charlotte, Carolinas Medical Center 

Carolinas Poison Control Center: 1-800-848-6946 

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A. Hazardous Chemicals Emergency and Information Phone #s 

Local Emergency Contacts Phone # 

WFU SAFETY RESPONSE TEAM (For Chemical Spills) 758-4329 (or 4224) 

C/O Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director], 

Physical Facilities, Reynolda Campus 

Mr. Mel Sadler, or August M. Vernon (For Chemical Spill Reporting) 767-6161 

Winston-Salem/Forsyth County 

OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 

Room 104-Smith Reynolds Airport 

Winston-Salem, NC 27105 

Fire Captains Harvey Wagner and D.W. Mabe 727-2454 

#8 Fire Station 

2417 Reynolda Road 


Chief Bernard Smith, Fire Marshall 773-7972 

Winston-Salem Fire Department 

725 N. Cherry Street 


Mr. Reed Jarvis, Deputy Fire Marshall 727-8084 

Forsyth County Fire Department 

3000 Aviation Drive 


STATE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE (919) 733-3867 or 

(For Chemical Spill Reporting) 1-800-858-0368 

Rich Berman 1-919-733-3825 (or 1361) 

NC Division of Emergency Management 

4713 Mail Service Center 

Raleigh, NC 27699-4713 

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B. Emergency Exit Plan for All Salem Hall Laboratories 

In all cases which require evacuation of the building, be prepared to tell emergency personnel what 

chemical hazards exist in your lab. The fire department will be especially interested your descriptions of 

what to expect when attempting to put out fires in your lab room (See chapters titled “Lab Fires and Use of 

Fire extinguishers” and “Chemical Fire and Large Building Fire Emergency Procedures”). 

The Chemistry department will conduct periodic fire drills. Note the location of your nearest 

hallway Emergency Exit Plan Maps, located in the central hallway of each floor of the building. Go 

though the nearest building door exit and try to account for all members of your research group or teaching 

lab. In any case, WFU security requires immediate exit of all building personnel after an alarm has 

sounded. 

The gathering place for all Salem Hall personnel after a building evacuation through the nearest 

building exit is the lawn between Salem Hall and the main library to the east. The fire code requires each 

working lab to have two ways out in case of a fire. Know where both are when you begin routinely working 

in any lab. 

Do not return to the building until the alarm ends and you are allowed to do so by Scott 

Frazier [WFU Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director] or Michelle Adkins 

(WFU Director of Environmental Health and Safety), or Sissy Hastings (Wake Forest University 

EHS Coordinator) or the Fire Marshall, or WFU Security. 

(Here is more specific contact information for Michelle Adkins, CHMM, Director of Environmental 

Health and Safety: adkinsmm@wfu.edu, phone: 336-758-5385, cell: 336-480-8480, fax: 336-758- 

3088). 

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III. The Chemical Hygiene Plan for Each Laboratory in Salem Hall 

10

A. Emergency Telephone Numbers of Lab Supervisors and Lab Workers 

Lab Personnel Phone Numbers 

Laboratory Room Number Salem Hall, Reynolda Campus 

Laboratory phone # (or nearest building phone #) 

Laboratory Instructor Office Phone 

Office Room # Home Phone 

Students Assigned to this Laboratory, Name Home Phone Number 

including Graduate Students, 

Undergraduates and Post Doctorates 

Brief Description of Research Conducted in This Lab 

INCLUDING POSSIBLE PROBLEMS FOR FIREFIGHTERS WITHIN: 

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1. Dr. Alexander – Lab Room #108B 


Laboratory Room Number 108 Salem Hall, Reynolda Campus 

Laboratory phone #(or nearest building phone #) 758-5576 

Laboratory Instructor Dr. Rebecca Alexander Office Phone 758-5568 

Office Room # 108A Home Phone 723-3532 




Michael E. Budiman 703-0283 

Susan A. Walker 704-639-0927 

Lela Lackey 

Pam Edwards 



Research includes mechanistic investigation of enzymes involved in the protein 

biosynthesis pathway. Operations include growth of bacterial strains (non-pathogenic E. 

coli) for purification of proteins and nucleic acids. Radioactive materials are used in 

minute quantities for trace labeling and kinetic assays. Our license covers use of 32 P, 

35 S, and 3 H radionuclides. 32 P is a high energy beta emitter whose decay particles are 

stopped by 0.25 inches of plexiglass. 35 S and 3 H are low energy beta emitters whose 

decay particles are stopped by paper or clothing. Our stock vials (containing less than 1 

mL each) are stored in locked, shielded containers in the lab refridgerator and freezer. 

Small quantities of flammable solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile) are 

stored in the flammable solvents cabinet (under the hood) or in the refridgerator (rated for 

flammables). 

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2. Dr. Bierbach – Lab Room #107 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Ulrich Bierbach Office Phone 758-3507 

Office Room # 3B Home Phone 794-0451 




Hemanta Baruah 794-0051 

Jennifer Butler 766-0682 

Colin Barry 759-3582 

Meg Ackley 703-0812 

Eric Routh 758-8144 

Todd Augustus 758-1434 

Ernie Murray 758-6236 



Research includes investigation of metal-containing anti-tumor drugs and their 

mechanism of DNA interaction. Operations include inorganic and organic synthesis and 

routine purification procedures. Hazards arise from solvents used to synthesize starting 

materials. Most hazards in this laboratory involve common flammable organic solvents 

and several compressed gas cylinders, including lecture bottles of amines and carbon 

monoxide. The poison cabinet contains biohazardous sulfur compounds. 

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3. Dr. Brown – Lab Room # 114 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Bernard A Brown Office Phone 758-5514 





Heather Angell 993-0869 

Blythe Ashcraft 661-2769 



This is a biochemistry research laboratory containing a few hazardous chemicals, 

concentrated acids, non- pathogenic BL1-level organisms (E. coli, yeasts), and 

compressed liquid nitrogen gas-cylinders. All chemical solutions are labeled and are 

stored with similar chemical classes around the laboratory. Flammable organic solvents 

(methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, acetone) are stored in the cabinet below the fume hood 

in the right rear of the lab (Room 14). Several small bottles of toxic heavy-metalcontaining 

chemicals (e.g.,: mercury, gold, platinum, lead) are stored in the chemical 

cabinet in the left rear of the lab (Room 14). There are no water-reactive chemicals 

stored in this laboratory. Fire extinguishers are located in the left-front, and right-rear 

of Room 14, and at the immediate left of the door-way leading from Room 14 to 16. 

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4. Dr. Buchmueller – Lab Room #1 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Karen Buchmueller Office Phone 758-3144 





Meredith Parkinson 

Kavita Bhatt 

Lawrena Ngo 



Research involves the study of DNA structure and function. Operations include 

growth of bacterial strains (non-pathogenic E. coli) for purification of proteins and 

nucleic acids. Radioactive materials are used in minute quantities for trace labeling and 

binding assays. Our license covers use of 32 P and 35 S. 32 P is a high energy beta emitter 

whose decay particles are stopped by 0.25 inches of plexiglass. 35 S is a low energy beta 

emitter whose decay particles are stopped by paper or clothing. Our stock vials 

(containing less than 1 mL each) are stored in shielded containers in a locked lab 

refridgerator/freezer. 

Small quantities of flammable solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone, acetonitrile) are 

stored in the flammable solvents cabinet (under the hood) or in the refridgerator (rated for 

flammables). 

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5. Dr. Colyer – Lab Room #114 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Christa L. Colyer Office Phone 758-4936 

Office Room # Salem Hall – 116B Home Phone 760-2494 




Beverly Paul 352-262-0693 

Pera Viskari 896-0606 

Frank Welder 724-6434 

Amy Sloat 724-0793 

Tim Grambow 758-1649 

Hinda Boutrid 692-4591 



Analytical chemical laboratory devoted to study of biochemicals (including amino 

acids, proteins, enzymes, organic compounds, etc.) mainly with use of capillary 

electrophoresis instrumentation. Few chemicals in this lab, although it does have a few 

full size gas cylinders of argon and nitrogen. Conceivable electrical hazards arising from 

several analytical instruments. Also, makes use of one small laser instrument. 

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6. Dr. Hinze – Lab Room #109 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Willie Hinze Office Phone 758-5509 

Office Room # Salem Hall – 108A Home Phone 759-9856 




Amanda C Davis 919-426-5506 

Jennifer Rust 585-0666 



Analytical chemical lab associated with chemical separations, such as liquid 

chromotography, extractions (liquid/liquid and cloud point), novel gel separations, 

including various surfactants. The lab contains a great many chemicals in rather small 

bottles, some of which are fairly toxic, and one or two compressed gas cylinders of inert 

gases (nitrogen and argon). Most chemicals are housed in one large wooden cabinet 

in the center section of the left wall, with some on wall shelves just as you enter the room. 

Volatile organic solvents are stored in metal cabinents under the hood, in back of room. 

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7. Dr. Brad Jones – Lab Room #118 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Bradley T. Jones Office Phone 758-5512 





Dan Hou 767-9662 

Heather Peters 985-3349 

Zheng Yang 577-6823 



This laboratory‟s primary research involves the design and development of 

instrumental methods for the determination of trace metals. As a result, the vast majority 

of chemicals found in the lab are dilute aqueous metal standards which pose no 

significant 

health risk. There are several compressed gas cylinders, most of which are located in one 

holding area in Room 118, on the right wall, midsection of room.. There are acetylene, 

dinitrogen oxide, argon, and 12% Hydrogen in balance of argon mixture gas cylinders. 

In room 117 (in back of labroom) there are three gas cylinders, one each of hydrogen, 

Oxygen, and helium. 

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8. Dr. Paul Jones – Lab Room #113 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Paul Jones Office Phone 758-3708 

Office Room # 16-A Home Phone 758-1846 




John Reynolds 924-9181 

Lara Voltz 759-3384 

Dan Zuidema 767-1055 

Rob Brinson 775-2663 



This laboratory conducts research involving synthetic organic chemistry and the 

purification of organic molecules. Research involving biological systems also occurs. 

Hazards include toxic and caustic chemicals in all phases, electrical appliances, high 

intensity light sources (for use in photochemical experiments), and pressurized gas 

cylinders (argon, nitrogen, compressed air, and hydrogen). Against the rear wall, left of 

the one window in the room are housed a number of pyrophoric and moisture sensitive 

chemicals. Avoid spraying water or aqueous solutions in this area. These chemicals 

include sodium and lithium metal, alkyl lithiums, and trialkylaluminums. 

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9. Dr. Bruce King – Lab Room #17 and 18 


Laboratory Room Number 17, 18 Salem Hall, Reynolda Campus 

Laboratory phone #(or nearest building phone #) 758-5728 (or 758-5097) 

Laboratory Instructor Dr. Bruce King Office Phone 758-5774 





Jinming Huang 758-1836 

Bubing Zeng 794-1451 

Dennis Parrish 760-0561 

Zhou Zou 757-1114 

Shuana Heyward 765-6444 

Xin Sha 767-8699 

Mark Sperry 1139 

Richard Pennington 



Synthetic organic chemistry laboratory with an emphasis on the preparation of new 

donors of nitric oxide (NO) or compounds capable of interaction with the enzyme nitric 

oxide synthase (NOS). Use of typical flammable laboratory solvents, mineral acids, 

solvent stills and compressed gas cylinders. Flammable solvents are stored in a nonflammable 

cabinet in the back of the laboratory. Water reactive materials are stored in 

the explosion proof freezer in the back right of the laboratory and on the middle shelf in 

Room 15. Mineral acids are stored beneath hoods on the right side of lab. Solvent stills 

are located at the front left side of the lab. Compressed gases include argon and nitrogen 

and one (3 ft.) tank of ammonia located at the front left side of the lab. Lecture bottles of 

nitric oxide gas are found in the front right side hood. Laboratory contains several 

vacuum pumps, rotary evaporators, an analytical balance and other analytical equipment 

including a gas chromtograph and high pressure liquid chromatograph (HPLC). 

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10. Dr. Kondepudi – Lab Room #5 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Dilip Kondepudi Office Phone 758-5131 

Office Room # Salem Hall - 204 Home Phone 659-1085 




Kennith Crook 768-2608 

Natalee Sheppe 758-6464 



Chemical laboratory currently devoted to various studies of chiral symmetry- 

breaking during recrystallization of chemical compounds, such as sodium chlorate. There 

are only limited amounts of toxic and flammable compounds present, such as cobalt salts 

and generally benign amino acids, and very few organic solvents. 

21

11. Dr. Lachgar – Lab Room #6 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Abdu Lachgar Office Phone 758-4676 





Zhihua Yan 661-3536 

Thirumacai Duraisamy 703-0285 

Yue Zhao 661-3536 

Huajun Zhou 926-9145 

Sana Ashraf 924-8217 

Yue Zhae 661-3536 

Bangbo Yan 924-0503 



High temperature (150C – 1100C) syntheses using electrical furnaces. X-ray diffraction 

analysis using vacuum lines and inert gas systems to handle chemicals. Compressed gas 

cylinders are present, including argon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen. A hand torch 

for glass blowing, using both a hydrogen gas cylinder and benchtop natural gas, and 

an oxygen gas cylinder, is present in the back, right section of the room. Generally few 

chemicals (although a few toxic ones are present) with various types of ovens and heaters. 

A large glove box against the left wall contains mostly nontoxic chemicals, kept in there 

merely in order to be kept very dry. 

22

12. Dr. Noftle – Lab Room #117 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Ronald E. Noftle Office Phone 758-5520 





Jarrett Howell 724-7630 

Jeanette Sellers 922-5791 



Synthetic organometallic, organofluorine, and main group chemical lab, involving 

electrochemistry, toxic solvents, possibility of Hydrogen fluoride gas generated by 

hydrolysis of fluorine compounds, use of toxic gases, equipment under vacuum (glass), 

use of cryogenics (like liquid nitrogen and CO2, dry ice), electrochemical apparatus, 

danger of electrical shocks, and use of hazardous materials. Standard Operating 

Procedures dictated by general procedures listed in this manual. 

23

13. Dr. Swofford – Lab Room #7 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Robert Swofford Office Phone 758-4490 

Office Room # 209 Home Phone 766-0928 






Laser laboratory devoted to the study of various properties of molecular structure. 

The main dangers present in this lab, which contains only a few chemical dyes and very 

Small amounts of various chemical samples, are due to eletrical shocks and possible eye 

Damage or skin burns from overexposure to lasers. The lab contains one or two normal 

Size compressed gas cylinders of nitrogen. Beware of walking into this lab while the 

Lasers are on. 

24

14. Dr. Tobey – Room # 2 




Laboratory Instructor Dr. Suzanne Tobey Office Phone 758-5513 







Research in this lab involves synthetic organic chemistry and the purification of organic molecules. The 

hazards include typical flammable laboratory solvents (ether, hexanes, tetrahydrofuran, benzene, 

dichloromethane) mineral acids, toxic and caustic chemicals in all phases, electrical appliances, and 

pressurized gas cylinders (argon, nitrogen). The flammable solvents are stored in cabinets under the hoods. 

The lab houses a solvent system located to the rear right wall intended for dispensing dry organic solvents. 

There are two vacuum pumps located in the lab under the hoods and the gas cylinders are secured in places 

using approved methods. Moisture and air sensitive chemicals (alkyl lithiums and Grignard reagents) are 

stored in the freezer located in the adjacent lab-room. Avoid spraying water towards the top shelf located 

above the benches as sodium and potassium metals will ignite. Hydrides (sodium hydride and lithium 

aluminum hydride) are located on the front bench so avoid use of water in this area. Base baths containing 

isopropanol and potassium hydroxide are stored in plastic containers under the hoods and can be casutic if 

spilled on the skin. 

25

15. Dr. Welker – Lab Room #s 13 and 18 


Laboratory Room Number 13 and 18 Salem Hall, Reynolda Campus 

Laboratory phone #(or nearest building phone #) 758-5958 (or 5097) 

Laboratory Instructor Dr. Mark E. Welker Office Phone 758-5758 





Subbasis De 794-0051 

Kerry Pickin 922-9317 

Marion Franks 922-4677 

Brenden Quinn 

Anne Glenn 855-8767 



This is an organic research laboratory containing mostly compressed gas 

cylinders, 

solvent stills, and various hazardous chemicals. It contains various organometallic 

compounds, some of which are moderately toxic and water reactive, but are present only 

in many small bottles. The gas cylinders tend to be mostly argon and nitrogen, and 

one each of carbon monoxide and air. Several smaller lecture bottles of fairly toxic gases 

are kept mostly in the left front hood as one enters the room, including HCl gas and 

ammonia. 

26

16. Undergraduate – Lab Room #s 7, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106 and 111 


Laboratory Room Number 7,101,102,103,104,105,106,111 Salem Hall, Reynolda Campus 

Laboratory phone(or nearest building phone)758-4712, Chemistry Stockroom 110 

Laboratory Instructor Various Professors Office Phone 




Different Faculty members teach labs each semester, with rotating graduate students as 

Teaching Assistants. 



Room 111 generally contains 2 Nitrogen compressed gas cylinders, and one each 

of Nitrogen, Argon, Oxygen, and Helium compressed gas cylinders are kept in room 7. 

Generally nontoxic chemicals, with only a few flammable solvents (like acetone 

and ethanol) are used in 101 and 105. These freshman labs are seldom exposed to 

anything more harmful than the typical concentrated and dilute mineral acids in any lab, 

and more frquently make use of nontoxic dilute aqueous chemical solutions. Two 

nitrogen compressed gas cylinder are sometimes kept in back of room 103. 

The Organic undergraduate labs in rooms 102 and 106 make far more use of 

mildly toxic to highly flammable organic solids and liquids, in reagent bottles on student 

benchtops. Room 7, the Physical Chem Lab, employs only small amounts of generally 

nontoxic compounds. The very toxic compounds are generally used in the Advanced 

Inorganic Lab in room 111, synthesizing heavy metal salts and organometallic complexes. 

27

B. General Safety Procedures 

1. BASIC SAFETY RULES FOR ALL UNDERGRADUATE LABORATORIES 

(prepared by Chemistry Department Faculty members) 

Read these safety regulations carefully, and be sure you understand them. Before each laboratory 

session, your instructor will discuss any safety hazards that might be associated with that day's experiment. 

1. Report all accidents to your instructor immediately. If you cut or burn yourself or accidentally 

inhale fumes, notify your instructor at once. The instructor will arrange immediate treatment. 

Learn the locations of the fire extinguishers, the safety showers, the fire blanket, eyewash, and 

phone, so that you can use them quickly in the case of an emergency. Your lab instructor will 

point out the emergency exits/routes out of Salem Hall in the case of an emergency. 

2. Wear safety goggles/glasses in the laboratory at all times. Always wear eye covering that will 

protect your eyes against both impact and splashes. (If you should get chemical in your eye, wash 

the eye with flowing water from the special eye-wash fountain for 15 to 20 minutes). 

3. Do not perform any unauthorized experiments! 

4. Do not use mouth suction to fill pipettes with chemical reagents. (Use a suction bulb to fill 

pipettes). 

5. Exercise great care in noting the odor of fumes and avoid breathing fumes of any kind. Carry out 

experiments that produce noxious vapors in your fume hood. Arrange your apparatus setups so 

that the fume producing portion is inside the hood. 

6. Do not taste anything in the laboratory. (This applies to food as well as chemicals. Do not use the 

laboratory as an eating place; never eat or drink from laboratory glassware.) 

7. Confine long hair whenever you are in the laboratory. 

8. Place all hot glassware on a mat to cool; this will also signify to all laboratory personnel that the 

glassware is hot. Do not hand hot glassware to another person, because a person's natural instinct 

is to reach for it. 

9. Corrosive acids and bases are very soluble in water. If either a corrosive acid or base comes in 

contact with your skin, you can wash it of your skin before damage is done. Haste in washing the 

affected area is essential. Summon the laboratory instructor if you spill a corrosive acid or base 

on your skin. If strong acids are spilled on your skin, bathe the skin with dilute sodium 

bicarbonate after flooding with water for about 10 minutes. If strong bases are spilled on the skin, 

bathe the skin with a dilute solution of acetic acid or boric acid after flooding for about 10 minutes. 

If chemicals get into your eyes, immediately wash the eyes with a gentle stream of water from the 

eye wash for 15-20 minutes. Do not use dilute solutions of sodium bicarbonate, acetic acid, or 

boric acid in the eyes. After flushing with water, the student will be transported to the Student 

Health Service. If bromine or iodine is spilled on the skin, the skin should be immediately bathed 

with alcohol (ethanol) and then with glycerin. 

10. If you are preparing a dilute acid solution, never pour water into concentrated acid. Always pour 

the acid into the water while stirring the water constantly. 

28

11. Do not force glass tubing into rubber stoppers. Lubricate the tubing and introduce it gradually and 

gently. Protect your hands with a towel when you are inserting lubricated tubing into a stopper. 

Alternately, use the glass tube/stopper tool located in the stockroom In clamping glass tubing or 

glassware for apparatus setups, do not tighten the clamps any more than necessary to hold the glass 

in place (i.e. do not squeeze the glass). 

12. Do not wear open-toed shoes or shorts in the laboratory, since they do not offer enough protection 

to the body. 

13. Never point a test tube containing a reacting mixture (especially when you are heating it) toward 

another person or toward yourself. 

14. Be extremely cautious when you are lighting a Bunsen Burner. Most laboratory fires can be 

smothered if handled at once. A cloth towel should be kept handy for this purpose. In the event of 

a fire near your desk, immediately turn off the gas cock that feeds your burner. If necessary, use 

the fire extinguisher (if your TA or instructor is nearby, let either one of them use the fire 

extinguisher). 

15. Never engage in horseplay in the laboratory. 

16. Read the label carefully before removing a chemical from its container. 

17. Never work in the laboratory alone. 

18. Do not wear contact lenses in any chemical laboratory, period. 

19. The areas where balances have been located are to remain clean. Anyone who spills any chemicals 

on the balance or on the table is responsible for the cleanup and the notification of the instructor. 

No weights are to remain on the balance and the balance doors are to be closed when you have 

finished. 

20. Everyone is responsible for keeping his/her own work area clean. All equipment is to be put away 

and the table top wiped clean. No trash is to be placed in the sinks. 

21. Many chemicals must be collected in proper containers for waste disposal. You will receive 

special instructions about disposing of any unusually dangerous chemicals. Otherwise, follow the 

instructions listed in your lab texts and manuals, or those given by your Teaching Assistant. 

22. Learn to estimate your chemical needs as closely as possible. Do not waste chemicals; other labs 

may need to use the same chemical. 

23. In using chemicals, be sure to replace all stoppers or droppers tightly; it is very hazardous to leave 

bottles open. Do not insert any medicine droppers into reagent bottles. 

24. The distilled water tap is located at the sink in the back of the lab. Be frugal in your use of 

distilled water. 

25. Place all papers and match sticks in the waste crocks at your desk (not in the sink). Place all 

broken glass in the designated waste container in the back of the room. 

26. Never stop a centrifuge with your fingers. 

29

Please sign the form below, tear this page off and give it to the stockroom clerk upon check-in, and keep the 

previous two pages of safety rules for your reference throughout the semester. 

I, the undersigned, have read the Basic Safety Rules for All Laboratories, and I understand them. 

(Signature) 

(Date) 

WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY 

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT 

30

2. Cleanliness in the Research Laboratory 

1. Clean up Research Lab benches occasionally. Wash your hands at the end of each lab session if you‟ve 

been working with chemicals at all. Check to make certain that any gloves you‟ve been wearing don‟t have 

pinhole leaks or tears. Use every means necessary to avoid ingesting chemicals in the lab or even touching 

them. 

2. If you must leave lab equipment, glassware, notebooks, etc., on the bench until the next day or work 

session, at least properly remove, store, and otherwise secure laboratory chemicals. Make a habit of 

maintaining an orderly work bench area by removing unnecessary sheets of paper, soiled paper towels, 

broken glass, empty bottles, Pasteur pipets or anything else that doesn‟t belong there. 

3. Wear lab coats when working with chemicals if the possibility exits that you will contaminate your 

clothing. Outrageously Kaleidoscopic or unpleasantly odoriferous lab coats should be washed occasionally, 

although it probably isn‟t a good idea to mix them in with household laundry. Hang them up in your lab 

before lunch breaks in the graduate student lounge. 

4. It is forbidden to eat, drink or smoke in the lab or experimental work area. Such activities should occur 

outside the labs in designated areas. All research labs in Salem Hall have entranceway student desk areas, 

separated from the actual labs by walls. You may eat and drink there. However, it is preferable to make 

use of the graduate student lounge in room #112B. Even chewing gum in the lab should be avoided. 

5. Do not use laboratory refrigerators which contain any lab chemical whatsoever as repositories for food. 

Do not use ice from the undergraduate ice machine in room # 104 for any purpose other than experimental 

work. Since students tend to use laboratory containers, such as contaminated beakers, to scoop ice from 

this machine, you may end up with something unpleasant in your soft drink! 

6. Laboratory glassware should be cleaned in laboratory sinks with soap and hot water. “Liqui-nox” 

(Fisher catalog # 04-322-158, gallon size) liquid soap concentrate and scouring soap powder, brand name 

“Sparkleen”(Fisher catalog # 04-320-4, 3lb. box), are located in the stockroom, room #110 if your research 

or teaching group has not purchased it already. Wear gloves while cleaning with properly chosen cleaning 

brushes. Check for tears and holes in the gloves. Don‟t allow dirty glassware to pile-up around sinks to an 

unmanageable level. This increases the likelihood of breakage and discourages the habit of examining each 

piece individually for degree of chemical contamination before washing. Rinse dirty glassware with labeled 

bottles of acetone if necessary. Highly contaminated, corrosive cleaning solutions, prepared from very 

acidic or alkaline chemicals, should in some cases be packaged in bottles when spent and taken to room 

#20, the solvent storage room, properly labeled for chemical waste company removal. In particular, spent 

chromerge (sulfuric acid and chromic acid combination cleaning solution) should be poured back into 2.5 

liter acid bottles and sent out with the waste company. 

7. The following cleaning solutions, as described in the Chemical Technician‟s Handbook (located in the 

stockroom, room # 110), can be used to clean glassware in research labs. Generally, undergraduate 

teaching labs will not require such strong cleaning solutions. Spent, highly acidic or alkaline cleaning 

solutions of common mineral acids or bases (e.g., nitric acid, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide in 

ethanol, etc.) which have been used in research labs should be neutralized completely before disposal. 

Chromerge Cleaning Solutions: Obtain one 25ml bottle of chromerge from chemical storage room (room 

#19), composed of chromium trioxide, or chromic acid, and add contents directly to a standard 2.5 liter size 

bottle of concentrated sulfuric acid. Add approximately 5ml at a time, recap the acid bottle, and shake well. 

The precipitate which forms after mixing is normal and indicates solution is saturated. Allow it to remain as 

it is a reservoir of additional chromate. The solution loses its effectiveness as it turns green with continued 

use. 

31

Concentrated solution of Dodycylbenzene sulphonic acid and potassium hydroxide(“Contrad-70”): This 

serves as a biodegradable, drain disposable alternative to chromerge. It is sold by Fisher Scientific Co., 

Catalog # 04-3551. Prepare a 5% solution from the concentrate for lab use. 

“Dilute Nitric Acid Cleaning Solution: Films which adhere to the inside of flasks and 

bottles may often be removed by wetting the surface with dilute nitric acid, followed 

by multiple rinses with distilled water. Concentrated Nitric acid is good for tougher 

organic chemical stains.” Use in a hood only. 

“Aqua Regia Cleaning Solution: Aqua regia is made up of three parts of concentrated 

HCl and one part of concentrated HNO3. This is a very powerful, but extremely 

dangerous and corrosive, cleaning solution. Use in a hood with extreme care.” 

“Alcoholic Potassium Hydroxide or Sodium Hydroxide Cleaning Solution: Add 

about 1L ethanol (95%) to 120ml H20 containing 120g NaOH or 105g KOH. This is 

a very good cleaning solution. Avoid prolonged contact with ground-glass joints on 

interjoint glassware because the solution will etch glassware and damage will result. 

This solution is excellent for removing carbonaceous materials.” 

(Ballinger, Jack T. and Shugar, Gershon J. Chemical Technicians’ Ready Reference 

Handbook, 3rd edition. New York City: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1990, pages 611-612). 

8. Broken Glassware Procedure: Waste containers stenciled with the label “Broken Glassware Only” 

have been placed in each laboratory. Broken glass should be placed in these containers, only, and only 

glass should be placed there. Glassware broken in the course of experimental work should be rinsed of 

chemical contaminants, preferably with acetone, and the rinses deposited in lab chemical waste containers. 

Shards of broken glass found in common departmental waste containers are dangerous for housekeeping 

staff to handle. Glass should not therefore be mixed with paper and other common forms of trash. Make 

sure that the top surface of broken glass within the Broken Glassware box does not overflow, resulting in 

dangerous situations for Housekeeping staff handling these boxes. It is requested that all research students 

and Teaching assistants within the undergraduate teaching labs occasionally check these boxes for overly 

jagged pieces of glass protruding through the side of the cardboard box or tearing up the plastic bag liner 

inside the box. 

9. Needles used for transferring chemical samples from one container to another or injection into 

instruments should be disposed of into red plastic containers marked “For Disposal of Non-reusable 

Needles, Only” placed in each research Lab requiring them. These containers will be collected when 80% 

full, stored in a large marked box in the Solvent Room # 20, and given to a biological Sharps (Needles, etc.) 

waste disposal company, such “Steri Cycle” Company, even though the Chemistry Department does not 

employ such needles in animal or human experiments. Replacement containers are located in room 20 or 

can be purchased from Fisher Scientific, catalog # 14-827-122 Needles which are meant to be reused 

should not be kept on counter tops without some provision to prevent accidental “sticking”. You can cap 

them, place them in holding packages or lab drawers, or request plastic holding containers from the 

department and gather them all into one holding container. 

Please do not overfill the Non-Reusable needle containers. Instead, leave 2 inches of "headspace" 

in each container at the top. Insofar as possible, do not place anything in these containers other than 

needles and the plastic sheathing associated with the needle. Large plastic and glass syringe tubes should be 

rinsed and disposed of in the garbage (glass syringe tubes go in with the broken glass boxes, of course). If 

you have the least bit of difficulty in removing smaller syringe tubes from the needle, then by all means 

drop the entire needle/tube assembly into the container for disposal. 

32

3. Housekeeping for All Labs 

Housekeeping services offered by WFU Physical Facilities cannot automatically take care of all 

cleaning requirements encountered in fully functioning chemical labs, so be prepared to clean up such 

things as chemical spills on your own. Special requests for clean-up of non-routine nature should be 

called in at phone # 4255. Be cautious of such requests, however, if unattended housekeeping personnel 

must move unfamiliar lab equipment or disrupt normal lab activity while cleaning. Take steps to 

accommodate their time schedule and give them specific instructions. A COMMUNITY USE MOP AND 

BUCKET FOR CLEANING UP WATER SPILLS IS LOCATED IN CLOSET # J0, next to room 9E. 

In addition, observe the following general lab housekeeping rules: 

1. Chemical waste should be organized and kept in particular places in your lab, not scattered hither and 

yon. 

2. If your assigned bench-space work area generates chemical solvents which end up on the floor 

routinely, have your floor space cleaned and mopped more often. Consider getting a chemically 

resistant floor mat. 

3. If your work area is well cared for and your neighbor on an adjoining lab bench tends to be messy, 

don‟t allow bad habits of others to cramp your style. Report it to the lab manager, who will act as your 

subtle advocate. 

4. Both research students and teaching assistants should occasionally gather into communal clean-up 

teams and simply straighten up their research labs or assigned teaching labs. Chemistry stockroom 

personnel and the laboratory manager will help you. 

5. Don‟t allow overcrowded conditions to result in obstruction of safety equipment. Don‟t pile chemicals, 

tools, equipment, and towels randomly on lab bench tops or lab floors. 

6. Report overly dusty lab benches, dirty floors, leaves or cobwebs or dirt on windowsills to housekeeping 

personnel. Request housekeeping services whenever you see the need. 

7. Report damaged furniture to physical facilities for repair. Problems with plumbing, water fixtures or 

improper drainage should likewise be reported to maintenance. 

8. Teaching laboratory stockroom personnel housekeeping assignments are listed below. Chemistry 

stockroom personnel should be notified by TA‟s of anything which has not properly been completed 

before undergraduate teaching labs commence experimental activity. 

9. After lab check-out at the end of each semester, TA‟s should request that Housekeeping clean all 

undergraduate lab bench tops with the bottle of Servicemaster “Scrub „N‟ Shine” cleanser. 

Stockroom Personnel Housekeeping Assignments (Work/Study Undergrad employees): 

� Fill distilled water carboys. 

� Put paper towels at each third lab bench. 

� Fill metal acetone containers found under back sink with acetone from Rm. 20. 

� Make sure there is at least one bottle of Liqui-Nox soap concentrate in back of each lab, so that 

students can put ½ inch or so in their individual bench top soap bottles and dilute the rest of the 

container with water. Each lab only needs a dozen or so communal soap bottles. 

� Be sure to place gloves on stockroom counter: green gloves for General Chemistry labs and blue 

gloves for Organic Chemistry labs (only for experiments which require them). 

� Complete any other tasks for which the TA‟s may need assistance. 

33

4. Eyewash Fountains and Safety Showers 

Explicit instructions for using the eyewash fountains and safety showers located in Salem Hall are 

given in the safety film shown to all Chemistry Department freshmen during the first week of laboratory 

check-in. The film is entitled: “Starting with Safety.” Beginning graduate students serving as general 

chemistry lab teaching assistants will also be exposed to these instructions. TEACHING ASSISTANTS 

ARE FORMALLY REQUIRED TO SHOW ALL OF THEIR GENERAL CHEMISTRY LAB STUDENTS 

EXACTLY WHERE EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT IS LOCATED IN THEIR PARTICULAR ASSIGNED 

LABS. TA’s in all other undergraduate labs are expected to do the same. 

All eyewashes / safety showers in Salem Hall are located less than 75 feet from hazardous 

laboratory locations as required by the applicable standard cited by OSHA, referred to as ANSI Z358.1 

(American National Standards Institute). They are accessible from all work areas within undergraduate and 

graduate labs. Do not physically block access to these fountains with glassware, equipment, etc. Crowding 

equipment around infrequently used safety equipment will of course render them nonfunctional. 

Teaching assistants for undergraduate labs should activate the particular eyewash fountain or 

drench hose in their labs to demonstrate the flow of water available for chemical exposure to eyes. All 

research students should activate the eyewash fountain, drench hose, safety shower, and one or two fire 

extinguishers in their particular labs at least once to familiarize themselves with all safety equipment when 

beginning research during their first year of lab work. 

Contaminants in the eye frequently cause muscle contractions and an instinctive urge to close the 

eyelid making proper drenching difficult. It would not be unreasonable to practice trying to hold your 

eyelids open with your fingers while exposing your eyes to the discomfort of a good dousing. Eyewash 

fountains are constructed so as to remain flowing after they have initially been turned on. Ten or fifteen 

minutes of irrigation would not be unusual for a bad exposure. Drench hoses available in the newer 

undergraduate labs in Salem Hall do not automatically remain open, so you and your co-workers should be 

prepared to operate the hand-valve on the drench hose for injured students. 

Chemical injury to the eyes occur quickly and they need to be cleaned out rapidly, which means 

you need to be able to locate the eyewash fountain literally with your eyes closed. Practice this at least once 

in research labs. 

Other sections of this manual elaborate the necessity of wearing safety glasses while working with 

chemicals. The following eyewash fountain / lab drench hose directions will serve as your formal guide for 

using this equipment in the event you have not seen the aforementioned general chemistry safety film 

entitled “Starting with Safety.” 

1. Memorize the location of eyewash fountains, lab drench hoses, and safety showers in your lab. 

2. Be prepared to help injured colleagues wash their eyes out properly. In other words, help them adjust 

to the discomfort of holding their faces in streams of cold water and forcing their eyelids open, thus 

avoiding the impulse to close eyes tightly after chemical exposure while attempting to irrigate them 

with water. 

3. Do not wear contact lenses in any lab while using chemicals. 

4. Know where to locate the emergency phone in your work area and how to call for medical help. Get 

medical help immediately after eye injuries. 

5. Wash out eyes for 10 to 15 minutes. Wash chemical spills on skin also. Don’t rub your eyes while 

washing them out. 

As for safety showers, make use of them by simply standing underneath and pulling the hand ring 

downwards. In most cases, heavy drenching with mineral acids or corrosive organic chemicals will require 

disrobing of at least the entire exposed clothing articles. 

The next page here lists physical locations of all eyewash fountains, fire blankets, and safety 

showers in Salem Hall. 

34

INVENTORY OF EYEWASH FOUNTAINS AND LAB EYEWASH 

DRENCH HOSES AND 

SAFETY SHOWERS / FIRE 

SALEM HALL 

BLANKETS 

Room # # of Safety Showers # of Drench Hoses # of Eyewash Fountains 

loading dock area 1 1 

7 1 1 

6 1 1 

2 1 1 

5 1 1 

13 1 1 

14 1 1 

17 1 1 

18 1 1 

101 1 8 

102 1 8 

103 1 

105 1 8 

106 1 8 

107 1 3 

108B 1 1 

109 1 4 

111 1 7 

112A 2 

113 1 1 

114 1 1 

117 1 1 

118 1 1 

Note: Fire Blankets are located in the hall in between the rooms specified below. 

Room #'s # of Fire Blankets 

101-103 1 

105-107 1 

111-113 1 

115-117 1 

1-3 1 

3-5 1 

11-13 1 

next to 12A 1 

15A-17 1 

35

5. Lab Fires and Use of Fire Extinguishers 

1. When graduate students are assigned to a particular research laboratory, they should look over the 

phone numbers on the “Telephone #s of Emergency Personnel / Emergency Facilities” sheet in this manual 

and take note of the location of all fire extinguishers within their lab and the nearest hallway fire blanket, 

dry powder fire extinguisher, fire alarm, and exit signs. Also, look at the Emergency Exit Plan map posted 

just outside your lab in the hallway. When a fire starts for any reason, consider the hazard to adjacent lab 

rooms, the hallway, and the building as a whole before activating the alarm. Decide yourself or from the 

assistance of others whether you can extinguish the fire with your laboratory safety equipment. Calling 

campus security (phone 5911) may be in order before calling the local fire station (phone 911), located a 

short distance away on Reynolda Road. Naturally, fires that have grown or show the potential of growing 

quickly into large-scale furniture or wall/ceiling fires call for a swift pull on the Fire Alarm. 

2. Bunsen burner flames should be allowed only in sections of the lab free from solvent vapors, organic 

solvents, or generally anything else which may accidentally combust while your back is turned. Clear the 

bench space around the burner before you light up. Do not leave glass-working torches or Bunsen burners 

on unless someone is in the lab. 

3. Use the designated fire extinguisher for the type of fire encountered. Extinguishers are marked with 

letters or descriptive pictographs corresponding to the following types of fires: 

A - common combustible solid material (wood, carpets, paper, etc.) 

B - flammable organic solvent liquids 

C - electrical equipment 

D - combustible chemical metals (e.g., sodium, phosphorus, lithium aluminum hydride, 

etc.) 

Each laboratory in Salem Hall is equipped with all needed types of fire extinguishers. Carbon 

dioxide (CO2) extinguishers are the most numerous, being located in all undergraduate and research 

laboratories. They are rated for type B and C fires. 

One multipurpose dry chemical powder extinguisher (containing an ammonium phosphate base 

inert material) is located in each hallway wing of the building outside of the laboratories. These are rated 

for A, B, and C type fires. 

Large type D extinguishers are located in particular research laboratories, those likely to deal with 

combustible metals. 

Most laboratory fires can be extinguished with CO2. Discharged extinguishers can be refilled by 

Physical Facilities, phone # 4255. Call them when you use more than half an extinguisher. 

4. Fire blankets for smothering clothing fires are located in each building hallway wing, on the wall in a 

vertical red metal container. Use them by grasping the rope loop on the right side and revolving your body 

leftward until you are tightly wrapped. 

5. Pull the retaining pin out of the extinguisher handle by TWISTING THE PIN LATERALLY TO 

BREAK THE PLASTIC TIE and then pulling out the pin, away from the cylinder. Aim the extinguisher 

spray at the base of the flame, not the flame itself. Organic solvent fires will spread if you spray the 

retardant directly on the liquid – aim just above the liquid. 

6. (The following information was provided by Dave Brown, former WFU Safety Director). 

“The most common [fire safety] violations are listed below. Most are easily corrected and require 

minimal effort. Corrective action should be taken immediately if any of these situations exist. 

36

“COMMON FIRE CODE VIOLATIONS 

“Electrical 

a. Flat extension cords are not allowed. Power strips with built-in circuit breakers are 

acceptable. Don’t overload electrical circuits with too many appliances. 

b. Power strips cannot be plugged into other power strips (piggybacking). 

c. Faulty outlets (loose, broken, missing cover plates, ungrounded) must be repaired ASAP by 

Physical Facilities. 

d. Electrical panels must be fully accessible. 

e. Cords on appliances should not be frayed, spliced or cracked. If they are, have them 

repaired by Physical Facilities. 

“Exits 

a. Exits must be kept unlocked unless equipped with panic type hardware. 

b. Exit passages (stairways, hallways) are to be kept clear. No storage is allowed. 

c. Exits must be clearly indicated and equipped with functioning exit lights. 

d. Exit doors must be operable with no greater than 15 pounds of pressure and must not bind. 

“Housekeeping 

a. Areas must be clean, free of debris and combustibles (paper, rags, boxes). 

b. All containers must be clearly labeled to identify contents 

c. Flammable liquids must be stored in flammable liquids cabinets” [ or carefully stored in 

minimal amounts on laboratory shelves - MAT]. 

7. Fire alarms are located in the following hallways: 

Ground Floor First Floor Second Floor 

1. Stairwell North 1. Left front door 1. Next to North Stairs 

2. Stairwell South 2. Right front door 2. Next to South Stairs 

3. Next to Rm. 7 3. Next to North door 

4. Next to Rm. 1 4. Next to South door 

5. Next to Rm. 17 5. Next to North Stairs 

6. Next to South Stairs 

Activating a fire alarm is a serious matter, not to be taken lightly. Most people realize this, 

perhaps even to such an extent as to render themselves reluctant to do so when it is clearly necessary. DO 

NOT hesitate to pull an alarm when a laboratory fire has grown out of control. Break the glass on the alarm 

with the attached breaking device and PULL! You should know the location of the nearest alarm to your 

lab and examine it at least once when you begin working in that area. 

Fire extinguisher inspections for Salem Hall are conducted periodically by Mr. Scott Frazier [WFU 

Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director]. Please call him at phone # 4329 to get 

extinguishers recharged if they are emptied during a fire in your lab. All Fire Extinguisher Inspection 

Records are kept with him, also. 

References for General Safety Procedures: 

Safety in Academic Laboratories, 6 th edition. American Chemical Society, Washington D.C.: 

1995, pages 3-8, 32. 

Chemical Safety Manual for Small Businesses, 2 nd edition. American Chemical Society, 

Washington D.C.: 1992, pages 4-11, 25-31, 53-59. 

37

C. Procedures for Handling Hazardous Chemical Waste 

1. HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION: GENERAL GUIDELINES 

Please collect chemical waste in well-labeled containers (with labels headed with the wording 

“HAZARDOUS WASTE, Date______”) and store in your research or work area, fully enclosed and 

preferably kept in a hood or in the vented cabinets beneath the hood. Keep aqueous solutions separated 

from organic solvents. Do not mix liquids with large amounts of solids. Consolidate chemically compatible 

inorganic solids in one bottle, and organic solids in another. Incompatible or mutually reactive 

compounds should not be placed in the same bottle. (See Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, table 3.9 on 

page 52 and table 3.10 on page 54). When in doubt whether you are mixing incompatible chemicals, 

consult the laboratory manager or a professor. The safest course is to keep each particular compound in a 

different container if you have the slightest suspicion that one of the waste chemicals may react with the 

other. 

Aqueous solutions or mixed Organic Solvents should be labeled with the solvent name(s) and 

approximate weight or volume percentage of each listed dissolved solid chemical component (i.e., 10%, 

1%, 0.01%, less than 1%, etc.). 

When you are ready to dispose of waste, take it to the metal surface table in the solvent room #20, 

located next to the acetone drum, in the loading dock area of Salem Hall. Chemical solids, in appropriate 

labeled containers, and small one to four liter size bottles of labeled organic solvents and aqueous inorganic 

solutions can also be placed here. 

Extremely reactive and very toxic waste can be stored in the hood in the chemical storage room 

#19 (i.e., sodium metal, osmium tetroxide, phosphorus, sodium cyanide, barium cyanide, reactive metal 

hydrides, etc.) LABEL WITH A HEADING OF “HAZARDOUS WASTE”, AND THEN LIST 

BELOW IT A SPECIFIC SPELLED-OUT CHEMICAL NAME OR NAMES AND DATE IT WITH 

THE DAY OF THE MONTH AND YEAR THE WASTE WAS COLLECTED. Waste companies will 

not accept unidentified waste. Labels such as "aromatic waste" or "inorganic salts" are inappropriate and 

will be returned to you. AGAIN, LABEL WITH SPECIFIC FULLY SPELLED OUT CHEMICAL 

NAMES. Place organic peroxides on the bottom shelf of this hood and keep away from organic or 

inorganic acids. 

A designated Graduate Student or teaching assistant for your work area will maintain a Microsoft 

Word document listing of typical waste generated in your lab, which will be emailed to the Laboratory 

manager at mathomps@wfu.edu in your department when the waste is ready for removal to the Solvent 

room # 20. Examples of labels include: 

HAZARDOUS WASTE, Date 02-22-07 (This date refers to the date that the waste 

) One white plastic container of filter paper and Organic solids: is actually taken downstairs to the 

� N-Acetyl-2-aminobenzoic acid Chemical waste “Accumulation” 

� 9-Fluorenol area in the Solvent room) 

� Methoxychalcone 

� Naphthalene 

HAZARDOUS WASTE, Date 02-22-07 

) Water with: 

� Sodium iodide, approximately 5% 

� Ammonium chloride, 2-5% 

� Sodium sulfate, less than 1% 

� Sodium thiosulfate, less than 1% 


38

) 4-Bromodimethylaniline 


) Two bottles of Water (acidic) with: 

� Bis(salicylaldehydato)nickel (II) dehydrate 

� Bis(salicylaldiminato)nickel (II) 

� Bis(N-2’-butylsalicylaldiminato)nickel (II) 


) Two bottles of Acetone, Hexane, and Ethyl ether with: 

� Acetophenone 

� Anisole 

� Benzaldehyde 

� Benzyl alcohol 

� Benzoic acid 

� Naphthalene 

Aqueous solutions should be checked with (blue) litmus paper and labeled acidic (see above 

example) if necessary, although the presence of a compound named as an acid (e.g., Acetic acid) will 

ordinarily be sufficient to indicate that the material inside is acidic. 

Each research laboratory should maintain its own supply of spent reagent bottles to be used as 

waste containers. Please take extras to the small marked cart or under the metal table of room #20 for 

community use. You may take containers from this area when you need them. If necessary, get clean 

bottles from the stockroom, #110, or the general chemistry preparation room, #103. Gallon sized glass jars 

are located in room #103, and empty 5 gallon blue Fisher metal cans are located in the solvent room, #20. 

White five gallon polyethylene jugs are also in room #103. 

The waste chemicals will eventually be "lab-packed" or enclosed in safe transportation packages 

and taken out by waste treatment firms. 

Wake Forest University's hazardous waste is currently removed by a national company with a 

branch in North Carolina: 

ONYX ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES Carolina Environ Associates American Envr. Services. 

2176 Pressley Road P.O. Box 963 9741 Suite I 

Charlotte, NC 28217 or, alternately: Burlington, NC 28216-0963 Southern Pine Blvd 

Tel.No. (800) 626-1461 336-229-0058 Charlotte, NC 28273 

Phone 704-527-4777 

These companies maintain treatment and storage facilities in North Carolina and disposal facilities in other 

states, like New Jersey. 

39

2. Common Organic Waste Solvents 

The following common laboratory organic solvents can be poured into one of the two 55 gallon 

waste drums located in the solvent room, #20, labeled HAZARDOUS WASTE, Non-Sulfur, Non- 

Halogenated Organic Solvents, meant for the following highly flammable, generally non-reactive 

hydrocarbons, commonly used in most academic research and teaching Labs. Do not add water or acidic 

material to these drums: 

acetone methyl ethyl ketone pump oil 

benzaldehyde mineral spirits tetrahydrofuran 

benzene motor oil toluene 

cyclohexane naphtha xylenes 

ethyl ether paint thinner ethyl alcohol, (and, 

ethyl acetate petroleum ether low-molecular weight alcohols, 

heptane propanol (1 or 2-propanol) cyclohexanol, methanol ) 

hexane propyl acetate ethylene glycol 

Dimethylformamide 

You must list each chemical by name and approximate amount (liters) in logbooks kept near each 

drum. DO NOT OVERFILL THESE DRUMS! Leave about 4 to 6 inches from the top. Don't empty 

mineral acids, organic acids, or aqueous solutions into these drums. Oxidizers in the presence of mixed 

organic solvents may cause a fire. Waste companies do not appreciate receiving organic solvent drums with 

a water layer on the bottom. 

All other organic solvents not on the list above must be poured into separate glass or metal 

containers, labeled, and placed on the metal table. This includes any potentially reactive or unstable 

liquid organic chemical. Examples would be sulfur-containing compounds, complex heterocyclics, 

corrosives, organic acids, lachrymators, etc. - i.e., bromine, acetic anhydride, acetyl chloride, 

chlorosulfonic acid, pyridine, acetonitrile, alanine, 1,4-dioxane, tert-butyl chloride, etc. 

The two common halogenated organic solvents (methylene chloride and chloroform, only) must 

be separated from other solvents and poured into labeled, 20 liter empty white polyethylene containers kept 

next to the large 55 gallon steel drums, on the floor in the wide yellow spill tray. When a waste company is 

called to take out waste (about once every three months) these halogenated solvents will be consolidated 

into one 55 gallon drum - to do so earlier would cause buildup of rust within the larger drums. Methylene 

chloride hydrolyzes and produces HCl which causes metal cans to rust. Do not deposit these two solvents 

in metal cans. 

3. SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN SOLVENT ROOM 

Note that an eyewash station and safety shower are located just outside the door, in the loading 

dock area. Wear safety glasses and chemically resistant gloves. Absorbent material for chemical spills is 

located on the second metal table located next to the large 55 gallon drums. Follow the chemical spill 

procedure in section III.J.3 of this manual. There is a rear emergency exit door. Please keep this door 

unlocked from inside and locked from outside the room. 

In the event of a fire, the automatic fire extinguisher system in the ceiling will trigger. Additional 

fire extinguishers are located by the entrance doorway. Report any spills or corroded waste containers. 

Static electricity discharge cables are located on the large 55 gallon drums. Connect these to metal waste 

containers before you pour waste from them into the drum. Please note that the newly installed independent 

ventilation systems in both the solvent room and the chemical storage room were designed to maintain 

concentrations of chemical fumes below the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL). Report any malfunction of 

the ventilation system to Physical Facilities (phone x-4255). 

Some Fisher organic solvents in 20 liter blue-metal cans, placed in this room for community use, 

are capable of peroxide formation once opened and exposed to air for long periods. If half emptied and left 

for 5 or 6 months, these solvents may become explosive. DO NOT OPEN NEW CANS OF THIS 

MATERIAL UNTIL CANS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN OPENED ARE USED UP ENTIRELY: 

Diethyl ether, Tetrahydrofuran, 1,4-Dioxane 

Date the label of these chemicals with the date on which the container was first opened. If the above cans 

are not labeled, the laboratory manager will begin ordering these solvents individually, rather than in-bulk, 

until students learn to properly date them. Be sure to tighten the black plastic spout cap after dispensing 

any solvents kept in this room. The hazardous waste storage area is checked weekly by the laboratory 

40

manager and stockroom personnel using a standard form located on the second metal table. Do not move 

the logbook from this area. 

4. MERCURY SPILLS 

At present, there is no legal method for disposing of metallic mercury. Take broken 

thermometers and place in the white plastic pail located in the hood of the chemical storage room, 

#19, across from the solvent room. These are recycled with the chemical waste company serving Salem 

Hall.. Mercury spills should be collected with a vacuum hand pump (“Hg Vac”, Lab Supply Company 

Catalog # YB-20754, refill pack catalog # YB-16613). Empty the collection tube into a wide mouth glass 

bottle and take it to the plastic holding tray located beneath the hood in room # 19, underneath the broken 

thermometer white plastic pail. Every effort should be made to collect mercury droplets with this device, 

instead of sweeping them up, since the mercury must be recycled and sold. Dirt and trash collected along 

with the mercury will contaminate it. Containers holding more trash than mercury will be returned to you 

for proper cleanup. 

Don‟t use commercially available mercury absorbent material, such as Lab Safety brand Mercury 

Vapor Absorbent and Hg Absorb (a zinc amalgam material) which are located in the stockroom, unless 

absolutely necessary, i.e., for very large spills of mercury which cannot be collected with the hand pump. 

This material will be extremely difficult to dispose of, since no waste company will take it. Charges 

incurred by the department in disposing of it will be reimbursed by the research group responsible for the 

spill. 

The mercury will eventually be poured into metal canisters, located on the floor next to the hood, and sold 

to the following mercury recycling center: 

Bethlehem Apparatus Company, Inc. 

890 Front Street; P.O. Box Y 

Hellertown, PA 18055 

Tel. No. (610)-838-7034 

An alternate company would be: 

D. F. Goldsmith, Chemical and Metal corp. 

909 Pitner Ave. 

Evanston, IL 60202 

Tel.No. (708) 869-7800 

5. WASTE FROM UNDERGRADUATE LABORATORIES, FIRST FLOOR 

Persons working as Teaching Assistants are responsible for handling waste generated by 

undergraduate students and transporting it to the solvent room. Chemical preparation persons are 

responsible for a) dispensing reagent and prepared chemicals to each lab bench and b) labeling empty waste 

containers and placing them in appropriate waste-holding areas in each lab before the experiment actually 

begins. Give T.A.'s only the number of waste containers actually needed for a particular week's experiment. 

Aqueous solutions of inorganic salts generated in the freshman lab classes will be poured into 

open, white or gray plastic pails located in the general chemistry prep room, #103, and left in the hood in 

that room to evaporate. The residue will be consolidated into one or two pails and taken to the solvent 

room when full. Label each pail with the full name (or formula) of the component involved - i.e., Barium 

Chloride (or BaCl 2 ), Cadmium nitrate [or Cd(NO 3 ) 2 ], Silver nitrate (or AgNO 3 ), etc. 

Generally, these common inorganic salts should be placed in two different storage categories and 

not mixed together in the same white or gray plastic pail. One category is composed of higher toxic 

potential cations and anions, as specifically listed on pages 167 and 168 of Prudent Practices, 2nd Edition. 

The other category consists of very low toxic cations/anions, listed here as well. Do Not, however, place 

41

any aqueous solutions whatsoever of mercuric salts in any of these storage containers (i.e. mercuric 

chloride, mercurous nitrate, etc.) Mercuric salts, either Hg 1+ or Hg 2+ , cannot presently be taken 

by waste companies. We will have to store the evaporated remnants of these solutions in a labeled 

container, kept in the solvent room #20, until we can either recycle them or receive clear instructions from 

higher waste authorities. Be sure to read the Forsyth County/City of Winston-Salem ordinance disallowing 

drain disposal of metal cations above specific concentration levels, located in subchapter # 11, below. You 

should also read section 7.D.3.8, “Inorganic Ions”, of Prudent Practices, 2nd edition., pages 166-171. 

For all other waste handling and disposal involving freshman student labs please follow the 

guidelines listed under the “Chemical Handling” section of the modular laboratory student handouts, 

instruction‟s information section. The teacher will give this information to you. 

Organic chemistry Teaching Assistants will gather student waste containers located in the rear of 

their assigned teaching laboratory rooms and take them to the solvent room, #20, for storage on the metal 

table. If each container is properly labeled before the experiment starts, you will not have to sort out the 

waste into new containers afterwards. Remember, the prep persons are responsible for dispensing 

chemicals and waste containers to your assigned area, but you are responsible for removing the waste to the 

solvent room, room #20, downstairs. Generally, most benign organic solids used in the undergrad Organic 

Labs can be mixed in the same container. When in doubt, check with your instructor or the laboratory 

manager. 

DO NOT MIX (OR ALLOW UNDERGRADS TO MIX) AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS WITH 

ORGANIC SOLVENTS, SOLIDS WITH LIQUIDS, OR OTHERWISE INCOMPATIBLE CHEMICALS 

IN THE SAME CONTAINER. These organic lab is equipped with a large, 2-liter, separatory funnel. If 

students have trouble separating aqueous and organic waste, have them pour their liquid waste into these 

funnels. At the end of the experiment, pour out the bottom layer of water and, if the aqueous ingredients are 

non-hazardous, non-regulated and chemically benign, neutralize it with sodium bicarbonate or baking soda, 

and pour them down the lab drains with copious amounts of water. 

In addition to the above guidelines, have the students read the “Cleaning Up” section at the end of 

each particular experimental procedure in the class textbook, Williamson, Kenneth. Macroscale and 

Microscale Organic Experiments, 2nd edition. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1994 and 

follow these instructions. 

Before taking the waste downstairs, you can store it temporarily in the hood of room #107, a 

general chemistry lab room. Keep a couple of 5 gallon metal solvent cans for common organic solvent 

waste (see list of common organic solvent list in previous section B, Waste Organic Solvents). Place a 

separate paper label with the name of the solvent or solvents for each and every solvent poured into the 

drum. This drum should be labeled overall as the acidic organic solvent waste drum and should not be 

poured into the 55 gallon waste drum downstairs, since most organic experiments will involve some use of 

mineral acids and will no doubt contaminate this organic solvent waste can. If the solvents are overly 

acidic, pour them into the large 2 liter separatory funnels in the back hoods of your lab, add some sodium 

bicarbonate aqueous solution, shake it out carefully, pour organic solvent back into the can and discard the 

water. By the time you fill the can, you should have at least a dozen labels on it. If this is not taken care of 

by community effort among the TA‟s, THE LAB MANAGER WILL ASSIGN THIS TASK TO ONE 

PARTICULAR T.A. PER SEMESTER. 

Reactive solvents, like acetic anhydride or bromine, for example, should go into separate smaller 

containers, as should halogenated solvents, like methylene chloride or chloroform. 

Solid organic compounds which are compatible (i.e., most organic solids used in undergraduate 

organic labs) can go into one communal wide-mouth glass or plastic jar, naturally, with named labels 

attached. Any overly reactive solid, like lithium aluminum hydride or sodium metal, etc., should go into 

separate containers. Use your judgment or ask for advice. Acidic or basic aqueous layers with trace 

amounts of non-toxic inorganic salt components can be neutralized with sodium bicarbonate or dilute 

mineral acids and dispensed into the lab sink drain, as per instructions in the above CRC procedure. 

42

Mineral acids (HCl, HNO 3 and H 2 SO 4 ), ammonium hydroxide (NH 4 OH), and Phosphoric Acid 

(H3PO4) can legally be disposed of as instructed in Armour, M.A., Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals 

Disposal Guide, 2nd edition. Boston: CRC Press, 1996, under the following conditions: 

a. The acids must be completely neutralized and this must occur as a definite part of the 

experimental procedure, preferably at the end. 

b. Dilute with at least 1:10 dilution of acid to H 2 O before neutralizing 

c. Contaminants present in the acid must be less than 1% total 

(A copy of this book is kept in the stockroom #110.) 

Do not dispose of hydrofluoric acid or perchloric acid in this manner. It should be given to the 

waste companies, as should spent chromerge (chromic acid/H 2 SO 4 ) cleaning mixtures. 

The listed procedures for all four mineral acids are basically as follows: 

Wear suitable gloves, such as nitrile rubber gloves (i.e., the blue, green, or yellow gloves located in 

the stockroom, room #110), a laboratory coat, and eye protection while slowly diluting the concentrated 

acid or further diluting less concentrated acids in a suitable container, such as a large beaker or a lab sink 

with a drain plug, or a large standard heavy-duty polyethlene pan. 

Add baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), sodium carbonate, calcium carbonate, or soda ash slowly 

into the diluted solution until neutralization is complete, i.e., until vapors of CO2 don‟t rise from the 

mixture. Pour the resulting solution down the drain with at least 50 times its volume in H20. All of this 

should preferably be done in a fume hood. 

Reaction equations for Neutralizations of Acids: 

2 HCl + Na2CO3 � 2NaCl + CO2 + H2O 

2HNO3 + Na2CO3 � 2NaNO3 + H2O + CO2 

H2SO4 + Na2CO3 � Na2SO4 + H2O + CO2 

Ammonia can similarly be disposed of using dilute hydrochloric acid as the neutralizing agent. 

Reaction equations for neutralizations of ammonium hydroxide and phosphoric acid: 

NH4OH + HCl � NH2Cl + H2O 

2 H3PO4 + 3 Na2CO3 � 2 Na3PO4 + 3 H2O + 3 CO2 

43

6. ALUMINA/SILICA-GEL CHROMATOGRAPHY WASTE 

label: 

This material should be packaged in 30 gallon blue polyethylene containers with the following 

HAZARDOUS WASTE, 

Date________ 

Alumina/Silica-Gel 

a) Silica-gel 30 % 

b) Sand 30 % 

c) Alumina 30 % 

d) Florisil 10 % 

When full, take to the solvent room # 20 for storage. 

7. SPENT LECTURE-BOTTLE COMPRESSED GAS CYLINDERS 

These metal cylinders, when completely empty, can be legally disposed of via the local landfill by 

labeling "EMPTY" with clearly visible markings and depositing in the loading dock garbage bins. This 

would apply to inert or non-air sensitive gases which are spent, entirely. However, it is not advisable to do 

this. Naturally, it would be better to return the cylinders to the original vender. 

Lecture bottles bought from Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Company are especially easy to return. 

Their cylinder return service instructions can be obtained by calling 1-800-558-9160, the customer service 

department. The cost is about $27.00. Most lecture bottles are best purchased from this company, anyway, 

if not National Welders. Twenty-seven dollars is much less than the $200 to $300 that most waste 

companies would charge. Give them the information they need (our account # with Sigma-Aldrich, the 

catalog # of the cylinder, and the chemical name) and they will send you shipping labels so that we can send 

back empty lecture bottles in cardboard boxes, properly labeled with the DOT chemical warning labels that 

were shipped to you with the cylinder when you received it. SAVE THE SHIPPING BOX AND THE 

WARNING LABELS THAT YOU RECEIVED WITH THE LECTURE BOTTLE. The lab manager will 

make arrangements to send the cylinders back via Roadway transportation services, phone # 993-4811 in 

Kernersville, NC. They must be sent by truck. UPS will not take them. 

The following Matheson Gas Company lecture bottle gases are sold by Fisher Scientific Co.: 

Gas Catalog # 

Ammonia 10-599A 

Carbon Dioxide 10-599E 

Chlorine 10-599F 

Ethylene 10-599I 

Helium 10-599J 

Hydrogen 10-599K 

Hydrogen Sulfide 10-599L 

Methane 10-599N 

Nitrogen 10-599P 

Oxygen 10-599R 

SO2 Anhydrous 10-599W 

This is generally the least expensive source of such lecture bottle size gas cylinders, and you can 

return them by mail to Matheson via the following procedure: 

Call Matheson Gas Products at phone # (770) 961-7891, Morrow, GA, and follow these steps, as 

stipulated by the company: 

44

1. “Lecture Bottles must be Matheson Lecture Bottles. 

2. Bottles must be properly labeled (original). 

3. Valves must be operable and in good condition. 

4. Product must be from existing product line or will not be accepted. 

5. Accepting location must have capability to drain cylinders. (It does, at least in Morrow, GA) 

6. Lecture Bottles must be in generally good condition. 

7. A flat return charge of $40.00 per Lecture Bottle will be assessed to cover processing costs. 

8. Prior arrangements must be made before making returns. 

(Call above phone number and send to: 

Matheson Gas Products 

6874 South Main Street 

Morrow, Ga 30260) 

“See DOT Shipment of Chemicals section in the laboratory manager’s copy of this manual 

for proper labels to add to the box. The laboratory manager will have proper DOT warning 

labels you can add to the shipping container. It is a good idea to keep the original shipping 

box, with the labels already affixed, somewhere in your lab or in the storage room #8A, for 

future shipment of the empty cylinder. Remember, no gas cylinder should be completely 

drained, so you will have trace amounts of gas in the bottle, enough for justification of 

warning labels. 

9. Any bottles received not meeting these criteria will be returned to the customer. 

10. Matheson reserves the right to refuse all lecture bottles. 

“The company regrets any inconvenience this may cause, however, Matheson cannot continue to 

absorb the increasing costs of cylinder reclamation (due to unidentifiable, non-labeled lecture 

bottles"). 

National Welders, Inc., a local company which supplies our large-size gas cylinders, is also a 

dealer for Matheson lecture bottles. This company will collect most empty cylinders when requested. 

Please contact them by phone (744-0010) and take the cylinders to the "Empty Cylinder" area in the outer 

loading dock area of Salem Hall. NEVER COMPLETELY EXPEND CORROSIVE, AIR-SENSITIVE, 

MOISTURE-SENSITIVE OR STRONG OXIDIZER GASES FROM LECTURE BOTTLES. Outside air 

will be drawn into the cylinder and an explosion may occur after contact with oxygen, water vapor or 

oxidizable material (like organic lubricants or grease). Return the cylinder to the vendor with about 20-25 

psi remaining in the tank. Consult your research advisor if you have any uncertainties as to the safety of 

emptying a particular cylinder. 

8. Lab Procedures for “In-Process” disposal of Highly Reactive Chemicals 

Occasionally a chemical encountered in research laboratories is so corrosive or reactive that it must be 

destroyed as part of the experimental procedure when it is spent or no longer in a useable form. If it is to be 

used in an experiment and is clearly in need of “in-process” destruction, consult with your research advisor 

and obtain such information from the chemical literature or one of the following sources: 

Armour, M.A. Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide, 2nd edition. Boston: CRC Press, 1996, 

located in the chemistry stockroom, Room # 110. 

Lunn, George and Sansone, Eric B. Destruction of Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratory, 2nd edition. 

New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1994. 

Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, especially Chapter 7. 

9. Responsibilities of Laboratory Personnel 

Persons working as teaching assistants, laboratory chemical preparation persons or stockroom 

workers cleaning up in various undergraduate laboratories will begin to include the handling of chemical 

waste in their repertoire of privileges and responsibilities associated with being students of science. 

As for research laboratories, please note that you are responsible for your own chemical waste. 

Label all containers, list all components with approximate percentages of each, bottle or can up all chemical 

waste, and move it out to the solvent room, #20. Please try not to clutter this area. Report any infractions 

of safety rules, spills, accidents, etc. occurring in this room to the laboratory manager. 

45

YOU ARE REQUESTED TO READ SECTION 5.C.6 OF Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, pages 84-85, 

FOR A GOOD SUMMARY OF THE CHEMICAL WASTE PROCEDURES LISTED IN THIS 

MANUAL. 

It is hereby stipulated that each research laboratory group designate one graduate student to 

oversee the collection and transportation of chemical waste from the group‟s work area to the metal table or 

55 gallon solvent waste drum in room #20. In particular, this designated person has the responsibility of 

visually checking the contents of each waste container before it is take by other students within the group to 

the waste holding area, to make certain incompatible chemicals have not been placed in the same container. 

This should be a permanent or rotating assignment, based on research priorities and faculty dictate. 

10. Laboratory Manager Responsibilities 

As the designated “Hazardous Substance Officer” for the Chemistry Department, the laboratory manager is 

responsible for: 

1. Coordination of the Chemistry Department‟s compliance with local fire department, state, and 

federal laws on hazardous substances. 

2. Inventory of all chemicals for the Chemistry Department. 

3. Securing Material Safety Data Sheets for all chemicals for the Chemistry Department. 

4. Preparing a written Standard Operating Procedure for handling chemical waste for the 

Chemistry Department. 

All hazardous waste in Salem Hall must be contained, cataloged, recorded, manifested and sent out 

to waste companies. The laboratory manager will be more than happy to describe the regulatory 

requirements of chemical waste with you and supervise the manner in which it is handled by you. 

11. Conversation with Ms. Crystall Couch on 4/1/93 (As per instructions from Dr. Antony Shoaf, 

former Chemical/Biohazard Officer, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, WFU): 

“On March 8, 1993, the City/County Utilities Commission passed ordinances which required that 

all businesses in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County to not dump concentrations of metal ions and certain 

pollutants into the city sewage which are greater than the concentrations listed below. If the 

concentrations of any of the constituents listed below are greater than the listed maximum in the effluents 

leading from a facility, then that facility will require a special permit. 

“Pollutant Maximum Permitted Level in Effluents, ppm (mg/l) 

Ag (Silver) < .002 Note: These concentrations are 

As(Arsenic) < .005 incredibly dilute. This section generally 

Cd (Cadmium) < .005 applies to trace amounts of material left in 

Cr (Chromium) < .03 dirty lab glassware which is cleaned in lab 

Hg (Mercury) < .0002 sinks and does not imply permission to 

Cu (Copper) < .2 dump toxic inorganic salts down the drain. 

Pb (Lead) < .05 See Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, page 166, 

Ni (Nickel) < .05 for a discussion of how to distinguish 

Zn (Zinc) < .005 between toxic and nontoxic inorganic salts. 

BOD 500 

Susp. Solids 500 

pH between 5 and 10 

Hydrocarbons, oil, 

and grease < 100 

Cn - (Cyanide) < .005” 

12. Chemical Waste listed by the EPA as “Acute Hazardous Waste” (P-Listed Waste) 

Certain chemicals are considered so hazardous as chemical waste, either because of their toxicity 

or reactivity, that research laboratory generation of them must remain below a certain amount per month 

46

(one kilogram per month, total amount for the Reynolda campus). Otherwise the university could lose its 

EPA “Small Quantity Generator” status [meaning small quantity generator of hazardous waste]. In the 

event this status is lost, much more regulatory paperwork is required for what will then be a “Large Quantity 

Generator”. 

It is advisable that you consult the list of such chemicals (referred to by the EPA and “P-list waste” 

because the waste codes begin with the letter P) at least once to become familiar with it. It is listed in the 

appendix of this manual. 

As an example of precautions to use, consider the following suggestion. Suppose your research 

lab generates Osmium tetroxide. This is a P-list waste and you should either end up with only a very small 

amount to dispose of (say 1 to 200 grams, or 500 mL of solution) or set in place a procedure to detoxify or 

decontaminate the material, though chemical decomposition, as the last step in your overall reaction 

process. Be sure to add this procedure to your reaction process while in progress. Do not treat hazardous 

waste after the reaction process has been stopped or disassembled. In house treatment of stored hazardous 

waste, other than simple neutralization, is not presently permitted by the EPA. 

13. Hazardous Waste Record-Keeping for WFU and the Chemistry Department 

All hazardous chemical waste generated by the university must be properly “manifested”. That is, 

shipping papers, prepared by waste companies, must be kept on campus for future reference - as required by 

RCRA (the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) and explained on pages 146 and section 9.D, page 

205, of Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, if you wish to read it (not required reading). All such manifests are 

now kept by the Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director, Scott Frazier, at Physical 

Facilities. Copies of the Waste Company‟s Packing Slip listing of all waste chemicals collected from the 

Chemistry Department are kept by the Chemistry Department laboratory manager in the top drawer of 

OSHA file cabinet, Chemistry Department Stockroom # 110. 

47

Summary of Rules for Chemical Waste Collection and Labeling 

Nearly all spent chemicals generated in teaching and research laboratories should be securely bottled or packaged, labeled, 

and stored in or near a laboratory hood, the solvent room # 20 (Loading Dock area), or other safe, secure areas within your Laboratory 

stipulated by your research or teaching advisor. Some chemicals are regarded as non-hazardous, non-regulated chemicals and may be 

safely deposited in the normal garbage, but the identity of these chemicals is not usually something students would be expected to 

readily recognize (e.g., “paper, corks, sand, alumina [used in chromatography experiments], silica gel, sodium sulfate, magnesium 

sulfate, and so on….”, as explained in the Organic teaching lab CHEM 122L textbook The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual, 

Chapter one, “Disposing of Waste”. Therefore, since most of our waste is ultimately given to a Chemical Waste company for pickup, 

it is advised that nearly all of the waste in your work area be handled as follows: 

Be sure that the wording “HAZARDOUS WASTE, Date _______” appears as a heading on the label and the begin identifying each 

of the chemical components with its fully spelled out name, not its chemical formula. For example: 

HAZARDOUS WASTE, Date 11-19-06 DO NOT WRITE Na Write out the word “Sodium” 

) One bottle of Sodium metal in Mineral oil 


) One bottle of Organic solids: DO NOT WRITE THE CHEMICAL SYMBOLS OR FORMULAS ONLY 

� 1-Naphthol 

� Glucose pentaacetate 

� Nitrotyrosine (in glass vials) 

� 4-Aminobenzenesulfonic acid 

� 8-Anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid, ammonium salt hydrate 

1. Keep aqueous solutions separated from organic solvents, insofar as possible. If you do mix the two together, make sure 

that information is on the label, although it is better to separate the layers (organic and aqueous phases) and place them in 

separate containers. 

2. Do not mix liquids with large amounts of solids. 

3. Consolidate chemically compatible inorganic solids in one bottle, and organic solids in another. Incompatible or 

mutually reactive compounds should not be placed in the same bottle. 

4. Keep each particular compound in a different container if you have the slightest suspicion that one of the waste chemicals 

may react with the other. 

5. Aqueous solutions or mixed Organic Solvents should be labeled with the solvent name(s) and approximate weight or 

volume percentage of each listed dissolved solid chemical component (i.e., 10%, 1%, 0.01%, less than 1%, etc.) if at all 

possible. For example: 


) Water with: 

� Sodium iodide, approximately 5% 

� Ammonium chloride, 2-5% 

� Sodium sulfate, less than 1% 

� Sodium thiosulfate, less than 1% 


) Two bottles of Acetone, Hexane, and Ethyl ether with: 

� Acetophenone, less than 1% 

� Anisole, less than 1% 

� Benzaldehyde, 10 % 

� Benzyl alcohol, trace amount 

� Benzoic acid, 20 % 

� Naphthalene, 2 to 5% 

The following common laboratory organic solvents can be poured into one of the two 55 gallon waste drums located in the solvent 

room, #20, labeled HAZARDOUS WASTE, Non-Sulfur, Non-Halogenated Organic Solvents, meant for the following highly 

flammable, generally non-reactive hydrocarbons, commonly used in most academic research and teaching Labs: 







heptane propanol (1 or 2-propanol) cyclohexanol, methanol ) 

hexane propyl acetate ethylene glycol 

Dimethylformamide 

The two common halogenated organic solvents (methylene chloride and chloroform, only) must be separated from other solvents 

and poured into labeled, 20 liter empty white polyethylene containers kept next to the large 55 gallon steel drums, on the floor in the 

wide yellow spill tray. 

48

All other organic solvents not on the list above must be poured into separate glass or metal containers, labeled, and placed on 

the metal table. This includes any potentially reactive or unstable liquid organic chemical. Examples would be sulfurcontaining 

compounds, complex heterocyclics, corrosives, organic acids, lachrymators, etc. - i.e., bromine, acetic anhydride, 

acetyl chloride, chlorosulfonic acid, pyridine, acetonitrile, alanine, 1,4-dioxane, tert-butyl chloride, etc. 

Common mineral acids used in Academic laboratories (Hydrochloric, Nitric, Sulfuric acids, including Acetic and Phosphoric acids) 

can be completely neutralized with Sodium carbonate or bicarbonate and flushed down the drain with plenty of cold water, unless 

other harmful chemical components are mixed in with them, in which case they should be securely bottled, capped, labeled, and sent 

out with the waste company. 

Research students in each research lab making use of chemicals and generating chemical waste are responsible for identifying and 

gathering chemical waste, putting them in appropriate empty glass or plastic containers (depending on the reactivity or lack thereof of 

the chemical with the type of container you‟re using), labeling them as described above, making sure there is no evidence of spillage 

on the container surface, storing the chemical waste temporarily in a designated storage area within your lab (ideally in a hood, or 

underneath a hood, or in a flammable storage cabinet), capping or otherwise closing the container tightly, making absolutely certain 

that different chemicals stored within the same container are chemically compatible (that is, do not react with each other), and finally 

that each bottle is dated when full and taken to the Hazardous Chemical Waste holding (Accumulation) area in the Solvent room # 20 

for eventual removal by the Chemical Waste Company. Faculty Research Directors and Faculty teaching Lab instructors are 

responsible for identifying chemical waste if Graduate students are unclear as to what constitutes chemical waste generated in their 

research or teaching laboratory work areas. Any other questions regarding chemical waste should be directed to Scott Frazier [WFU 

Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director], phone # 4255. 

It is hereby stipulated that each research laboratory group designate one graduate student to oversee the collection and transportation 

of chemical waste from the group‟s work area to the Accumulation area on the metal table or 55 gallon solvent waste drum in room 

#20. In particular, this designated person has the responsibility of visually checking the contents of each waste container before it is 

taken by other students within the group to the waste holding area, to make certain incompatible chemicals have not been placed in 

the same container, and dating each waste container when it is taken to the Accumulation area. This should be a permanent or 

rotating assignment, based on research priorities and faculty dictate. 

The designated Graduate Student or teaching assistant for your work area will maintain a Microsoft Word document listing of typical 

waste generated in your lab, which will be emailed to the Laboratory manager at mathomps@wfu.edu in your department when the 

waste is ready for removal to the Solvent room # 20. 

49

D. Protective Devices, Equipment, and Apparel 

1. Personal Protective Equipment: Eyewear 

1. All laboratory workers are required to wear safety glasses or goggles at all times in research and 

undergraduate laboratories. Departmentally available “Wraparound” safety glasses must be worn over 

prescription eyeglasses. Alternatively, you can purchase your own prescription-lens safety goggles, but be 

prepared to prove that they are actually fully rated as safety glasses. 

Contact lenses are not acceptable in most laboratory situations, especially around chemicals which 

readily generate vapors of any sort, i.e. volatile organic liquids or solids, corrosive mineral acids, 

lachrymators, solids with dust-like consistencies. These vapors easily become lodged underneath the 

contacts rendering removal difficult. Also, one cannot flush the eyes with water until they are physically 

removed. After accidentally splashing chemicals into the eyes, one cannot expect to remain panic-free 

while groping about for the eye-wash fountain and struggling with contact lenses. If contact lenses must be 

worn for some reason, cover your face with tight-fitting safety goggles. More elaborate eye protection, 

including full face shields, may be obtained from the chemistry stockroom (room #110). 

2. All undergraduate laboratory students are required to obtain safety glasses, goggles, or “Wraparound” 

goggles from the chemistry department stockroom (room #110) during check-in procedures. These must be 

kept and worn through each and every laboratory session. They should be returned at the end of the 

semester, during lab check-out procedures. 

Graduate students may obtain eyewear from the same room to be kept until graduation. In the 

event other types are desired, they may be purchased from Fisher Scientific Company (or anywhere else) by 

their Faculty research directors. Graduate students must obtain one comfortable pair of safety glasses and 

one pair of tight-fitting safety goggles for use in more hazardous research lab operations. 

The standard safety glasses kept in the stockroom are AO Safety or Aerosite Fisher Brand (Fisher 

Catalog #17-981-9B or 10B, large or small size). These are safety spectacles, with permanently attached 

side shields, all in accordance with the relevant OSHA standard, 29 CFR 1910.133, which employs the same 

criteria for safety glasses stipulated by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), referred to as 

standard Z87.1-1989. The goggles kept in the stockroom are UVEX Classic (Fisher Catalog #17-253 for one 

size) or UVEX Futura chemical splash goggles (Fisher catalog #17-260-1 small, and catalog #17-982-587 

large), all of which meet the Standard for Occupational and Educational Eye and Face Protection listed under 

29 CFR 1910.133. Cynmar Corporation makes catalog # 180-11090 Wraparound goggles. 

Specific information regarding UV light protection in both the standard Departmental safety 

glasses and the safety googles can be obtained from the manufacturer by calling Fisher Scientific. 

50

2. Personal Protective Equipment: Lab Coats and Gloves 

1. The chemical laboratory is not the place for fashionable or impractical clothing. Wear sturdy cotton 

trousers or long skirts and thick, well-worn shirts with long sleeves. Some other resilient material may be 

just as good, but synthetic fabrics tend to melt when burned and adhere to skin. It is generally easy to end up 

with chemical stains on clothes during any serious lab work. Don your old blue jeans, wear lab coats when 

necessary, and keep your feet completely covered with leather or thick canvas shoes. Cotton lab coats are 

preferable, although other fabrics sold by Fisher Scientific Company are acceptable. Disposable aprons are 

available in the Chemistry Department Stockroom (room #110). 

2. Gloves: Wear disposable laboratory gloves when working with hazardous chemicals. Which type you 

choose to wear should be dictated by the general class of chemical you will be exposed to in the lab. 

Research lab gloves should be purchased by your research advisor. If your research advisor does not 

stipulate which type you should obtain or provide them for you then please procure them from the 

stockroom (room #110). They are described as follows: 

a) Lightweight Purple nitrile gloves (brand name Kimberly-Clark “Safeskin”, Fisher catalog # 19-149- 

863A through D, for sizes extra-small through extra-Large, $74.90 per case of 1000 as of 10-18-06) 

meant generally for organic solvents and solids and to a lesser extent, mineral acids. These gloves are 

also used for undergraduate Organic Chemistry, Chem 221-221L labs and are 4 "mils" thick (a "mil" is 

equal to 0.001 inch). A good substitute for these would be VWR, Inc., Microgrip Ambi-nitrile gloves 

(purple), catalog # 40101-344 (small) through 40101-346 (large). All of these are disposable gloves. 

b) Light-weight latex rubber off-white and green gloves (Kimberly-Clark “Safeskin”, Fisher catalog # 

11-390-1A through D, for sizes extra-Small through extra-Large, $53.00 per case of 1000 as of 10-18-06) 

are best for mineral acids and inorganic salts and are used by undergraduate students in general 

chemistry labs, Chem 111-116L labs. They are 6 mils thick (again, 0.006 of an inch thick). THEY DO 

NOT STAND UP WELL TO ORGANIC SOLVENTS. A good substitute for these would be VWR, Inc., 

Microgrip Latex gloves (blue-green, or teal), catalog # 40101-414 (small) through 40101-418 (large). 

Again, these are disposable. We also have SAFESKIN latex gloves (off white), Fisher # 11-390-1A 

through 1E, which are 6 mils thick (again, 0.006 of an inch thick). 

c) Yellow, heavy-duty, universal, thick, cotton lined rubber gloves (ANSELL EDMONT Natural 

Rubber, Fisher catalog #11-394-7A through E, size 7-10). These are good overall protection for both 

graduate and undergraduates. They are more cumbersome than the lighter gloves described above. Do 

not use them if your skin is overly sensitive to cotton. These are meant to be reusable gloves. We also 

have slightly heavier duty orange ANSELL EDMONT Natural Rubber gloves, Fisher catalog # 11-391- 

145 [size 7], then 11-394-6B through 11-394-6D (for sizes small through large). 

d) Heavyweight, non-cotton lined, dark-green nitrile gloves (MAPA Professional Stansolv Nitrile gloves, 

Fisher catalog #11-391-1A through E, size 7-11) are for people who may be allergic to cotton-lined 

gloves. 

e) "Multi-flex" powder-lined heavyweight green vinyl gloves, VWR Scientific Products (Baxter) catalog 

# G7235-3 or 4, for large or extra large sizes. Vinyl(or PVC) material stands up well to acids and 

alcohols, but not most organic solvents. 

f) "Zetex" brand temperature resistant gloves (non-asbestos material), Fisher catalog #11-392-15one size 

only. 

g) Neoprene Gloves for handling Hydrofluoric acid will be supplied by Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant 

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director]. His phone # is 4329 (or 4224) 

Please read the section entitled "Hand Protection" on pages 132-3 of Prudent Practices, 2nd 

edition, and consult the glove selection charts kept in the Stockroom (room # 110) copy of The Chemical 

51

Hygiene Plan when choosing the appropriate gloves to wear in you laboratory situation. Choose the type of 

gloves you need based on the kinds of chemicals with which you work. Some of the gloves described above 

are headed with a handwritten asterisk on the chart columns corresponding to the glove brand name or 

glove material. 

An extended glove compatibility chart is contained in the booklet entitled "Quick Selection Guide 

to Chemical Protective Clothing," 2nd edition, by Krister Forsberg and S.Z. Mansdorf, Van Nostrand 

Reinhold Publishers, kept by the laboratory manager. 

The "Calendar Guide to Chemical Resistant Best Gloves," 7th edition, lists chemical 

compatabilities for thicker, heavier-duty gloves than anything we have in stock above and are made of more 

chemically resistant material. You will find all pertinent information for them in the Fisher Catalog or in 

the "Calendar Guide" chart by Best company. 

The Glove compatibility charts from Best Company can also be accessed from their Web site, 

http://www.bestglove.com/, go to the “industrial” glove sidebar, then to “chemical resistent”, then scroll 

down and download the red disk icon labeled “download chemrest Guide”, fill in and complete the required 

name and address fields (apparently for future guide update info), and the download the Windows 95 

option. 

For the Ansell heavy-duty yellow gloves chemical compatibility chart, go to 

http://www.ansellpro.com/ 

For the MAPA Stansolv heavy-duty cotton-less, green nitrile gloves, go to 

http://www.mapaglove.com/ 

The Safeskin (purple nitrile SHIELDMASTER) glove compatibility chart is also available on the 

Web. Go to: 

http://www.shieldmaster.com/ and then to: 

http://www.safeskin.com/chemresist/ 

The following useful information on gloves was obtained from Dartmouth College, Environmental 

Health and Safety, 6216 Clement West, Hanover, NH 03755, phone # 603-646-1762: 

“Glove materials: 

Viton� - Excellent resistance to chlorinated and aromatic solvents. (Expensive) 

Butyl - Good choice for aldehydes, ketones and esters. (Expensive) 

Neoprene - Wide range of resistance to solvents, acids, caustics and alcohols. 

Nitrile - Wide range of applications along with puncture and abrasion resistance. 

Natural rubber (latex) - resists acids and caustics. Often combined with other polymers for a broader range 

of applications. 

PVC - resists acids but not petroleum solvents.” 

52

3. VENTILATION AND PROPER USE OF HOODS 

1. Ventilation System 

Laboratory hoods serve as very convenient “designated areas” for working with dangerous 

chemicals and you should take advantage of them whenever you feel it necessary. 

The hoods in the Salem Hall are designed to keep the concentration of all airborne chemicals 

below the Threshold Limit Values (TLVs) or Permissible Exposure Limits (PELs) as defined by 

OSHA and explained in the subchapter of this manual titled “A Guide to OSHA Air Concentration 

Acronyms”. Active laboratory areas are constantly provided with 100% fresh air from the ventilation 

system, with the exception of laboratories in room #s 101, 103, 105, 107 and 109. The room #s 19 and 20 

have been given an entirely separate air-control system with 8 air changes per hour, again of 100% fresh air. 

The exhaust system for the building as a whole provides for complete separation of intake air from 

exhaust air. The two enormous fans on the roof drive the exhaust air through the exit stacks approximately 

fifty feet upward, away from intake air openings. 

2. Supply air for all Laboratory Hoods 

The hoods located in all research laboratories of Salem Hall are “Kewaunee Hoodaire Airflow” 

fume hoods, of the Variable-volume non-bypass type. This means that the hoods are constructed to 

maintain a constant velocity air flow at the opening of the hood (face velocity) as one opens or closes the 

horizontal window-sashes. In a non-bypass hood, air is fed into the hood through the sash opening and 

through the air-foil only. Since the hoods empty air from the room at differing rates, as one opens or closes 

the sashes, air must be fed into the room at matching rates, or one cannot maintain even air flows. 

One make-up air valve is located above the ceiling tile in each research and newly renovated 

undergraduate lab. These “Phoenix Control” air valves track the exhaust valves above each hood and 

automatically adjust the make-up supply air for the room as the exhaust valve air volume changes. 

If you do not notice changes in the noise level of these valves when a majority of the sashes in the 

lab are closed or opened, the valve is functioning abnormally. Another indication, of course, is whether the 

air flow in the room is normal and unchanging as one opens and closes the sashes or whether the air 

pressure in the room feels normal as one opens or closes the door to the room. If the valves are obviously 

malfunctioning, call maintenance at Physical Facilities (phone # 4255). Call this number if any problem 

with the ventilation arises in research labs, undergraduate labs, or storage rooms. 

The Kewaunee hoods with vertical sashes, made from standard Kewaunee sash plate glass, are 

located in the back bench areas of the newly renovated undergraduate labs in room #s 102, 106 and 111 

(and soon to be in rooms 101 and 105). They are Kewaunee “Visionaire” brand by-pass hoods. They have 

face velocities of 60 feet per minute. These hoods are used for dispensing reagents to undergraduate labs 

and storage of hazardous waste. 

The small bench top hoods in the newly renovated undergraduate labs are Kewaunee “Visionaire 

View 2010” hoods, with polycarbonate safety shields, sidewall slots on the outer wall rims to reduce air 

turbulence at the face opening, and clear tops and sides to allow maximum visibility which working, thus 

encouraging the student to work inside the hood. The safety shield in front provides added protection. 

These constant volume individual station hoods were designed by Wake Forest University Chemistry 

Department faculty members and Kewaunee representatives. They have face velocities of about 30 to 40 

feet per minute. 

TLVs and PELs are safe air concentration levels based on 8 hour average workdays, 5 days a 

week. Since undergraduate students work an average of 4 hours one afternoon per week, their exposures 

are not likely in any case to exceed the PELs or TLVs of common laboratory chemicals. If one can smell a 

chemical, one has in most cases just reached the boundary line of concern and one should seek to make 

more efficient use of the nearest laboratory fume hood. Take the chemical you are working with and place 

it closer to or further back into the hood. Proper planning for lab experiments beforehand, however, will 

take into consideration the need for working in a hood. You should not rely on smell as a safeguard against 

potential hazards. Some chemicals with low PELs can be hazardous at levels below the odor threshold. 

53

It cannot be overemphasized that the hoods in Salem Hall were designed to maintain all 

chemical exposures at levels below the permissible exposure limits (PELs) established by OSHA. 

When used properly, only accidents and spills will result in overexposures to chemicals. 

All research hood sashes have been replaced with “safety glass”. This glass will break into 

literally hundreds of relatively small round non-lacerating bits of glass when cracked during use. If 

explosions occur, the glass will actually partially absorb the shock in the process of breaking. When any 

breakage occurs, replacements are kept in room #8A. Please call Physical Facilities (phone #4255) for 

installation. 

The research hoods have been physically placed in the room so as to minimize the effects of 

traffic, i.e., walking in front of the hoods. Laboratory workers should nevertheless recognize that this 

causes a certain amount of turbulence in front of the hoods and disrupts the flow of air. Fumes will 

momentarily stretch outward from the hood if such traffic is severe. The air flow through the open sash is 

maintained at 100 feet per minute while the speed of walking is about 3 miles per hour (or 250 feet per 

minute). There is no law stipulating a certain air flow rate in the hoods, but it required that we adhere to 

published standard recommendations, as follows (As advised by Dr. Haugen, we will adhere to NFPA 45 

and ANSI/AIHA Z9.5 standard recommendations, for flow rates between 80 and 120 feet per minute – We 

keep the research lab hoods set at 100 feet per minute): 

PUBLISHED FACE VELOCITY RECOMMENDATIONS 

Compiled by Dr. Bob Haugen, (Kewaunee Scientific Corporation, Laboratory Division, PO Box 5400, 

Statesville, NC 28687, phone # 704-871-3214): 

Organization Citation Face Velocity 

1) ACGIH Industrial Ventilation 19 th edition p.5.24 60-100 FPM 

2) ASHRAE 1999 ASHRAE Handbook, 13.5 20%-50% of exterior 

disturbance velocities. (60- 

175 FPM) if 300 FPM 

walkby used to calculate) 

3) ANSI/AIHA ANSI/AIHA Z9.5, Sect 5.7 80-120 FPM 

4) CALOSHA CCR Title VIII, Subchapter 7.5454.1 Min 100 FPM 

5) Nat. Rsrch.Cnc. Prudent Practices, p.178 80-100 FPM 

6) NFPA NFPA 45: 6-4.5 & A6-4.5 "Sufficient to prevent 

escape from hood; 80-120 

FPM; 

40 CFM/lin foot min 

7) NIOSH Recommended Indust. Ventil. Gudelines p166 100-150 FPM 

8) NRC NRC Guide, 6.3 100 FPM for hospital 

radioactives 

9) OSHA 29 CFR 1910 Appendix A Sec. A.C.4.g 60-100 FPM 

10) SEFA SEFA 1.2: 5.2 75-100 FPM 

54

3. Preliminary Considerations for Safe Operation of Hoods 

All hoods in Salem Hall have air slots in the back (bottom, mid, and top) to allow passage of air 

from the “face” of the hood straight through to the back surface and out. The larger hoods have airfoils, 

which prevent vertical displacement and guide the air horizontally. Air flow is much smoother if the slots 

are not blocked by packing the hoods with everything imaginable. Do not overcrowd these hoods. Air 

flows will be much smoother if equipment is raised 2 or 3 inches with support racks, lab jacks, or makeshift 

raised platforms. The degree of air flow (referred to as “face velocity”) is not in itself an adequate measure 

of hood efficiency. High flow rates of 100 - 150 feet per minute through hoods which are packed with 

extraneous equipment, bottles, unnecessary chemicals, etc., only create high air turbulence and do not 

operate as hoods, but rather as “expensive fans.” 

The cabinets upon which these hoods rest contain venting holes leading to the hood. Therefore, 

THESE CABINETS ARE IDEAL FOR STORAGE OF TOXIC OR OTHERWISE ODORIFEROUS 

CHEMICALS. They also are lined with fireproof material. The hoods are in continual operation - they are 

never turned off, unless there is a building ventilation shutdown, in which case you should evacuate your lab 

if you are working with chemicals in the hoods or storing toxic chemicals below them in the storage 

cabinets. 

OSHA recommends 2.5 linear feet of hood space per worker if they spend most of their time 

working with chemicals. Our research hoods have 3.5 linear feet per research student. The newly 

renovated undergraduate laboratory hoods have 2 linear feet of hood space per student, each of whom will 

spend at most 6 hours per week working with a hood. These undergraduate hoods are built much better 

than most academic undergraduate hoods in other universities. 

All electrical outlets, light switches, water and gas valves are located just outside of the research 

hood chamber. The hood sashes SHOULD BE CLOSED when not in use, to save energy and cut down on 

the expense of air maintenance. All hoods in Salem Hall will be inspected periodically and certified when 

possible. 

4. Hood Air Flow Monitors 

All research laboratories, including one undergraduate teaching laboratory in room #7, the physical 

chemistry lab, contain Phoenix Control Corporation Fume Hood Monitors. These monitors electronically 

monitor the flow rate through your hoods and sound alarms when the flow rate falls below 70 feet per 

minute. This indicates that you should evacuate the lab, unless there is merely a temporary malfunction of 

the monitoring device itself. Read and follow the operating procedure for these monitors which follows this 

section. 

The monitor also regulates the air flow as sash doors are opened and closed during use. Horizontal 

bar magnet sensors, located on top of the sashes and electrically connected to the Phoenix monitors, 

increase the flow rate through the sash opening as the sash opening widens to a maximum flow rate of 100 

linear feet per minute. As the door closes, the rate decreases to a minimum of 70 feet per minute. During 

an emergency requiring a much higher air flow, such as a runaway reaction generating clouds of toxic 

vapors, an emergency button can be depressed on the monitor to activate a sudden increase to 120 feet per 

minute flow, simultaneously sounding an alarm. The mute button can then be depressed to silence the alarm 

while maintaining the higher flow rate. Press the red emergency button again to return the flow to its 

normal rate. 

The large Kewaunee “Visionaire” hoods, located in back of the newly renovated undergraduate 

hoods, also contain air flow monitors. The air-flow rate is 60 feet per minute. When the air flow falls 

below this level, the Kewaunee “Air Alert 300” fume hood monitor will sound an alarm, indicating that 

the flow rate will no longer maintain concentrations below the permissible exposure limits for hazardous 

chemicals in the hood. 

The green light on the monitor indicates normal air flow. When the air flow falls to a lower level, 

a red alarm indicator light will flash and the alarm will sound. Please see the following diagram and 

accompanying directions for use. IF ANY PROBLEM IS ENCOUNTERED WITH HOOD 

MONITORING EQUIPMENT, WIRING, SASH SENSORS, OR HOOD AIR FLOW IN GENERAL, 

STOP WORKING AND CONTACT THE LAB MANAGER AND CALL PHYSICAL FACILITIES 

(PHONE #4255). 

55

For repairs of Phoenix Control Monitors, call Mr. Dean Dray of Hahn-Mason Air Systems, Inc., 

Service Division, 410 Oberlin Road, Suite 350, P.O. Box 10465, Raleigh, NC 27605, phone # 1-919-834- 

9230. Air-flows can be recalibrated by Mr. Tommy York, or other WFU Physical Facilities personnel. 

5. Hoodaire Airflow Fume Hoods Operating Instructions, posted as labeled instructions on each research 

hood as follows (Kewaunee Scientific Corporation, Laboratory Division, PO Box 5400, Statesville, NC 

28687, phone # 704-871-3214): 

a. “Prior to using hood, check to make sure that exhaust fan is operating and that air is entering 

the hood 

b. Never use perchloric acid in a hood not specifically designed for perchloric acid use. Also, 

never use a perchloric acid hood for other purposes. 

c. Avoid placing head inside hood. Keep hands outside of hood as much as possible. 

d. Always work as far back in hood as possible. In particular avoid fume emission in front 6” of 

hand opening area. 

e. Normally, rear baffle adjustment strips should be set with bottom slot full open and top slot 

approximately 1/2 open. However, for special conditions, slots should be adjusted to provide 

the flow of air desired. Example: for high heat loads at hood working surfaces, bottom slot 

should be closed and top slot should be fully open. 

f. Use good housekeeping in hood at all times. Clean up spills immediately. Periodically clean 

hood interior including fluorescent light glass panel. Replace burned out light bulbs to 

maintain maximum illumination. 

g. If corrosive or volatile materials are stored inside hood, hood exhaust system must be in 

operation. 

h. Avoid blocking off baffle exhaust slots in any manner. 

i. Where possible, maintain sash position at lowest practicable working level. 

j. Avoid cross drafts and excessive personnel passage in front of hoods. Air disturbances so 

created may draw fumes out of hood. 

k. Periodically check air flow velocity through hood using a source of visible smoke. If air flow 

has decreased in velocity, check exhaust fan, ductwork, etc., to determine cause. 

l. Do not place large, bulky objects directly on hood working surface, block up 2” to 3” to allow 

a flow of air under the object and into lower rear baffle exhaust slot of hood. 

m. Do not remove deflector vane nor block off the opening between the underside of the vane and 

the work top.” 

56

OPERATING INFORMATION FOR FHM 400 FUME HOOD MONITORS 

LOCATED ON RESEARCH LAB HOODS AND TWO UNDERGRADUATE 

HOODS IN THE PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY LAB IN ROOM #7 

- Green light indicates hood is safe to use 

- Red lights indicate danger - hood is not safe. 

Call Maintenance at phone #4255, ask for Donnie Adams, building zone 

supervisor 

- No lights indicate loss of power. Call maintenance at phone #4255 

- For malfunctions of monitor or hood sash sensor bar magnets, located on top of the 

glass sash doors, and crimped or broken sash sensor wires leading to the monitor, call 

Mr. Dean Dray, monitor service engineer, Hahn-Mason Air Systems, Inc., 612 West 

Lane Street, Raleigh NC, phone # 919-834-9230 

CAUTION-LOW FACE VELOCITY 

ALARM LIGHT (RED) 

Indicates unsafe airflow condition. 

An alarm will sound and red light 

will come on and blink. Immediately 

close sash and call maintenance at 

phone #4255. DO NOT USE HOOD 

CAUTION-HIGH FACE VELOCITY 

ALARM LIGHT (RED) 

Indicates the emergency high face 

velocity exhaust mode is activated. 

The red light is on and blinking. 

EMERGENCY EXHAUST 

BUTTON (RED) 

USE WHEN A HAZARDOUS 

MATERIAL SPILL OCCURS IN 

HOOD OR NEARBY LAB AREA.. 

Push this button to activate the 

emergency exhaust mode. An alarm 

will sound. In this mode exhaust air 

is at its maximum flow to rapidly 

evacuate the hood. (The red light in 

the switch indicates the switch is 

turned on). Push the button again to 

turn off the emergency exhaust 

mode. 

FUME HOOD MONITOR 

CLOSE SASH DOORS TO SAVE ENERGY 

AND IMPROVE SAFETY 

EMERGENCY 

EXHAUST 

SYSTEM NORMAL 

CAUTION* Low Face Velocity 

CAUTION High Face Velocity 

RESET MUTE 

*Indicates Majority of Low Flow Conditions 

Automatic Constant Face Velocity for Safety 

PHOENIX CONTROLS CORPORATION 

FHM 400 Model 

SYSTEM NORMAL LIGHT 

(GREEN) 

Indicates normal operation of fume 

hood. This light must be on for 

safe use of the hood 

MUTE SWITCH(GRAY) 

Audible alarms are energized on any 

of the following conditions: 

- CAUTION ALARM 

- EMERGENCY EXHAUST 

Push the button to silence alarm. 

Alarm status lights will remain lit. 

The mute mode is reset 

automatically after alarm conditions 

clear 

57

OPERATING INFORMATION FOR FHM 410 FUME HOOD MONITORS 

LOCATED ON RESEARCH LAB HOODS 

- Green lights indicate hood is safe to use. 

- Red lights indicate danger -- hood is not safe. Call maintenance at phone 

#4255, ask for Donnie Adams, Building Zone Supervisor. 

- No lights indicate loss of power. Call maintenance at phone #4255. 


LIGHT (RED) 

Indicates the emergency exhaust 

mode is activated. See Emergency 

Button below for an explanation of 

the Emergency Exhaust Mode. 

EMERGENCY BUTTON (RED) 

USE WHEN A HAZARDOUS 

MATERIAL SPILL OCCURS IN 

HOOD OR NEARBY LAB 

AREA. 

Push this button to activate the 

emergency exhaust mode. An 

alarm will sound. In this mode 

exhaust air is at its maximum flow 

to rapidly evacuate the hood. (The 

red light in the switch indicates the 

switch is turned on). Push the 

button again to turn off the 

emergency exhaust mode. 

FUME HOOD MONITOR 

SYSTEM STATUS 

STANDBY OPERATION 

-NORMAL- 

STANDARD OPERATION 


CAUTION - FLOW ALARM 

EMERGENCY MUTE 

Automatic constant Face Velocity for Safety 

PHOENIX CONTROLS CORPORATION 

FHM 410 Model 

NORMAL LIGHTS (GREEN) 

Indicates normal operation of 

fume hood. One of these lights 

must be on for the hood to be safe 

to use. 

Standard Operation: system 

operating at standard face 

velocity 

Standby Operation: system 

operating at a lower face velocity 

(active only with Zone Presence 

Sensor, which are not presently 

installed). 

CAUTION FLOW ALARM 

LIGHT (RED) 

Indicates unsafe airflow 

condition. An alarm will sound. 

Immediately close sash and call 

maintenance at phone #4255. 

DO NOT USE THE HOOD. 

MUTE SWITCH (GRAY) 

Audible alarms are energized on 

any of the following conditions: 

- CAUTION - FLOW ALARM or 

- EMERGENCY EXHAUST 

Push the button to silence alarm. 

Alarm status lights will remain 

lit. The mute mode is reset 

automatically after alarm 

conditions clear. 

58

6. Visionaire or Supreme Air hood operating instructions, located in the rear of undergraduate 

laboratories on the first floor, room #s 102, 106 and 111, posted as a black label on the front of the 

hood by Kewaunee Scientific Corporation. 

“CAUTION: VISIONAIRE OR SUPREME AIR KEWAUNEE HOOD. 

BEFORE USING THIS HOOD, READ KEWAUNEE’S “RECOMMENDED WORK PRACTICES FOR 

LABORATORY FUME HOODS,” [Summarized below on the label, although the full text is available in the 

Departmental Chemical Hygiene Plan.] 

“Failure to follow these procedures may result in overexposure to contaminants or other injury. 

1. “Do not use Perchloric Acid in this hood. Perchloric Acid may create an explosion hazard 

2. Prior to using hood, verify that the exhaust fan is operating and sufficient air is being exhausted from 

hood. 

3. Never put head into hood while contaminants are being generated. 

4. Set up all apparatus and sources of contaminants at least 6” back from sash opening and in recessed 

portion of work surface. 

5. Do not place electrical receptacles or other sources of ignition in hood when flammables are present. 

6. Use a safety shield if there is a possibility of a small explosion or runaway reaction. This hood is not 

designed for explosion protection. 

7. Do not obstruct slots in rear baffle. 

8. Do not remove bottom deflector vane nor block off opening between the underside of deflector vane 

and the worktop. 

9. Place equipment with large flat surfaces parallel to hood face on legs 2” to 3” high. 

10. While working at hood, keep sash lowered to minimum opening required for access to working area. 

During other times, keep sash closed. 

11. Wear gloves and other protective clothing if skin contact with airborne contaminants is a hazard. 

Other important data: 

A. Remove all materials from hood which are not needed for the immediate work. 

B. Do not store chemicals in hood. 

C. Avoid making rapid movements while working at hood. 

D. Minimize personnel traffic past hood. 

E. Avoid creating air currents in the laboratory which affect the air flow patterns into the hood. 

F. Use good housekeeping in hood at all times. Clean up spills immediately. 

G. Test the performance of hood at least once every six months. 

H. In models with removable sash, always replace sash before operating.” 

59

“GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF AIR ALERT 300 KEWAUNEE HOOD MONITOR FOR KEWAUNEE 

“VISIONAIRE” HOODS” 

(from Kewaunee's Air Alert Technical Note, Kewaunee Scientific Corporation, Laboratory Division, PO 

Box 5400, Statesville, NC 28687) 

“The Kewaunee AIR ALERT 300 alarm is designed to continuously monitor air flow through fume hoods. 

This permanently installed device provides both visual and audible alarms to alert the user of abnormal air 

flow conditions, after the instrument is calibrated for the particular installation. A green light on the front 

of the monitor indicates normal flow conditions of 60 fpm. When flow conditions lower than 60 fpm are 

encountered, a red light is activated along with an audible alarm. A test button is provided at the front of 

the monitor to allow the user to check the operation of the alarm. See the following description of each key 

function located on the front of the monitor.” 

3 

4 AIR ALERT 300 1 

TEST 5 

RESET 

6 2 

Description of Features on Front of Monitor 

KEWANEE 

1. Air Inlet A portion of the air coming into the hood passes through the air inlet and across 

sensors. 

2. Adjustment for This potentiometer is used to set the low flow indicators. 

alarm set point 

3. Normal flow This green light indicates normal flow conditions. 

indicator 

4. Alarm Indicator This red light is activated approximately six seconds after the low flow set point 

is reached. 

5. Test/Reset If no alarm is present, this button will cause the read lamp to light, and the 

button audible alarm to sound. If an alarm is present, this button will silence the 

audible alarm. 

6. Power on This light stays on to indicate power is on. 

indicator 

60

4. Chemical Storage in Research Labs 

Make an effort to use up bottles of a particular chemical you already have in your lab before 

buying a new one, or be prepared to deal with old chemicals which have a short shelf life or decompose 

slowly upon prolonged standing. Some, such as deliquescent compounds, tend to absorb large amounts of 

water after prolonged storage. Several organic liquids tend to polymerize, becoming useless as laboratory 

reagents. See the “Standard Operating Procedure for All Labs of Salem Hall” section of this manual for 

dealing with ancient material which may have formed harmful peroxides. 

* Take the trouble to periodically examine old chemical containers for cracks or other signs of wear 

and tear. The original manufacturers label should remain intact, with reinforcing tape applied if necessary. 

Graduate students and undergraduate chemical preparation personnel should make an attempt to print the 

receiving date for each chemical which arrives in Salem Hall. 

* See Prudent Practices, 2nd Edition, Table 4.1, Page 73, for guidance in storing chemicals in 

compatible groups based on their mutual reactivity. PLEASE MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO SHELVE YOUR 

LABORATORY CHEMICALS ACCORDING TO THIS SCHEME. ALSO, CONSULT TABLE 3.9, 

PAGE 52 OF Prudent Practices, 2nd Edition, AND USE THIS AS YOUR GUIDE FOR KEEPING 

INCOMPATIBLE CHEMICALS SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER ON STORAGE SHELVES. Note 

also the excellent advice appearing beneath this table, i.e., that “separation of chemical groups can be by 

different shelves within the same cabinet” and “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.” 

Research laboratory shelves in Salem Hall have been embellished with transparent lexan sideguard 

strips to prevent accidental spillage of bottles when reaching for them. 

Large amounts (over one liter) of flammable organic solvents should be kept in yellow metal 

storage cabinets or in designated wooden cabinets lined with fireproof material in the research laboratories. 

These cabinets should not be vented. Remember that open containers of such liquids are very dangerous 

around sources of heat. The vapors of these liquids tend to be heavier than air, gathering in concentrated 

levels on bench tops, corners, and recesses in the lab work area. Operating electrical equipment, spark 

generating electrical switches, open flames, and warm heating mantels are potential sources of solvent fume 

generated fires. Therefore, make every effort to keep such containers tightly capped. Open them, in so far 

as is possible, in hoods. Keep them away from any sources of ignition. 

The fifty-five gallon acetone drum in the solvent room # 20 is fitted with a grounding cable. If you 

have metallic acetone containers which you use for acetone storage, be sure to attach one end of the wire to 

the can before pouring out liquid from the 55 gallon drum into the can, thus equalizing the static electrical 

charge between the storage can and the drum. This will prevent a spark from starting a solvent fire. Cold 

winter days with low humidity content favor conditions of such discharge of static electricity. 

Instead of metallic cans for organic solvents, non-metallic polyethylene safety storage containers 

of one or two liter size ,such as “Justrite” brand, can be obtained from Fisher Scientific Co. (Fisher Catalog 

# 17-177B). See page 96 of Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, for more elaboration. Such containers have 

the advantage of less breakage potential. 

61

In addition to the guidance listed above, the following storage rules should be followed in all labs: 

� Water reactive chemicals (i.e. sodium metal, lithium aluminum hydride, etc.) should not be stored 

near a source of water, such as faucets, sinks, fire sprinklers, safety showers, etc. 

� Corrosive chemicals (i.e., mineral acids) should not be stored above shoulder level on lab benches. It 

is not a good idea to store any chemical on high shelves, out of comfortable reach. 

� Make certain that all bottles of chemicals are labeled 

� Attempt to segregate chemicals into definite areas of storage as outlined above and return them there 

when finished with them. 

� When tempted to store chemicals in hoods, remember that the cabinets beneath are vented and will 

serve just as well, leaving you with a safer work area in the hood. 

� Do not store highly volatile, flammable chemicals in a refrigerator unless it contains a spark proof 

thermostat (i.e., unless it is an explosion proof refrigerator!) 

� Periodically check the chemicals in your laboratory to make certain they are tightly capped! Prolonged 

storage often results in caps gradually working loose. Parafilm can be used in some cases to further airlock 

the container. 

� Store lecture bottles of compressed gases in the bottom vented cabinets of research lab hoods. 

62

E. Laboratory Operations which require prior approval from Chemistry 

Department Instructors 

Certain laboratory operations or chemicals are so dangerous that it is unwise to allow 

inexperienced personnel access to them unless subjected to constant scrutiny and direct supervision. Prior 

approval to proceed with a laboratory task shall be obtained by research and undergraduate students from 

their particular research directors or teachers under the following circumstances. Please note that specific 

instructions by teachers to engage in these activities while under their guidance in teaching laboratories 

constitutes such approval. 

Obtain approval before any use or synthesis whatsoever of perchlorate salts. These compounds 

tend occasionally to spontaneously detonate. Every effort must be made to obtain as much information 

regarding their stability as possible by the research director before work begins. 

Obtain approval before ever using Hydrofluoric acid. Laboratories using this material should have 

access to a supply of a commercial HF skin treatment, a 0.13% solution of ZEPHIRAN CHLORIDE, the 

systematic name of which is Benzalkonium chloride, and must have multiple tubes of 2.5% Calcium 

gluconate gel in the work area and approved Neoprene gloves for both lab workers and emergency 

personnel in well marked and easily noticed storage. They must also have access to the Air Products 

publication Safetygram 29 titled “Treatment Protocol for Hydrofluoric Acid Burns.” One is kept near 

the departmental copy of the Chemical Hygiene Plan in the stockroom, room # 110, along with ordering 

information for Calcium gluconate. All this material is also kept in Research Lab room 117. 

Obtain approval before use of: 

1. Peroxides of any kind 

2. Metallic mercury 

3. Picric acid 

4. Water reactive chemicals (see Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, page 51, and the table on the 

next page of this manual). 

5. Pyrophoric chemicals (see Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, page 51, and the table on the next 

page of this manual. Also see the Standard Operating Procedures for working with 

Pyrophorics on page 98 of this manual) 

6. Any of the following gasses, during installation of regulators or actual use: (listed in Prudent 

Practices, 2 nd edition, page 105). 

Boron halides chlorine 

Chlorine trifluoride Bromine 

Hydrogen selenide Phosphine 

Methyl chloride Phosgene 

Silane Ammonia 

Silyl halides Hydrogen chloride 

Fluorine 

7. Hydrogenation reaction apparatus, X-Ray crystallography defractometers, atomic absorption 

spectrometers, pressurized glove boxes. 

8. Fuming Nitric or Sulfuric acid 9. Potassium cyanide 

63

“This table lists some chemicals that react violently with water. They should be handled and 

stored away from both water and water vapor. 

Water Reactive Chemicals and Compounds 

“Alkali metals, such as Sodium (Na), Potassium, (K), Lithium (Li) 

Alkali metal hydrides and alkali metal amides, like Lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) or sodium amide 

(NaNH2) 

Metal alkyls, such as lithium alkyls, aluminum alkyls, and magnesium alkyls (Grignard reagents) 

such as butyllithium, triethylaluminum, phenylmagnesium bromide in ethyl ether, etc. 

Acid halides of nonmetals, such as Boron trichloride (BCl3), Boron trifluoride (BF3), Phosphorus 

trichloride (PCl3), Phosphorus pentachloride (PCl5), Sulfur chloride (S2Cl2), Tetrachlorosilane, or Silicon 

tetrachloride (SiCl4) 

Inorganic acid halides, such as Phosphorus oxychloride (POCl3), Thionyl chloride (SOCl2), Sulfuryl 

chloride, or Sulfur oxychloride (SO2Cl2), and Phosphorus pentoxide, or Phosphoric anhydride (P2O5) 

Calcium carbide (CaC2) 

Organic acid halides and anhydrides of low molecular weight, like acetyl chloride and acetic anhydride 

Anhydrous metal halides of Aluminum (Al), Arsenic (As), Iron (Fe), Phosphorus (P), Sulfur (S), Antimony 

(Sb), Silicon (Si), Tin (Sn), Titanium (Ti), Zirconium (Zr) such as Aluminum Chloride (AlCl3), Titanium 

trichloride (TiCl3) (very reactive), Titanium dichloride (TiCl2) (much less reactive), Zirconium 

tetrachloride (ZrCl4), Stannic chloride (SnCl4) 

Metal hydrides of Aluminum (Al), Boron (B), Calcium (Ca), Potassium (K), Lithium (Li), Sodium (Na), like 

Sodium Hydride (NaH), Lithium Hydride (LiH), Aluminum Hydride (AlH3)” 

“This table lists some chemicals that oxidize readily and ignite spontaneously in air. These 

materials should be stored in tightly closed containers under an inert atmosphere or liquid. 

Pyrophoric Chemicals 

“Alkali metals, such as Sodium (Na), Potassium (K), Lithium (Li) 

Grignard reagents (RMgX), R=alkyl, X=Halides, like phenylmagnesium bromide 

Metal alkyls and aryls, such as alkyl Lithium (RLi), alkyl Sodium (RNa), alkyl Aluminum (R3Al), alkyl Zinc 

(R2Zn), (ie., tributylaluminum, butyllithium, etc.) 

Metal powders, such as Aluminum (Al), Cobalt (Co), Iron (Fe), Magnesium (Mg), Manganese (Mn), 

Palladium (Pd), Platinum (Pt), Titanium (Ti), Tin (Sn), Zinc (Zn), Zirconium (Zr) 

Metal hydrides, such as Sodium hydride (NaH), Lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH4) 

Non-metal hydrides, such as Diborane (B2H6) and other boranes, Phosphene (PH3), Arsine (AsH3) 

Non-metal alkyls, such as alkyl Boron (R3B), alkyl Phophorus (R3P), alkyl Silver (R3Ag) 

Phosphorus (white)” 

(Both tables from Bowman Gray School of Medicine’s Chemical Waste Disposal: Policies and Procedures, 1985, pages IV 3-4) 

64

F. Provisions for Additional Protection When Working with Particularly 

Hazardous Chemicals 

The OSHA Laboratory Standard, besides stipulating that a Chemical Hygiene Plan be written for each lab, 

requires you to be particularly careful in handling what are referred to as "particularly hazardous 

chemicals." These include "select" carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and substances which have a high 

degree of acute toxicity. 

"Select" carcinogens are defined in 29 CFR 1910.1450(b), as indicated on page 221 of Prudent 

Practices, 2nd edition. See also page 203 of that monograph, section 9.C.4, for a more elaborate 

description of regulated reproductive toxins and highly toxic substances. Please note that newly synthesized 

chemicals in research laboratories are considered highly toxic until proven otherwise. 

Each particularly hazardous chemical will be identified as such for you within the Chemistry 

Department’s MSDS sheet Inventory, on the sheet itself, written by the manufacturer of the chemical in 

question. 

It is advisable to gather all "select" carcinogens which are present in your laboratory, label them 

with yellow tape marked "Danger: Chemical Carcinogen" (commercially available), and store them in a 

designated storage area for carcinogens in your lab, preferably a hood or a safe storage cabinet. 

All reproductive toxins in your inventory should be labeled with commercially available orange 

tape marked "Danger: Mutagen or Teratogen.” You would be well advised to store these in the same 

storage area for carcinogens, although it may not always be possible to identify all of your teratogens since 

published lists of these compounds are less specific than lists of carcinogens. 

Highly Acute Toxic Chemicals have been listed for you in your inventory, via HMIS/NFPA 

toxicity ratings of 3 or 4, usually by the manufacturer. Also, they can generally be identified by the 

manufacturer’s warning labels (danger! - Highly Toxic, Poison, etc.) While no specific secondary labeling 

will be attached to chemical containers for highly acute toxic chemicals, you will be expected to adhere to 

the special handling provisions listed below when working with them. There is no need to store them in a 

designated storage area, although you should work with them only in a designated work area (in other 

words, a hood). 

See the Training section of this manual for an explanation of the Hazard Communication 

Standard’s Hazard Material Identification System (HMIS) or National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 

hazard rating system. Under these systems, both hazard ratings are pretty much the same. 

Most chemical manufacturers rate their chemicals. The Hazard Communication Standard requires 

manufacturers to provide hazard evaluations in the form of MSDS sheets. All supply MSDS sheets with 

hazard evaluations, but not all supply HMIS hazard ratings. 

The present regulatory standard applicable to the Chemistry Department, which superseded the 

Haz-Comm Standard, is called the “Laboratory Standard” and requires only that “particularly hazardous 

chemicals” be worked with in designated areas. It only requires carcinogens and mutagens/teratogens to be 

labeled. 

Acute toxicity is rated from 0 to 4 in the HMIS/NFPA systems (0 less dangerous, 4 most 

dangerous). One could regard those rated as 3 and 4 as chemicals with a “high degree of acute toxicity,” 

thus combining the regulatory requirements for hazard assessment present in the Haz-Com standard and the 

Laboratory standard, into one rating system, that is, the HMIS system. 

Teratogens and mutagens are listed as chronically toxic chemicals, designated as the letter “T” for 

known teratogens and “t” for suspected teratogens. Known mutagens are “M”, suspected mutagens are 

“m”. Allergens are “A” and substances which cause silicosis are “S”. Carcinogens are labeled as 

65

chronically toxic chemicals, with letter designation of “C” for known carcinogens and “c” for suspected 

carcinogens. This system is in place so that you will be able to immediately recognize all carcinogens, 

teratogens / mutagens, and extremely hazardous chemicals in your lab when you review your MSDS 

inventory 

The procedures for working with these three types of particularly hazardous chemicals are 

described below. 

2. INIMICAL CHEMICALS: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT 

* Work only in a "designated area" when handling carcinogens, reproductive toxins, or extremely 

hazardous chemicals. The "designated area" may be an undergraduate lab fume hood, a research lab hood, 

a glove box, or, at the very minimum, any well ventilated area judged to be appropriate to the severity of 

danger by your teacher or research director. An alternative strategy would be to refer to the entire area or 

laboratory as the designated area, if such substances are constantly moved back and forth throughout the 

room. 

* Label the designated area. Do not allow access to the area by anyone other than authorized personnel. 

Storage areas should also be labeled specifically for storage of carcinogens and reproductive toxins. When 

possible, store such chemicals in hood cabinets. Extremely hazardous chemicals can be stored on lab 

shelves, but should be handled only in designated areas. 

* Use the smallest amount of the chemical necessary for completion of your work. Do not leave bottles 

or other containers open. Close them immediately after use. 

* Always wear safety glasses and always wear gloves when the slightest possibility exists that these 

chemicals may come into skin contact. Heavier protection such as face-shields or safety shields should be 

available if needed. 

* Cease all activity with these chemicals when hoods malfunction entirely. Make every effort to avoid 

breathing fumes from these chemicals 

* Wash hands before leaving laboratory. 

* Do not place bottles of chemicals in harm’s way in congested work areas without adequate room to 

maneuver. 

* Read pages 90-93 of Prudent Practices, 2nd edition for further elaboration. 

* Also, you must list procedures for safely removing highly toxic waste, such as EPA acute P- 

Listed waste (http://www.epa.gov/docs/epacfr40/chapt-I.info/subch-I/40P0261.pdf – go to Part 261.33) 

or any other broad category of frequently encountered classes of very toxic waste generated in your 

work area or hood. An example would be how to package spent mercury from an organometallic 

reaction or how to dispose of contaminated Silica-gel from a column chromatography experiment. 

Use the entire chapter of the “Procedures for Handling Hazardous Chemical Waste” beginning in 

section III.C of this manual as your basic guide. 

* Lastly, you must also state how you would de-contaminate used equipment and bench top 

surfaces which have come in contact with very toxic waste spilled and/or used with the equipment, 

(See Dr. Fishbein’s following example procedure for decontamination of carcinogenic diazoate and 

nitrosamine residues). You should indicate how you will remove traces of it from bench tops if 

spilled, how to place it in containers without endangering yourself or others, etc. 

66

G. Specific Procedures for Safe Removal of Highly Toxic Waste 

PROCEDURE FOR LAB ROOM # 

Consult with your research advisor concerning proper methods for packaging and storing extremely 

hazardous waste. Research usually involves working with selective types or classes of chemicals. Prepare 

brief summaries in this section for handling spent chemicals peculiar to your lab. 

67

1. Dr. Alexander – Lab Room #108 

SPECIFIC PROCEDURE FOR SAFE REMOVAL OF HIGHLY TOXIC WASTE#108 




Two categories of hazardous waste are generated in room 108. The first is radioactive waste, which will 

be disposed of according to the requirements of the office of radiation safety as outlined in the user’s 

license. Briefly, short half-life ( 32 P and 35 S) will be stored separately ( 32 P in a shielded container) from 

longer half-life waste such as 3 H and 14 C. These will be collected at regular intervals by employees of the 

office of radiation safety. 

The second category is ethidium bromide used to detect nucleic acids by gel electrophoresis. The 

quantities used (except for stock quantities) are on the order of 0.05% in water or gel. Low concentration 

liquid waste will be decontaminated by household bleach and disposed of in the drain after 

decontamination. Low concentration gel waste will be collected and disposed of on a quarterly basis 

(approximately 1 ft 3 per quarter). 

Every two weeks we autoclave (steam sterilize) pipets, tilps, and petri dishes that contain small amounts of 

non-patogenic E. Coli bacteria. We autoclave to mininize the smell of this waste and to minimize possible 

autibiotic resistance from developing. The nonhazardous, nonregulated waste material from this operation 

is deposited directly in the garbage containers in the lab. 

68

2. Dr. Bierbach – Lab Room #107 

SPECIFIC PROCEDURES FOR SAFE REMOVAL OF HIGHLY TOXIC WASTE 




Two categories of hazardous waste are generated in room 107. The first is radioactive waste, which will 

be disposed of according to the requirements of the office of radiation safety as outlined in the user’s 

license. Briefly, short half-life ( 32 P ) will be stored in a shielded container. This will be collected at 

regular intervals by employees of the office of radiation safety. 




decontamination. 

Beirbach‟s chemical waste, taken to the waste storage area in room # 20 

Dr. Beirbach’s chemical waste 

HAZARDOUS WASTE, DATE_________ 

� Dichloromethane 

� Chloroform 

� 9-Aminoacridine (1 – 3%) 

� Dimethylformamide (1 – 5%) 


� 1,4-Dioxane 

� Tetrahydrofuran 

� Diethyl ether 



HAZARDOUS WASTE, DATE__________ 

� Ethanol 

� Acetone 

� Methanol 




Water with 1 to 5% of each of: 

� Cobalt chloride 

� Chromium chloride 

� Sodium sulfate 

� Calcium chloride 

� Magnesium sulfate 

� Sodium chloride 

� 9-Aminoacridine 

69


) Non-halogenated Organic solvents: 

� Ethyl acetate 

� Hexane 

� Methanol 

� Ethanol 

� Acetone 

� Petroleum ether 

� Benzene 

� Toluene 


) Water with: 

� Acridine 

� Sodium hydroxide 


) Ethanol and water with: 

� Mercuric chloride 

� Mercury metal 

� Aluminum metal 


) Vacuum pump oil and cyclohexane 

HAZARDOUS WASTE, DATE___________ 

) Halogenated Organic solvents: 

� Methylene chloride 

� Chloroform 

70

3. Dr. Brown – Lab Room #14 

SPECIFIC PROCEDURE FOR SAFE REMOVAL OF HIGHLY TOXIC WASTE#14 




Four broad categories of hazardous wastes are generated by this laboratory. Each category is listed below, 

followed by typical examples. Specific handling precautions, waste disposal, and decontamination 

procedures are given for each class of waste. 

1. Biohazards/recombinant organisms (antibiotic-resistant E. coli and Pichia pastoris) 

2. Mutagenic/carcinogenic/teratogenic chemicals (ethidium bromide, dimethyl formamide) 

3. Toxic heavy-metals (lead, mercury, gold, platinum, osmium, iridium, samarium, uranium) 

4. Radioactive isotopes ( 32 P, 33 P, 35 S) 

BIOHAZARDOUS WASTE 

Protective Equipment. 

Gloves and a lab coat should be worn at all times when working with recombinant organisms or handling 

potentially infectious or biohazardous material. Further details can be sought at the CDC‟s web page 

”Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories” (BMBL) 4th Edition 

http://www.cdc.gov/od/ohs/biosfty/bmbl4/bmbl4toc.htm. 

Liquid waste. Liquid bacteria or yeast cultures or used media should be decontaminated prior to disposal. 

Dilute cultures with an appropriate germicidal agent, i.e., 20 % Wescodyne in 50% ethanol or 10 % sodium 

hypochlorite (Chlorox bleach) and allow to stand for 10-20 minutes. Dispose of solution by pouring down 

drain followed by copious amount of water. Flush sink with germicide and rinse with water. 

Solid waste. Any tubes, pipets, pipet tips, Petri dishes, or solid medium (agar) which has 

come in contact with microorganisms should be disposed of in an appropriate biohazardous waste bag, and 

subsequently autoclaved. Sharp items such as needles, tips or broken glassware should be placed in a 

sharps container and autoclaved separately from other solid-waste items. 

CARCINOGENIC, MUTAGENIC OR TERATOGENIC WASTE 


Safety goggles, gloves and a lab coat should be worn at all times when working with carcinogenic, 

mutagenic or teratogenic compounds. The most typical carcinogenic compound encountered in our 

laboratory is ethidium bromide. 

Liquid waste. Liquid containing low concentrations of ethidium bromide should be deactivated by the 

addition of sodium hypochlorate and poured down the drain. Solutions containing high concentrations of 

ethidium bromide should filtered through activated-charcoal,. The filtrate can be deactivated with bleach 

and poured down the drain and the charcoal disposed of as solid waste. 

Solid waste. Any tubes, pipets, pipet tips, or gel medium (agarose) which has come in contact with 

ethidium bromide should be disposed of in an appropriate waste container and labeled. Solid waste will be 

disposed of on a quarterly period. 

71

HEAVY-METAL WASTE 


Safety goggles, gloves and a lab coat should be worn at all times when working with heavy metal-containing 

compounds. Volatile compounds, such as mercury-containing chemicals, should be used only in the fume 

hood. 

Heavy Metal Safety Rules 

In protein crystallography we use many heavy metal compounds. Toxicity information is available for just 

a few of them. Therefore, assume that all of them are insidious toxins and treat them with great respect. 

These rules are very similar to radioisotope rules. You must be introduced to these chemicals; you may not 

spontaneously start using them. 

1. Research is done by humans. The skill of humans depends on emotional state. Please think about how 

coherent you are feeling before doing heavy atom work. Don't rush through a heavy metal experiment 

to get somewhere else. Completely focus your attention on the heavy metal experiment. 

2. All the heavy atom compounds must be handled with gloves. Wear gloves even to look at the bottles. If 

you must touch doorknobs while handling heavy metals, take off the gloves, or get somebody to open 

the doors for you. You should also wear a lab coat and closed-toe shoes. 

3. Glassware and spatulas used for heavy metal experiments are contaminated forever: Do not return them 

to general circulation. Use our dedicated heavy metal spatulas for heavy metals. Clean heavy metal 

spatulas with a wet kimwipe. The contaminated kimwipe goes to dry waste (see item 7). Please do 

heavy atom experiments in well labelled crystallization trays, whenever possible. If you must use 

glassware, clearly label it, and keep it completely separate from non-heavy metal glassware. 

4.Weigh heavy metal compounds on weighing paper, or into centrifuge tubes on top of weighing paper. 

Use the analytical balances (the ones with enclosures), not the top-loaders. Many of these compounds 

are corrosive to the balances, in addition to poisoning all subsequent experiments and experimentalists. 

If you spill any, clean up immediately. A spray decontaminant, and a roll of hazardous spill towel are in 

room 219A. All clean-up materials go to heavy metal dry waste (see item 7). 

5. Use only minimal amounts of heavy atom compounds. Try to keep heavy metal experiments below 

1ml, using at most a few milligrams of heavy metal compound. The volume of toxic solution and 

disposal bulk may be minimized by soaking the crystals on the tops of Micro Bridges. 

6. Special handling: Moderately volatile mercury compounds such as methyl mercuric chloride are stored 

in a sealed box. Open that box in the hood and handle these compounds in the hood as much as 

possible. We have separate documentation for dimethyl-mercury and tetraethyllead: 

http://www.doe-mbi.ucla.edu/People/Recipes/DMM.html 

Osmium tetroxide is also volatile, and should be stored in the same kind of vials as dimethylmercury. 

Uranium and thorium compounds are radioactive, not just toxic. Document their use on the inventory 

sheet stored with the compounds, just as you would any other isotope. 

7. Disposal of and planning for disposal of heavy metal wastes: Segregate heavy metals to ease disposal: 

Keep mercury compounds in one crystallization tray, platinum reagents in another. Keep track of how 

much heavy metal reagent is in each tray. At disposal time, fill in the blanks on a “Hardous Waste ID 

Tag”. 

Wet and dry trays: Collect liquid heavy metal wastes into screw-cap bottles to take to hazardous waste 

disposal. There should be one metal type per bottle (all Hg or all Pt, etc.). Fill in the blanks, and attach 

a ``Hazardous Waste ID Tag" to each bottle. After flushing the trays with at least 1 M HNO3, or if the 

trays have already dried out at the time of disposal, the contaminated trays qualify as “dry waste” (see 

below), so put them into a clear plastic bag (Put the bag inside a box, if there are a lot of trays). 

72

Dry soft things: Weighing paper, paper towels, gloves, and other dry non-sharp wastes contaminated by 

heavy metals should be left in the heavy metal dry waste container near the hood. 

Dry sharp things: Contaminated sharp things should be left in the heavy metal sharps container, in the 

hood. 

Uranium and Thorium compounds are radioactive and very toxic. They should be packaged for disposal 

as for the other metals, but their contents identified with chemical and isotope tags, and given to the 

Radiation Safety Office, not to the usual hazardous waste disposal people. 

Liquid waste. 

Liquid waste containing heavy metal compounds should be placed in a labeled container and 

stored for chemical waste pick-up. 

Solid waste. 

Solid waste containing heavy metals should be left in the heavy metal dry waste container near the 

hood. 

RADIOACTIVE WASTE 


Safety goggles, gloves and a lab coat should be worn at all times when working with radioactive 

compounds. 

Liquid waste. 

Liquid waste containing heavy atoms should be placed in a labeled container. 

Radioactive waste will be disposed of according to the requirements of the office of radiation safety as 

outlined in the user’s license. Briefly, short half-life ( 32 P and 35 S) will be stored separately ( 32 P in a shielded 

container) from longer half-life waste such as 3 H and 14 C. These will be collected at regular intervals by 

employees of the office of radiation safety. 

73

4. Dr. Buchmueller – Lab Room #1 

SPECIFIC PROCEDURE FOR SAFE REMOVAL OF HIGHLY TOXIC WASTE #1 




Three categories of hazardous waste are generated in room 1. The first is radioactive waste, which will be 

disposed of according to the requirements of the office of radiation safety as outlined in the user’s license. 

Briefly, short half-life ( 32 P and 35 S) will be stored separately ( 32 P in a shielded container). These will be 

collected at regular intervals by employees of the office of radiation safety. 




decontamination. Low concentration gel waste will be collected and disposed of on a quarterly basis 

(approximately 1 ft 3 per quarter). 

We rarely work with E. Coli, but when we do we autoclave (steam sterilize) pipets, tilps, and petri dishes 

that contain small amounts of non-patogenic E. Coli bacteria. We autoclave to mininize the smell of this 

waste and to minimize possible autibiotic resistance from developing. The nonhazardous, nonregulated 

waste material from this operation is deposited directly in the garbage containers in the lab. 

Small amounts of phenol, Chloroform, and Isoamyl alcohol waste are generated (estimated amount less 

than 500 milliliters per year). This waste is clearly labeled and stored a 55 ml bottle kept in the hood in 

room # 1 until it is taken to the waste containment area in room # 20 of Salem Hall for removal. 

74

5. Dr. Colyer – Lab Room # 114 





The Colyer lab (Salem 114) binds organic dyes to proteins and then separates them using capillary 

electrophoresis. The organic dyes are typically prepared in methanol, DMSO, or DMF and later diluted in 

water, or aqueous buffers. Extremely small amounts of waste are produced at any given time, due to the 

total of 3-10 mL of buffer used by a researcher on any given day. Due to the basic fuctioning of the system, 

small amounts of protein will be disposed of with the buffer waste. The final concentrations of protein tend 

to be in the pico-femtomolar concentration in the buffer or organic hazardous waste systems. The pure 

proteins are prepared in water, stored in the refrigerator or freezer, and disposed of by neutralization in 

50% bleach solution. 

Typical chemical waste generated in this lab is as follows. It will be labeled as Hazardous Waste, the 

contents of each properly bottle sealed, and all will be taken downstairs to the solvent room # 20 to await 

removal by a chemical waste company: 

HAZARDOUS WASTE 

1) Methanol and Ethanol with organic dyes, as follows: 

� DIMETHYL-SULFOXIDE (DMSO), less than 1% 

� N,N-DIMETHYLFORMAMIDE (DMF), less than 1% 

� SQUARYLIUM RED-1C, ORGANIC DYE, less than 1% 

� SQUARYLIUM RED-3, ORGANIC DYE, less than 1% 

� NN-127, ORGANIC DYE, less than 1% 

� CALCAFLUOR, ORGANIC DYE, less than 1% 

� FQ, ORGANIC DYE, less than 1% 

� FLUORESCAMINE, ORGANIC DYE, less than 1% 


2) Aqueous with organic dyes, as follows: 

� METHANOL, less than 1% 










3) Methanol and Ethanol with organic dyes and proteins, as follows: 




75






� SERUM ALBUMINS (HSA AND BSA), PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� BETA LACTOGLOBULIN A & B, PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� GLUTATHIONE, TRIPEPTIDE, less than 1% 

� ALLOPHYCOCYANINE, PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� B-PHYCOERYTHRIN, PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� C-PHYCOCYANIN, PROTEIN, less than 1% 


4) Aqueous with: 

� METHANOL, 10% 

� THALLOUS NITRATE, less than 1% 


5) Aqueous based with organic dyes, protein, and buffer salts, as follows: 



� METHANOL, less than 1% 







� SERUM ALBUMINS (HSA AND BSA), PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� BETA LACTOGLOBULIN A & B, PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� GLUTATHIONE, TRIPEPTIDE, less than 1% 

� ALLOPHYCOCYANINE, PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� B-PHYCOERYTHRIN, PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� C-PHYCOCYANIN, PROTEIN, less than 1% 

� PHYTIC ACID, BUFFER, less than 1% 

� BORIC ACID, BUFFER, less than 1% 

� TRISMA (TRIS), BUFFER, less than 1% 

� SODIUM DODECYL SULFATE (SDS), SURFACTANT, less than 1% 

� AMMONIUM BICARBONATE, BUFFER, less than 1% 

� AMMONIUM ACETATE, BUFFER, less than 1% 


6) Aqueous with: 

� POTASSIUM CYANIDE, less than 1% 

� BORIC ACID, 25mM 


7) THALLOUS NITRATE 

76

6. Dr. Hinze – Lab Room # 109 





Common wastes from this laboratory include used mobile phase and extraction solvents which 

generally contain only trace amounts of more toxic chemicals. Most should be stored in glass containers 

in a hood until a volume of 1L or greater has been collected at which time the container should be taken to 

the metal solvent waste table in room 20, provided it has been labeled with the full name and approximate 

amount of each component. 

77

7. Dr. Brad Jones – Lab Room # 118 





Trace and ultra trace metal standards are prepared at concentration well below the toxic level. 

For example, Ca, Zn, Ba at the ppb and sub-ppb level. Standards containing HNO3 are neutralized prior 

to disposal. They are then safely disposed of with plenty of water down the sink. 

Typical relatively benign chemical waste generated in this lab is described as follows: 

Water (Acidic) with: 

(Color varies with component concentration - e.g., when Copper predominates, the color will 

be bluish, but all components are still less than 1%) 

� Cadmium Chloride, less than 1% 

� Cadmium Bromide, less than 1% 

� Lead Nitrate, less than 1% 

� Copper nitrate, less than 1% 

� Lanthanum nitrate, less than 1% 

� Thulium nitrate, less than 1% 

� Yetterbium nitrate, less than 1% 

� Europium nitrate, less than 1% 

� Lutetium nitrate, less than 1% 

� Gadolinium nitrate, less than 1% 

� Samarium nitrate, less than 1% 

� Promethium nitrate, less than 1% 

� Lutetium nitrate, less than 1% 

78

8. Dr. Paul Jones – Lab Room # 14 





In addition to safe handling and disposal of routine chemicals described elsewhere in this document (i.e., 

Section III.C, Procedures for Handling Hazardous Waste,) , the following information applies specifically 

to this Lab. Please consult this safety manual for general guidelines and MSDS sheets for detailed 

guidelines for particular chemicals. 

Occasionally, Osmium/Chromium oxidations of alkenes to carboxylic acids are carried out in this lab. 

Osmium and Chromium reagents must be handled extremely carefully as both are highly toxic metals. 

Always wear gloves when working with these reagents and for any neat Osmium or Chromium compound, 

handle the material only in a fume hood. Any waste generated from the reaction that contains either metal 

must be placed in a sealed container and clearly marked as containing the metals. Prior to this, reduce 

any remaining Chromium(VI) by adding a large excess of 2-propanol. Once the waste container is 3/4 full, 

seal it securely, be sure the identification is still clear (along with your name, lab, lab phone number, and 

date), and place the container in the solvent disposal room (Salem 20). 

Under no circumstances should waste containing Osmium or Chromium be placed in routine solvent 

waste or go down the drain. 

79

9. Dr. Bruce King – Lab Room # 17 





Room 17: General Activity - Synthetic Organic Chemistry. Room 17 contains flammable organic 

solvents, halogenated and non-halogenated, organic chemicals, concentrated acids, sodium metal, 

compressed gas cylinders, and silica gel. These materials are stored in labeled containers in an explosion 

proof refrigerator, under various fume hoods and on shelving around the laboratory. Waste organic 

solvents and chemicals are separated as non-sulfur and non-halogen containing organic compounds and 

stored in labeled containers under a fume hood. Sulfur and halogen containing organic waste is placed in 

separate labeled containers. Used silica gel is stored in a labeled plastic container in a fume hood. When 

full, these waste containers are transferred to the large waste containers in room # 20. 

80

10. Dr. Kondepudi – Lab Room # 5 





Remove chemicals from lab via labeling, temporary storage in back of hoods, and transport to 

room #20 via "Procedures for Handling Chemical Waste" section already listed in this manual. Only 

occasional toxic metal salts and sodium chlorate, etc., will be used in this lab. 

81

11. Dr. Lachgar – Lab Room # 6 





Solid wastes are to be collected into labeled waste bottles and then transferred to waste storage 

areas. The liquids used are usually aqueous acid and base solutions. They are to be disposed after being 

neutralized. Aqueous solutions(usually acidic) of inorganic saltsare kept in typical glass waste jars, 

labeled with all components, and taken to the waste storage area in room # 20. Typical waste streams 

generated in this lab are as follows: 

1) Water, methanol, acetonitrile and ethanol (acidic) with: 

� Niobium chloride 

� Potassium cyanide 

� Silver nitrate 

� Copper chloride 

� Ethylenediamine 

� Vanadium acetylacetonate 

� salicylaldehyde 

� Tetramethylammonium chloride 

� Manganese acetate 

2) Water and ethanol (acidic) with: 


� Potassium cyanide 

� Cadmium chloride 

� Iron chloride 

� Tetramethylammonium chloride 


� Potassium chloride 

3) Hydrochloric acid (dilute) with: 

� Niobium chloride, trace amount 

� Tantalum chloride, trace amount 

4) Two jars of Water (acidic) with: 

� Hydrochloric acid 

� Nitric acid 

� Niobium chloride (trace amounts) 

� Tantalum chloride (trace amounts) 

5) One container of: 

� Acetone 

� Water 

� Dimethyl formamide 

� Iron cyanide 

� 4,4’-Dipyridyl 

� Methylammonium chloride 

82

� Ammonium hydroxide 

� Ammonium nitrate 

� Iron(III) chloride 

� Ethylenediamine 

� Acetonitrile 

� Ethanol 


� Salicylaldehyde 

83

12. Dr. Noftle – Lab Room # 118 





The following common laboratory organic solvents can be collected in a waste container, labeled 

NON- SULFUR, NON-HALOGENATED ORGANIC SOLVENTS and be poured into one of the two 55 

gallon waste drums located in the solvent room, #20, assuming they are not overly contaminated with acids 

or large amounts of toxic or odoriferous sulfur compounds. Each chemical should be recorded by name 

and amount. 







The methylene chloride and chloroform must be collected in a well-labeled waste bottle and can be poured 

into labeled 20 liter empty white polyethylene containers kept next to the large 55 gallon steel drum on the 

floor in the wide yellow spill tray in the solvent room, #20. Sulfur containing compounds, complex 

heterocyclics, corrosives, organic acids, lachrymators, etc. (i.e. thiophene, pyrrole, acetonitrile, etc.) 

should be collected into well-labeled waste bottles and taken to the metal surface in the solvent room, #20. 

Consolidate compatible inorganic solids in a well-labeled waste container, organic solids in another. 

These can be placed on the metal surface table in the solvent room #20. Non-compatible solids should 

naturally be packaged separately. 

Typical waste streams originating from Dr. Noftle’s research lab are as follows: 

Organic Solvents (Non-Halogenated) 

Ethyl Acetate, Hexanes, Acetone 

Diethyl Ether, Methanol, Ethanol 

Tetrahydrofuran, Toluene, Pentane 

Cyclohexane, Benzene, Acetonitrile, and occasionally Nitrobenzene 

Halogenated Solvents 

Methylene chloride, chloroform 

Acetone, with: 

tetrabutylammonium perchlorate tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate 

tetrabutylammonium trifluoromethanesulfonate 

copper(II) perchlorate hexahydrate copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate 

copper(II) acetate monohydrate copper(II) chloride 

zinc(II) perchlorate hexahydrate zinc(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate 

N2-(2-pyridylmethyl)-3-thienyl carboxamide 

N2-(2-pyridylmethyl)-3-thenyl carboxamide 

N2-(2-pyridylmethyl)-5-(3-thienyl)-butyl carboxamide 

N2-(2-pyridylmethyl)-trans-3-(3-thienyl) acrylamide 

84

13. Dr. Swofford – Lab Room # 1 





Practically no highly toxic waste is generated in this lab. Only benign organic dyes and other 

small amounts of analytical samples (for example, polyaromatic hydrocarbons). Typical bottles of 

chemical waste (usually one or three one gallon jars collected over a period of 6 to 12 months) contain the 

following: methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, acetone, heptane, benzene, hexane, toluene, octane, and 

dyes, such as Rhodamine 590 and 61 and Keton red dye. 

85

14. Dr. Tobey – Lab Room # 2 

For the routine disposal of common chemicals please refer to Section III. C of this manual for standard 

handling of hazardous waste. The guidelines specific to this lab are outlined below. 

Palladium complexes are routinely used in this lab for cross-coupling reactions. Gloves should be worn in 

handling palladium waste and the waste is placed in a separate and clearly labeled container. Occasionally 

hydrazine is used in this lab and this is known to be carcinogenic so any waste containing hydrazine should 

be placed in a separate waste container and clearly labeled for disposal. 

Under no circumstances should hydrazine or palladium waste be placed in routine solvent containers 

or poured down the drain. 

Typical waste streams originating from this lab include: 

1) Clear Glass Bottle labeled “Liquid Palladium Waste” 

� Ethyl Ether 


� Ethanol 

� Sulfuric acid 

� Palladium triphenylphosphine 

� Palladium acetate 

� Palladium metal 

� Trace amounts of Dimethyl sulfoxide, Hydrazine Hydrate, Hydrazine, water, Ethyl acetate, and 

Acetone 

2) Brown solvent bottle labeled “mixed palladium waste” (acidic) 

� Diluted acetic acid 


� Palladium acetate, 


� Palladium chloride 

� Filter paper 

� Triphenylphosphine 

� Ethyl Ether 


� Ethanol, 

� Trace amounts of DMSO, Hydrazine Hydrate, Hydrazine, water, Ethyl Acetate, 

and Acetone 

3) wide mouth plastic bottle labeled “solid palladium waste” 



� Palladium acetate, 


� Palladium chloride 

� Filter paper 

� Triphenylphosphine 

� Trace amounts of Dimethylsulfoxide, Hydrazine Hydrate, and Hydrazine 

4) Brown solvent bottle filled with acidic aqueous waste 

86


� Acetic acid, 

� Ammonium Chloride, 

� Potassium Carbonate, 

� triethylamine, 

� NaCl, 

� Sulfuric Acid, 

� triphenylphosphine oxide, 

� magnesium oxide, 

� diethylene glycol, 

� methanol, 

� ethanol, 

� less than 5mL of bis[2-(N,N-dimethylaminio)ethyl]etherAmmonium chloride 

5) Brown solvent bottle filled with acid aqueous waste (acidic) 

� Hydrochloric acid, 





� NaCl, 





� methanol, 

� ethanol, 

� less than 5mL of bis[2-(N,N-dimethylaminio)ethyl]etherAmmonium chloride 

6) Brown solvent bottle filled with acidic aqueous waste: 

� Hydrochloric acid, 





� Sodium chloride, 





� methanol, 

� ethanol, 

� Benzene 

� Magnesium oxide 

� Magnesium hydroxide 

� Magnesium bromide 

� Magnesium sulfate 

7) Large Red Can Organic Solvent Waste (February 2006) 

� Ethyl Acetate 

� Hexanes 

� Acetone 

� Isopropanol 

87

8) Brown solvent bottle filled with aqueous waste (30 March 2006) 

� Diluted acetic acid 

� Diluted HCl 

� VERY Diluted KOH 

� Carbonate salts 

� NaCl 

� Copper salts 

� Ammonium salts 

9) Brown solvent bottle filled with acidic aqueous waste (06 June 2006) 

� acetic acid 

� hydrochloric acid 

� potassium hydroxide 

� Sodium Carbonate 


� Ammonium hydroxide 

� Ammonium chloride 

� Cupric cyanide 

10) Water, very acidic (and small amount of Tetrahydrofuran) with: 

� Potassium carbonate 

� Ammonium chloride 

� Sodium bicarbonate 

� Acetic acid 


88

15. Dr. Welker – Lab Room # 13 





Handling, Storing and Removal of Gases: This lab uses chlorine gas, ammonia, carbon 

monoxide (toxic), sulfur dioxide (toxic), and carbonyl sulfide (always work in fume hood). Always label 

cylinders, secure strap or chain cylinders to wall. When cylinders are not in use, shut the valves and 

relieve the regulator and cap the cylinders. Segregate gas cylinder storage from the storage of other 

chemicals. Keep in compatible classes of gases stored separately and keep flammable reactives, which 

include oxidizers and corrosives, away from cylinders. Segregate empty and full cylinders. To remove 

empty cylinders, place cylinder in its original shipping box, sealed with packing tape, and ship back to 

manufacturer (or give them to a local company). 

Preparation of Mercury (Used) for Reclamation: 

Mercury must be clean and free of any salts or solvents before it can be sent for reclamati Work in a fume 

hood, wearing gloves and safety glasses. Obtain a large pan and two large beakers. Fill one beaker about 

1/4 full with water. Place some waste mercury * into the beaker containing water. Swirl contents of 

beaker and carefully decant water into the other beaker. Repeat until mercury appears clean and free of 

salts. Store mercury in appropriate container in well-ventilated area. Water may be poured down drain. 

* If mercury has been used in an amalgam with sodium, when reaction is complete, open the flask 

to the air for at least one day in a fume hood. Stir mercury with some isopropanol for a few hours to 

quench any sodium remaining. Decant the isopropanol. Mercury is ready to be cleaned and stored for 

reclamation. 

89

16. Undergraduate – Lab Rooms # 7, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 111 





Highly toxic waste, as defined in section III.F.2 of this manual, is very seldom if ever generated in 

undergraduate teaching laboratories. When it is, specific procedures for removing it will be elaborated by 

the lab manager and instructors for the particular teaching lab in question. When working with highly 

toxic waste, one must work with it under a hood, pack it separately from other waste material, label it with 

specific names, collect it in a container (all as a last step in the student’s reaction or experimental 

procedure), and take it downstairs to the waste holding area in room #21. 

All other waste materials are covered under procedures listed elsewhere in this manual. (consult 

subchapter # 5, entitled "Waste from Undergraduate Labs", in section III.C). General Chemistry 

procedures for relatively benign waste handling and removal are listed in the training section of this 

manual. 

Additional standard operating procedures for handling general chemistry lab waste are contained 

in the instructor’s information sections for each "Modular Laboratory Program in Chemistry" series for 

experiments assigned by the instructor. 

The organic solvent waste procedures are likewise listed in the training section of this manual 

with specific instructions listed in the aforementioned subchapter. Additional instructions are contained in 

the present undergraduate Organic Lab textbook at the end of all experimental procedures. 

90

H. Specific Decontamination Procedures for Equipment and Bench top 

Surfaces which have come into contact with Highly Toxic Waste 

PROCEDURE FOR LAB ROOM # 

Include here methods of cleaning up work surfaces in hoods or bench tops so as to render traces of 

toxic chemicals benign. 

91

Specific Decontamination Procedures for Equipment and Surfaces which have come 

into contact with Highly Toxic Waste [EXAMPLE ONLY, prepared by Dr. James 

Fishbein, former Occupant of Research Lab # 14] 

PROCEDURE FOR LAB ROOM # 14 



Lab Rules for Handling Decontamination of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) 

and Lab Equipment Contaminated by Diazoate and Nitrosamine Residues 

These rules must be followed by all members of the group in order to insure your own and others 

safety. Failure to follow these rules endangers the health of you and your coworkers. Please read and 

follow the rules below!! 

General rules: 1) ALL unattended reactions in the hood, whether or not they involve nitrosamines or 

diazotes, must be labeled to indicate the reaction in progress and any harmful reagents 

employed. Unlabeled-unattended reactions are subject to immediate disposal in the acid 

bath. 

2) ALL reactions involving synthesis of diazotes, nitrosamines or nitrosamides must be 

carried out in the hoods. 

3) ALL items enter any of the hoods are not to be removed from the hood until they have 

been decontaminated. This rule applies whether or not the items have been used in the 

preparation of a diazote or nitrosamine or nitrosamide - whatever goes in is assumed to be 

contaminated even though likelihood is very low. 

4) ALL reactions involving synthesis of diazotes or nitrosamines should becarried out on 

surfaces that are covered with absorbent bench paper. This greatly aids in cleaning up 

any spills. 

5) ALL reactions involving diazote or N-nitrosamine syntheses must be cleaned up 

completely as soon as the reaction has been completed, subsequent to isolation of 

products. Dirty flasks, tubes, and implements must be decontaminated immediately as 

specified below. Do not leave dirty bench paper or beakers or pipettes or spatulas etc.. in 

the hoods overnight, begin decontamination immediately. 

6) ALL spills of any amount of diazote or N-nitrosamine should be cleaned up 

immediately when they occur. Equipment such as stir plates, lab-jacks, ring-stands can be 

rinsed with acetone and the acetone allowed to collect onto the bench paper. More bench 

paper can be used as necessary. The bench paper, once air-dried, can be decontaminated 

by the procedures below. Always use heavy latex "non-disposable" gloves when cleaning 

up spills with acetone as acetone will penetrate the disposable gloves. After 

decontaminating the latex gloves, throw them away. 

Specific Clean-up Procedures. For N-nitrosamine and N-nitrosamides and urethanes, the 

decontamination solution should be 50% sulfuric acid to 50 % water with two packs of No-chromix for 

each two gallon container. This is considered fresh until it is discolored at which time it can be 

92

egenerated with additional No-chromix. The acid baths should be changed once per month. Do not put 

disposable syringe needles in the acid baths!! For diazotes (once past the stage involving nitrosourethanes 

in the case of syn. compounds) an acidic solution of ~ 10% sulfuric acid suffices to decompose these 

compounds. 

All materials to be decontaminated should be submerged in the acid bath for 24hrs. Frequent 

checks should be made to ensure that the items are submerged. Large items may have to be turned or 

rotated after the first 24hrs and allowed to sit an additional 24hrs. Greater than 0.5g amounts of 

nitrosamines should be decomposed in a separate acid bath, typically a beaker, which should additionally be 

agitated by a magnetic stirrer. 

Contents of NMR tubes should be emptied into a small beaker immediately after use. The tubes 

should then be filled with decontaminating acid solution by pipette and submerged for 24hrs. The contents 

of the NMR tubes should be concentrated immediately in the beaker and the residue-containing beaker 

should be submerged in acid for 24hrs. NMR tube caps should be treated in the acid solution for 24hrs and 

thrown out. 

Any gloves that contact N-nitrosamine or diazotes should be treated by the decontaminating acid 

solution. The same should be done with bench paper on which nitrosmaine containing solutions or solids 

have been spilled. Gloves or papers that have been used for routine handling in the hood need not be 

treated but should be put in a plastic bag in the hood which is then tied off and transferred to a clean plastic 

bag outside the hood. The outer bag should be tied off and removed. 

Glass cuvettes should be submerged in acid solution for 24hrs. 

Syringes that have been used to inject dilute solutions of N-nitroso compounds should be 

thoroughly washed, both interior and exterior, with an organic solvent such as acetone. The organic rinsing 

can be concentrated and the residue-containing beaker transferred to the acid bathe. The syringe can be 

then cleaned using decontaminating acid solution by repeated displacement of the plunger in and out of the 

syringe. The tip of the plunger and barrel and tip of the syringe should be submerged for 1hr. in acid 

solution. 

93

1. Dr. Alexander – Lab Room # 108 

Specific Decontamination Procedures for Equipment and Bench top Surfaces which have come into 

contact with Highly Toxic Waste 



Benches will be monitored after each use of radioactive materials and weekly by smear test and hand-held 

counter, as specified in the user’s license. Any surfaces with contamination greater than twice background 

will be cleaned with soap and water or commercial cleaner as necessary. Decontamination will proceed 

until smear tests are at background. 

Benches that are contaminated with low concentrations of ethidium bromide will be cleaned with paper 

towels (soaked with bleach (Sodium hypochlorite) that will then be disposed of with the solid (gel) waste. 

In the event of a spill of high concentration ethidium bromide, the surface will be decontaminated with a 

slurry of activated charcoal. 

94

2. Dr. Bierbach – Lab Room # 107 










towels soaked with bleach (Sodium hypochlorite) that will then be disposed of with the solid (gel) waste. In 

the event of a spill of high concentration ethidium bromide, the surface will be decontaminated with a 


95

3. Dr. Brown – Lab Room # 14 





Spills of Biohazardous Waste. Spills of bacterial cultures should be contained immediately by blotting the 

area with paper towels or other absorbent material. Dispose of clean-up material in a biohazard bag. 

Disinfect the contaminated surface with a germicidal agent such as Wescodyne, bleach, or Lysol. 

bb 

Spills of Carcinogenic, Mutagenic, or Tetraogenic Waste. Spills of ethidium bromide should be 

contained immediately by blotting the area with paper towels or other absorbent material. Decontaminate 

the contaminated surface with bleach, and dispose of clean-up material with solid hazardous waste. For 

large spills, or spills containing high concentrations of ethidium bromide, a slurry of activated charcoal will 

be used to absorb the ehidium bromide, and will be disposed of with solid waste. 

Spills of Radioactive Waste. Benches will be monitored after each use of radioactive materials and 

weekly by smear test and hand-held counter, as specified in the user’s license. Any surfaces with 

contamination greater than twice background will be cleaned with soap and water or commercial cleaner as 

necessary. Decontamination will proceed until smear tests are at background. 





96

4. Dr. Buchmueller – Lab Room # 1 













Benches contaminated with spills of phenol, chloroform, or isoamyl alcohol will cleaned by absorption of 

such spills with either vermiculite or the departmental spill control material (kitty litter, sand, and baking 

soda) located in room # 20, Loading Dock. Any spills should be contained in containers and kept in the 

hood until eventual removal by our chemical waste removal company. 

97

5. Dr. Colyer – Lab Room # 114 





Lab bench tops contaminated with occasional spills will be cleaned with paper towels and cotton 

rags soaked with acetone or ethanol, or hot soap and water. 

98

6. Dr. Hinze – Lab Room # 109 




toxic chemicals benign. substance spilled. Usually only very small amounts of chemical samples will be 

used in this lab. 

Chemical spillage will be absorbed with a paper towel dampened with a solvent appropriate to 

the toxic substance spilled. Usually only very small amounts of chemical samples will be used in this lab. 

99

7. Dr. Brad Jones – Lab Room # 118 





Not applicable to our research laboratory. 

100

8. Dr. Paul Jones – Lab Room # 14 





For routine cleaning, benchtops should be washed using a sponge and hot, soapy water followed by 

acetone and paper towels. If the spill contains a large amount of hydrophobic (oily) material, first wash 

the area using an organic solvent (ethyl acetate, ethanol, or acetone) and then wash again as for routine 

cleaning. 

When cleaning spills be sure to wear proper dress and safety equipment (goggles, gloves, lab coat, full 

shoes (no open toes)). If you are in doubt as to your ability to safely clean a large spill or about special 

hazards (HCl vapor, for example), seek help. 

Acids (mineral or organic): saturate the affected area with sodium bicarbonate and allow this to sit for 

several minutes. Wipe the area with a sponge or paper towel (dispose each into an acid waste container). 

Test the pH of the area by spilling a small amount of water and using pH paper. Continue treating with 

sodium bicarbonate until the area is neutral. Clean as for routine cleaning. Be aware that most acid spills 

will create irritating and potentially harmful vapors. 

Bases (mineral or amines): soak the area with dilute acetic acid until the area is slightly acidic. Wipe up 

the spill with a sponge or paper towel (place either in the acid waste bottle) and wash the area as if there 

had been an acid spill. Be aware that highly basic solutions present extreme hazards to the skin and eyes. 

Organic solvents: bury the area in vermiculite or some other adsorbant (Spill absorbant material is located 

in the Solvent room, room # 20, Loading Dock area). Place the spill material in a suitably marked 

container. Clean the area as for routine cleaning. Be aware of vapor hazards! 

Organic chemicals: You should clean these as for organic solvents with the caveat that the compound may 

possess significant health hazards. If you are not aware of the particular hazards presented by the spilled 

compound, look at an MSDS sheet. 

Heavy metals: Be particularly careful cleaning these spills. For small spills, prepare an aqueous solution 

of EDTA and wipe the area thoroughly with this solution. Use a sponge or paper towels and place both or 

either in the heavy metal waste container you will prepare. Carefully label the container with contents, 

your name, lab, lab phone, date, and secure the container in Salem 20. 

Thiols/Thioethers: These compounds present no general safety concern other than their foul stench. Wipe 

the affected area several times with bleach. Place the paper towel or sponge in a closed container (Do not 

mix bleach and normal organic waste). Continue wiping the area with bleach well after the smell seems 

to have dissipated. It is likely that you will become insensitive to the smell. Dispose of your gloves and, 

possibly, your lab coat depending on the taste/mood of your labmates. Be prepared to smell like thiol for 

some time. Clearly mark the container as sulfur containing waste and place the material in Salem 20. 

101

9. Dr. Bruce King – Lab Room # 17 





General Procedure: To clean work surfaces or bench tops, spill area is generally diluted with 

water or an organic solvent (acetone) depending upon the contamination. The affected area is then wiped 

down with a sponge or mop depending on area and size of the contamination. 

102

10. Dr. Kondepudi – Lab Room # 5 





Clean up benches with cloth and paper towel impregnated with various solvents (preferably 

acetone or hot water and soap). 

103

11. Dr. Lachgar – Lab Room # 6 





Lab coat, gloves, and safety glasses must be worn by anyone who is going to clean the bench top 

or hood surfaces. Any solid waste will be collected into labeled waste bottles using a brush. Then the 

surface will be cleaned using paper towels. Any spilled solution on the bench top will be neutralized if 

necessary. Then, the surface will be cleaned using paper towels. 

104

12. Dr. Noftle – Lab Room # 117 





Follow the spill cleanup procedures for specific chemicals described in their MSDS sheets. It is useful to 

refer to the shortened lab-scale step-by-step spill procedures listed in the "Hazardous Laboratory 

Chemicals Disposal Guide", 2nd edition, kept with the Laboratory Manager or in the Stockroom, room # 

110. Vermiculite or clay based kitty litter (bentonit, or processed clay) can be used for volatile, common 

organic solvent spillage. Neutralizing soda ash or baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate) or Sodium carbonate 

is used for mineral acids. The neutralized and absorbed materials can be swept up and placed in an 

appropriately labeled container and taken to the metal surface table in room # 20. Two five gallon plastic 

pails of absorbent material (1:1:1 mixture of sand, kitty liter, and sodium bicarbonate or baking soda) are 

kept in the department for general use, one in solvent room #20 and the other in the chemical prep room# 

103. 

Hydrofluoric acid spills should be completely neutralized with 5 to 10% solutions of lime 

water (calcium hydroxide), two bottles of which you will find in room #103, along with a case 

of solid calcium hydroxide. DO NOT BREATHE FUMES OF HF! Be extremely careful 

with Hydrofluoric acid. Burns from this material are deeply penetrating and can be deadly, 

causing massive tissue damage. 

Kitty-liter cannot be used as a spill absorbent for Hydrofluoric acid, since it will react to 

form SiF4, a toxic and corrosive gas. Neither should you use sand, which will also react with 

it. 

105

13. Dr. Swofford – Lab Room # 1 





Exercise care in washing lab benches near high voltage electrical equipment. Otherwise, use 

paper towels Alternatively, use soap and water to regularly clean off bench top work spaces. Alternatively, 

use soap and water to regularly clean off bench top work spaces. 

106

14. Dr. Tobey – Lab Room # 2 

For routine cleaning, wash using water, followed by acetone, and dry with paper towels. If the spill 

contains oily materials first wash with acetone or hexanes and proceed as usual with above cleaning 

protocol. 

Acids: saturate area with sodium bicarbonate and allow to sit on benchtop . Wipe with paper towels 

(dispose appropriately). Test area with pH paper and continue with sodium bicarbonate treatment until 

neutral. 

Bases: Soak area with dilute acetic acid, wipe and treat area as an acid spill area. 

Organic solvent: spread vermiculite (or spill control material located in the solvent room # 20 in the 

Loading Dock) over the spill area and dispose of the material in an appropriately labeled container. 

Organic chemicals: Clean as for organic solvent but beware that the components mixtures vary and may 

have a specific health hazard. Check MSDS and treat accordingly. 

Heavy Metals: For small spills use aqueous solution of EDTA and wipe area thoroughly which should be 

disposed of in separately labeled container. 

Alkyl Lithium Reagents: If spilled, it will be extremely pyrophoric – treat by slowly added dry ice to it. DO 

NOT POUR WATER onto the affected area. 

107

15. Dr. Welker – Lab Room # 13 and 18 





Mercury Spill: 

When mercury is spilled on a bench top or floor, begin cleanup immediately. Obtain the mercury 

spill kit from laboratory stock room. Wear gloves while working with spill. Consolidate as many droplets 

as possible using a piece of cardboard. Then use pump contained in the mercury spill kit to collect the 

mercury. Place mercury in a thick-wall high-density polyethylene bottle and store in well-ventilated area 

(hood, etc.). Do not absorb mercury with the emergency zinc absorbent material in the spill kit unless 

absolutely necessary (i.e., unless there is far too much to pick up with the pump). 

� If necessary, mercury should be cleaned. See "Specific Procedures for Safe Removal of Highly Toxic 

Waste." It is presently impossible to dispose of any sort of contaminated mercury. 

� General Considerations: 

Fires are extinguished using dry chemical extinguishers or sand only. No CO2 or H2O fire extinguishers 

can be used. Materials to be considered in lab: nBuLi, t-BuLi, LiAlH4, BCl3, Me2BBr, catechol borane, 

BBr3, AlCl3, AlBr3, EtAlCl2, AlMe3, AlEt3, BPh3, PhBCl2. 

Removal of Lewis Acids and other Organometallics: 

Warning: Pyrophoric in air, water, and exposure to mildly acidic environments can be corrosive 

to skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. Large Scale Removal: compounds are placed in a container in an inert 

atmosphere, labeled, and sent off with an appropriate waste removal service. Small Scale Removal: Small 

amounts of materials may be "quenched" in an inert solvent in an inert atmosphere by slow addition of tbutanol. 

The resultant solutions are separated with the organic layer being put into an appropriate waste 

container and water layer being added to copious amounts of water. Small amounts (

16. Undergraduate Lab Rooms # 7, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 111 





Teaching lab bench tops and hoods in rooms 101 through 111 are primarily the responsibility of 

housekeeping and stockroom personnel. Teaching Assistants are responsible for pointing out cleaning 

needs and occasionally assisting in such cleanup, themselves. The laboratory managers and teaching 

instructors will notify the above mentioned personnel for any special cleaning requirements. The students 

will also be responsible for cleaning their particular work area, especially at the end of each semester. It 

may be necessary occasionally to clean up organic stains with acetone or ethanol. Mineral acids should 

be diluted with water and neutralized with baking soda stored in the back of each lab before cleanup. 

Soap is also located on the back window benches of each lab. Specific stockroom and housekeeping 

assignments are listed under the Housekeeping section of this manual. 

Stains on the newly renovated Organic Lab benchtops (rooms 102 and 106) can be cleaned with 

scrubbing pads soaked with water and baking soda. 

If highly toxic waste is generated in any undergraduate lab, specific decontamination procedure 

literature references will be included along with actual experimental procedures by the lab instructor. 

109

I. Laboratory and Fume Hood Inspections 

Laboratory hoods in Salem Hall will be inspected on a regular basis by three methods. 

1. Annual inspections of hood efficacy will be conducted by a certified Industrial Hygienist, at the 

request of the WFU Physical Facilities Safety Director. Records of these inspections will be maintained by 

the Laboratory Manager. The air-flow in research labs should be 100 feet per minute face velocity (fpm). 

The air-flow for the large hoods located in the rear of the undergraduate lab hoods should be 60 fpm. The 

air-flow for undergraduate individual bench-top fume hoods should be 40 to 50 fpm. 

2. The hoods will be checked on an informal basis by the laboratory manager, periodically. An 

"Alnor" brand anemometer, type 8500, will be used. It is stored in the Laboratory Manager's office. 

3. If you have reason to suspect that the air-flow for your hood is low, contact the lab manager for 

an anemometer flow measurement. In the meantime, get a large beaker or tray of warm water and place it 

just inside the hood. Drop some dry ice (CO2) pellets into the water and observe the vapor flow. 

The vapors are harmless and relatively dense. If most of the vapors are drawn through the back 

slots, hood flow is generally appropriate. If most escape into the air in front of the hood or drop through the 

air-foil opening toward the floor, your air-flow is too low. Call Physical Facilities (phone # 4255) for 

service. 

Alternately, you can use smoke generators to qualitatively test the air flow. Order them from Flinn 

Scientific, Inc., phone #1-800-452-1261 (catalog # S.E. 5010, 30 second time limit, or catalog #S.E. 5011, 

3 minute time limit). 

110

1. Laboratory Inspection Form 

WFU Chem. Dept., Salem Hall, Labroom #_________ 

1. Are safety devices unobstructed or otherwise operating normally with no overcrowding or interference 

from lab operations nearby? 

Yes________ No________ Actions necessary for resolution of problem ____________________ 

________________________________________________________________________________ 

Identify specific safety devices obstructed or blocked: 

Safety shower _____________________________ Eyewash Fountains__________________ 

Fire Blanket in Hallway _____________________ CO2 Fire Extinguishers_______________ 

Class D Fire Extinguisher, if applicable ________ 

2. Are electrical outlets operating correctly? List those that are loose, damaged, or otherwise being used 

in a manner which causes electrical hazards. 


________________________________________________________________________________ 

3. Are lab bench worktops orderly and uncluttered? What about shelves, cabinets, drawers, sinks, and 

benchtops in hoods? List anything that needs special attention. 


________________________________________________________________________________ 

4. Are safety glasses worn by all personnel? Has everyone been assigned some form of safety eyeglasses 

and a pair of goggles? 


________________________________________________________________________________ 

5. Are chemicals stored and organized in a generally rational fashion within the room? Are totally 

incompatible chemicals kept separated from each other on shelves or cabinets? 


________________________________________________________________________________ 

6. Is ventilation within the room appropriate? Are Phoenix Control monitors and hoods functioning as 

intended, without excessive false alarms, blinking warning lights, damaged sash doors, etc.? 


________________________________________________________________________________ 

7. Are carcinogens labeled and stored in Designated Storage Areas? Are Hoods used as Designated Work 

Areas? (In other words, are very harmful chemicals handled inside hoods generally? ) Has every effort 

been made to prevent contact with and exposure to Particularly Hazardous Chemicals? 


________________________________________________________________________________ 

8. Are instruments or mechanical devices functioning well? Is oil changed often in vacuum pumps? Are 

damaged rubber or Tygon tubes feeding water to condensers checked and replaced when needed? Are 

they properly clamped? Is everything placed at a safe distance away from chemicals and outlets? 


________________________________________________________________________________ 

Form completed by ___________________________ Date ______________________ 

111

J. Laboratory Emergencies 

1. Emergency Procedure and First Aid Overview 

When a fire, explosion, serious injury, or any other emergency occurs in your Research or 

Teaching Laboratory, you should first of all ask yourself whether it is safe to stay in the lab and whether 

anyone is in need of immediate medical attention. If you need any help at all, telephone for it from your 

lab. The Emergency Phone Number Information sheet must be posted next to the phone in your lab. 

(Naturally, the lab phones in nearby labs will have theirs posted as well, in case you must leave your lab 

entirely.) 

Please note that two first aid kits are located in the chemistry stockroom, room #110. For minor 

emergencies (cuts, burns, minor eye and skin injuries, etc.), please call Student Health Services 24 hours a 

day during the regular semester (But not at night during the Summer sessions or during regular semester 

holiday periods). Save 911 for more serious emergencies (breathing difficulties, deep lacerations, broken 

bones, injuries from fires, etc.) All students have access to the stockroom telephone (in room #110) and are 

expected to call university emergency personnel if teachers and teaching assistants are occupied with 

accident victims. 

Tell emergency personnel what happened in as concise a manner as possible. Your goal should be 

to contact help quickly and then proceed to do what you can yourself. Remember to give the room number 

and location of the accident. 

Do whatever is necessary to give minimal assistance to injured persons. Use whatever medical or 

first aid knowledge you have and then stand aside to allow more knowledgeable individuals access. Be 

ready to move injured persons away from sources of further injury. 

As you read this manual, you will become aware of the many safety procedures and equipment 

available to the chemistry department and in your lab. The more you know, the more help you can give. 

The more your co-workers know, the more assistance they can give you. 

Be especially cognizant of the Poison Control Center, phone # 1-800-848-6946. This is a 24 hour 

hotline information service which can give you emergency first aid and medical information for chemical 

injuries to specific tissues, organs, and areas of the body. You must tell them exactly what chemical the 

victim was injured with if you expect them to help you. This is a very good service. If necessary, they will 

fax specific information directly to the chemistry department’s fax machine located in the chemistry office, 

room #110C, fax # 336-758-4656 with the physician’s permission only. 

Your Research Laboratory should have a first aid kit available. If it does not, use the kits located 

in the stockroom, room #110. 

There are two chemical first aid books located above the MSDS sheet collection, near the first aid 

kits, and across the room from the emergency breathing apparatus in the Chemistry Department stockroom, 

#110. PLEASE REVIEW THESE BOOKS SO THAT YOU WILL BE PREPARED TO MAKE USE 

OF THEM SHOULD THE NEED ARISE. 

a) Effects of Exposure to Toxic Gases: First Aid and Medical Treatment, 3rd Edition, Matheson 

Gas Products, Inc., 1988. 

b) Lefevre, Marc J., and Conibear, Shirley A. First Aid Manual for Chemical Accidents, 2nd 

Edition. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989. 

112

2. Chemical Fire and Large Building Fire Emergency Procedures: 

Basically, we do not expect the fire department to encounter any special hazard in putting out fires 

in our labs in Salem Hall because we try to keep any chemicals in large quantities stored in specially 

designed storage rooms in the loading dock, both of which are protected heavily with overhead dry power 

extinguisher systems. Small chemical fires in a particular laboratory can generally be extinguished using 

the following method: 

a) The firefighter should wear self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) if toxic fumes from 

collections of small bottles are emitted at all while burning. 

b) Use the yellow, portable 30 lb. “Class D” fire extinguisher, one of which is placed in each lab 

requiring them ( 6 in all, located in room #‟s 2, 13, 14, 16, 19, and 115). They are used for 

smothering water-sensitive or water-reactive chemical fires. They extinguish burning metallic 

chemical fires involving magnesium, lithium, sodium, and potassium; and in general, metal 

hydrides (like Lithium Aluminum Hydride and sodium hydride, popular chemicals used in the 

organic labs in room #‟s 13, 14, 17, 18 of Salem Hall) and organometallic chemicals used in room 

#13 primarily. These “Class D” extinguishers could also be used to put out other solid chemical 

fires in conjunction with dry power extinguishers (which are better for non-metallic solid chemical 

fires). If one room‟s “Class D” extinguisher is expended, have someone else collect those from 

other nearby rooms. Use other smaller dry power extinguishers in the area as needed. We have 

two large portable 30 LB CO2 extinguishers, one in room #20, the other in the stockroom, #110, 

which we would use for organic solvent liquid fires only - not solid chemical fires. 

c) If the fire has grown too large to extinguish by this method, then it is time to use water hoses 

and saturate the entire room corner or the entire room with water. It is the opinion of the 

Chemistry Department faculty that with an entire room in flames, the destruction of small 

containers of water-sensitive chemicals via water from water hoses is a small price to pay - they 

will be neutralized or otherwise rendered benign with huge volumes of water and should not then 

present a problem to firefighters, especially if they are wearing the aforementioned self-contained 

Breathing Apparatus (SCBA). 

The only major fire hazard present in research labs are compressed gas cylinder bottles. 

The smaller lecture bottles could be worse, potentially, since some of these are poisonous gases, 

any of which could explode if the temperature is high enough during a fire. Please note that exact 

locations of all compressed gases, including lecture bottles, will be listed in the last chapter of this 

manual. 

113

3. Chemical Spills 

Chemical spills in all laboratories should be promptly dealt with and properly reported. Small 

spills can in most cases be cleaned up by the lab worker without much trouble. Spills of particularly 

hazardous chemicals (see section III.F of this manual) must be reported to the lab manager and appropriate 

precautions taken during your cleanup. Large-scale chemical spills may require room evacuation, or , in 

unusual circumstances, a building evacuation. Consult also with more knowledgeable colleagues and your 

research advisor or teacher. 

Large spills which cannot be contained by you or those helping you in the chemistry department 

will be taken care of by the university's Safety Response Team, supervised by the WFU Physical Facilities 

Assistant Safety Director. Call Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) 

Director] and inform him what was spilled and the location of the spill. His phone # is 4329 (or 4224). Do 

not expect anyone to clean up the spill without your assistance. 

You should follow these rules when a spill occurs: 

1) Inform people in the immediate vicinity of the spill right away. 

2) Administer or receive first aid or attempt to rapidly remove the chemical if exposed to it by 

skin contact. This generally means washing with a great deal of water. If other procedures 

should be followed, you will know what they are, since you should know the harmful affects 

of the chemical and first aid procedures before you begin work. 

3) Minimize the spread of the spill if you can do it without injuring yourself by contact with 

corrosive or otherwise toxic fumes or liquids. 

4) Clean up the spill. 

How you will clean up the spill will, of course, depend on what you are working with in your lab. 

Again, do not expect the university's Safety Response Team to automatically do it for you. They are not 

chemists. Spill cleanup procedures for specific chemicals are clearly described in their MSDS sheets. It 

will usually be more useful to refer to the shortened lab-scale step-by-stop spill procedures listed in Armour, 

M. A. Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide, 2nd edition. Boston: CRC Press, 1996, kept in 

the Lab Manager’s office, room # 9A. These procedures are listed in the "Spillage Disposal" section for 

each chemical. You are requested to skim through this book and thereby be more fully aware of the 

extremely useful and pertinent information therein. 

The usual method of cleaning up a spill involves diluting it with water if it is aqueous, neutralizing 

it if it is corrosive, and finally adsorbing the liquid with an inert adsorbent material so that it can be swept 

up and placed in an appropriate labeled container and taken to the metal-covered table in room #20 for 

removal via a waste disposal company. Label this container as containing spillage material and list the 

specific chemical name of the spilled chemical or chemicals. Mineral acids are diluted with water and 

neutralized by sprinkling with baking soda or sodium carbonate or diluting it with solutions of sodium 

hydroxide. Generally alkaline or basic solutions can be neutralized with dilute solutions of hydrochloric 

acid, although this of course depends on the chemical. 

Again, consult with your research director, teacher or appropriate references before proceeding. 

Volatile, common organic solvents can generally be adsorbed on vermiculite or, preferably, clay 

based kitty litter (called bentonite) both of which are kept in room #20 for general use. A large container of 

neutralizing soda ash for mineral acids is kept near the acid bins in room #19. You should keep containers 

of some type of adsorbent material on hand in your laboratory. 

Two large containers of calcium carbonate are kept in room #103, the prep room. Very dilute 

solutions of baking soda and acetic acid are kept in the undergraduate labs for caustic burns (do not clean 

out eyes with anything but pure water.) 

114

Research hoods are great places to have spills, and are much better than open lab benches or 

floors. These hoods have working bench surfaces which are fringed with slightly raised beveled edges, 

serving as convenient wide-area containment trays. 

There are as many ways to clean up spills as there are chemicals. Consult the literature for your 

particular problem substances. Remember that many chemicals react strongly and dangerously with water, 

and that paper towels soaked with certain chemicals can be very flammable and too hazardous to deposit in 

the trash cans. 

Sweep the neutralized and absorbed material into a dust bin with a hand broom (located in the 

stockroom, room #110, if you don't have them in your lab) while wearing gloves and safety glasses. 

The most common spill adsorbent listed in the procedures in the CRC Hazardous Laboratory 

Chemicals Disposal Guide is a 1:1:1 mixture by weight of sodium carbonate, clay cat litter (bentonite), and 

sand. A large container of this material is kept in the prep room, # 103 and in the solvent room, #20. It is 

labeled as follows: 

Chemical Spill Adsorbent 

1:1:1 Sodium Bicarbonate, 

Kitty litter and Sand 

and keep it in a conspicuous area in your lab. You may use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) instead of 

sodium carbonate. The University Safety Response Team will also have large amounts of this material on 

hand. It will not always be appropriate to use this material. Again, it depends on what was spilled. Consult 

the literature and plan ahead. 

SPECIFIC EMERGENCY CHEMICAL SPILL INFORMATION 

FOR THE SPILL RESPONSE TEAM (SRT) AND GRADUATE STUDENTS 

Call 4329 or 4224 for immediate response from the University Safety Response Team for 

large spills. If the spill can be easily contained by you or your instructor or co-lab workers, 

obtain the CHEMICAL SPILL ABSORBENT material or baking soda boxes from the 

chemical prep room, #103 or the solvent room #20 (loading dock area). 

GO TO THESE TWO ROOMS BEFOREHAND AND NOTE THE LOCATION OF THIS 

MATERIAL FOR FUTURE REFERENCE. 

You will also find two large containers of Calcium carbonate, 2 bottles of 5% hydrochloric 

acid solution, bottles of sodium bisulfite, and calcium sulfate. 

Hydrofluoric acid spills should be completely neutralized with 5 to 10% solutions of lime 

water (calcium hydroxide), two bottles of which you will find in room #103, along with a case 

of solid calcium hydroxide. DO NOT BREATHE FUMES OF HF! Be extremely careful 

with Hydrofluoric acid. Burns from this material are deeply penetrating and can be deadly, 

causing massive tissue damage. 

Kitty-liter cannot be used as a spill absorbent for Hydrofluoric acid, since it will react to 

form SiF4, a toxic and corrosive gas. Neither should you use sand, which will also react with 

it. 

Safety Response Team 

When the Safety Response Team (SRT) answers your call, among their questions will be the 

following: 

115

a) Is your spill large enough to justify a special trip? Are you in a position to clean 

up the spill yourself? (Overreacting is not a good idea!) 

b) What is the location of the Research Director or teacher for your group? 

c) Can you communicate to us the means of chemically neutralizing your 

particular spill? If not, are you willing to help anyway? If you are willing to work 

with lab chemicals, you had better be willing to help clean up your own spills. The 

SRT people have the right to leave if you are not willing to help. 

In general, spills of over 5 gallons of non-corrosive organic solvents or over one 

gallon of corrosive organic solvents justify a response from the SRT. 

Ruptures or leaks of the fifty-five gallon drums of acetone in room #20, the 55 gallon 

drums marked “Hazardous Waste” of waste organic solvents in the Solvent Room, or the 

numerous 5 gallon smaller drums of organic solvents in that room also warrant a visit from 

the SRT. They can all be absorbed with a 1:1:1 mixture of sand, kitty litter, and sodium 

bicarbonate. 

Spills of aqueous inorganic salts don’t ordinarily require an SRT response, since 

they do not normally exhibit corrosive properties or fumes. Mineral acids must be 

neutralized, however, and the more acidic they are, the more corrosive they are going to be. 

They should first be diluted with water. 

When the SRT arrives, they will be wearing respirators, thick gloves and boots, or 

possibly self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). They will probably “dike” the spill, 

i.e., surround it with a small mound or dike of absorbent material. Organic solvents will in 

general be absorbed with a 1:1:1 mixture of sand, kitty-litter, and sodium bicarbonate, as 

will aqueous mineral acids and corrosive organic acids. 

If you cannot answer their questions about the particular chemical spilled, you 

should at least try to find someone who does, and you must participate in helping with spill 

containment. 

The first thing the SRT will do is attempt to locate spill absorbing information for 

the particular chemical involved. If they cannot locate it in their copy of the CRC, 

Hazardous Laboratory Chemicals Disposal Guide, they may need your advice. In the event 

that they can find it in the book, the relevant section in CRC for that particular chemical 

under its alphabetical chemical name listing is “spillage disposal”. 

If a spill response team member cannot readily identify a spilled chemical, they will 

employ the following method: 

(a) Dike the spill with 1:1:1 mixture of sand, kitty-litter, and sodium bicarbonate 

(b) Cautiously reach toward the spill and sprinkle above mixture onto surface of 

liquid. If vigorous fuming and reaction occurs, back-off and reconsider the 

situation (you at least know that the solution is acidic). Then sprinkle a little 

water on the spill. Does water dissolve in the solvent? If so, dilute it with more 

water and then dump enough 1:1:1 absorbent material on the spill to fully 

absorb it. Let it dry awhile, then sweep it into a container for storage. It is 

preferable to store it in a hood. If water reacts violently with the solvent, 

carefully dump the absorbent material only (without diluting with water), over 

the pool solvent while attempting to keep as much distance between yourself 

and any fumes generated. Use the 1:1:1 mixture of sand, kitty-litter, and 

sodium bicarbonate as a nearly universal absorbent. If it does not work as well 

as it should, at least it will absorb the material until you can find the right way 

to neutralize the liquid. Spread the mixture on the spill and carefully scoop it 

into one of your white polyethylene trays. Then put it in a nearby hood and 

keep it there until you find someone who can tell you how to neutralize it. 

(c) If you can’t find the name of the chemical in the CRC Waste Disposal Book, ask 

a nearby graduate student or professor to point out chemicals which are named 

in the book, which most closely resemble the spilled chemicals in terms of 

chemical property or structure. 

116

K. Provisions for medical exams, consultation & exposure assessments 

written by Julianne Braun, grad student, and M. Thompson, Lab Manager 

1. A Guide to OSHA Air Concentration Acronyms 

OSHA regulations require workers to be guarded against excessive exposure to chemical vapors 

when working in a lab. If you are routinely exposed over the Permissible Exposure Level, you must request 

that the chemical vapor be monitored by the University appointed Industrial Hygienist. Before you decide 

whether or not a particular exposure situation in your laboratory requires air-monitoring, you must have a 

clear conception of what OSHA means by a permissible exposure level. They were derived from threshold 

limit values. 

Threshold limit values (TLVs) are definite numerical chemical air-concentration safety limits 

determined by the American Council of Governmental and Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH, an advisory data 

review agency) and are expressed in 3 different ways. They are quantitative limits to which lab workers 

may be exposed without adverse effects. The TLVs may take the form of Time Weighted Averages 

(TWAs), Short-term Exposure Limits (STELs), or Ceiling Limits (CLs). You may sometimes see these 

limits described in an incidental 4th way in MSDS sheets as NOEALs (No Observable Adverse Effect 

Levels). TWAs are usually based on 8-hour time periods. TWAs are not necessarily concentrations to 

which a person's exposure should not be exceeded at any point in time, but are really time weighted 

averages. For example, if a TWA is given as 100 parts per million, it may be OK to be exposed to 200 ppm 

for 4 hours and to 0 ppm for the next four hours (time weighted exposure would then be 200 ppm x 4 hours 

+ 0 ppm x 4 hours = 800 ppm divided by a total of 8 hours = 100 ppm). STELs are similar to TWAs, but 

are based on exposure for only 15 minutes. Ceiling Limits are levels which cannot be exceeded for any 

length of time, period. They are assigned for chemicals which are reported to be acutely toxic. 

"TWAs permit excursions above the TLV provided they are 

compensated by equivalent excursions below the TLV during the workday". 

"For the vast majority of substances with a TWA, there is not 

enough toxicological data available to warrant a STEL. Nevertheless, 

excursions above the TWA should be controlled even where the 8- hour TWA is 

within recommended limits". 

"Excursions in worker exposure levels may exceed 3 times the TLV 

for no more than a total of 30 minutes during a workday, and under no 

circumstances should they exceed 5 times the TLV, provided that the TWA is not 

exceeded." (Threshold Limit Values for Chemical Substances and Physical 

Agents in the workroom environments, ACGIH, 1995). 

When OSHA adopted the ACGIH threshold limit values (TLVs), confirming their validity by 

incorporating them into employee safety laws, they were subsequently referred to as permissible exposure 

levels (PELs). These are the legal concentrations of hazardous chemicals the government permits 

employees to be exposed to for the associated length of time. PELs include TWAs, STELs, and CLs. In 

addition, OSHA defined "action levels" as TWAs. There are many references in the relevant law in the 

code of Federal Regulations (29 CFR 1910. 1450 or "Laboratory Standard") to certain provisions for airmonitoring 

which go into effect when these values are exceeded in the lab. One encounters descriptions of 

employee exposure over the "action level (or in the absence of an action level, the PEL)". This essentially 

means that if a particular chemical hasn't been assigned a TWA, it is covered by one or the other type of 

PEL, namely a STEL or a CL. 

“Many of the newer legal limits established by OSHA include an action level concept, 

typically 50% of the OSHA PEL, at which an employer is to take action to reduce the 

level or to ensure that the 8-hour time-weighted PEL is not exceeded.” Furr, Keith A. 

CRC Handbook of Laboratory Safety, 4th Ed. Boca Raton, Fl: CRC Press, 1995, p. 414 

117

The PELs are listed in OSHA's so called "Subpart Z list", referenced as 29 CFR 1910.1000, 

Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances. Tables Z-1 through Z-3 are best seen at . TWAs, or "action 

levels", are listed for each particular chemical. In the absence of TWAs, CLs are listed. Chemicals which 

have STELs are referenced as Substance Specific Standard chemicals, located in 29 CFR 1910. 1001-1050. 

Units 

Caution should be used in determining whether or not the various regulatory limits for air contaminants 

have been exceeded. The majority of regulatory limits (as presented in the “Z” tables) are listed in two 

different sets of units: ppm-volume and mg/m 3 . The units are different, but the concentrations are the 

same! From the ideal gas law, PV=nRT, it can be seen that at atmospheric pressure and room temperature 

the volume of a gas, V, will be proportional only to the number of moles of the gas, n. Therefore when 

concentrations of an air contaminant are expressed as ppm(volume), what is being expressed is the volume 

of contaminant per million volumes of air which has nothing to do with the weight of the contaminant or the 

air. When contaminant concentrations are expressed as mg/m 3 , the molecular weight of the contaminant is 

important. To convert ppm(volume) to mg/m 3 , the following equation can be used. Note that this equation 

is valid at 1 atmosphere pressure and 25 degrees Centigrade. If you are measuring concentrations at high 

altitudes where pressure is lower or in rooms where the temperature is much warmer or cooler than 25 

degrees, the number of liters of volume occupied by one mole of a gas may be recalculated from the ideal 

gas law. 

mg Liters of contaminant grams 1 mole 1000 Liters 

� � � � � 

3 3 

m 1,000,000 

Liters of air mole 24. 45 Liters 1 meter 

1000 

1 

Note that the million from the ppm(volume) cancels the 1000 L/m 3 x 1000 mg/g so the equation can be 

simplified to 

2. Air Monitoring 

mg 

� ppm � molecular weight � 

3 

m 

1 

24. 45 

mole 

Liters 

OSHA requires two types of air monitoring when substances for which PELs have been adopted 

are in use. The first type is "initial monitoring". As indicated in 29CFR1910.1450(d)(1), the employer 

must "measure the employee's exposure to any substance regulated by a standard which requires monitoring 

if there is reason to believe that exposure levels for that substance routinely exceed the action level (or in 

the absence of an action level, the PEL)". The key to this is whether or not a standard exists for that 

substance and whether or not there is reason to believe that exposure levels routinely exceed the standard. 

Because of the way OSHA defines action level, it is appropriate to interpret TWA as "action level". For 

instance, if you use something in a lab only once, there's no point in taking air samples to determine an 

exposure level because by the time you've analyzed the samples the exposure will have ended. On the other 

hand, if you routinely perform a particular procedure involving a substance for which a PEL has been 

established, the concentration to which you are exposed during that procedure should be measured. 

The second type of air monitoring is "periodic monitoring". As indicated in 29CFR1910.1450(d), 

the employer must "comply with exposure monitoring provisions of the relevant standard" if the initial 

monitoring discloses employee exposure over the action level (or in the absence of an action level, the 

PEL). This essentially means that if initial monitoring shows that any of the concentration limits are 

exceeded, then the air concentration of that particular chemical should be measured periodically on a 

regular schedule. The frequency of monitoring varies according to the specific substance being monitored 

and how often the procedure that results in exposure is used in the lab. 

mg 

g 

118

If and when air-monitoring in your laboratory becomes necessary according to the above criteria, 

inform the Chemistry Department Laboratory Manager or the WFU Safety Director so that an Industrial 

Hygienist may be contracted to install air pumps and air sampling tubes. 

Alternately, the Chemistry Department can purchase constant flow air sampler pumps (from SKC 

Company, model # 224-PCXR4) and Drager air sampling tubes from SKC or Fisher Scientific Company. 

Please contact Mr. Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director], for 

specific details on training for air-monitoring devices. 

Air-monitoring is critical if you cannot readily reduce the exposure. You must take steps to ensure 

that you are working below the PEL, as soon as possible. For starters, it is suggested that you either do all 

of your work in a hood or devise engineering controls mentioned elsewhere in this manual to reduce 

exposure. 

3. Medical Monitoring 

There are 3 circumstances under which the employer must provide the opportunity for medical 

monitoring due to chemical exposure. These are: 

1. When an employee develops signs or symptoms associated with a hazardous chemical to 

which the employee may have been exposed in the laboratory. 

2. When air monitoring reveals an exposure level routinely above the action level (or in the 

absence of an action level, the PEL) for a regulated substance and 

3. When an event takes place such as a spill, leak, explosion or other occurrence resulting in the 

likelihood of a hazardous exposure. 

When there is an obvious need for treatment, medical monitoring is not applicable. First aid 

emergency information is covered in section III.K.4 of this manual. The medical monitoring requirement of 

the OSHA Lab Standard is designed to protect employees from long term exposure. 

When and if lab personnel experience any of the above 3 types of chemical exposure, an exposure 

assessment must be conducted. Fill out the appropriate section on the Accident Report Form, entitled 

"Exposure Assessment", which contains the following questions: 

* Which chemical, or chemicals, used by the lab worker resulted in the exposure? If unknown, 

which chemicals in the immediate vicinity of the exposure might have been responsible? 

* Describe the lab work situation which led to the exposure. How did physical contact with the 

chemical occur? 

* What safety devices, from hoods to safety glasses or gloves, etc., were or were not used during 

the exposure? 

* What signs or symptoms associated with chemical exposure were exhibited by the employee, 

such as skin rashes, unusually excessive allergies, breathing difficulties, corrosive injuries, etc. 

The medical monitoring begins with a "consultation". This entails filling out a 5 to 6 page long 

medical questionnaire (the questions are all included in the federal regulations as an appendix, and will be 

provided by the WFU Safety Director) which gets reviewed by a licensed physician who determines 

whether or not there is a need for a medical examination. The physician must prepare a written opinion and 

the employee must be notified and allowed to obtain a copy of the opinion. The opinion may call for 

examination and any appropriate medical tests which the employer must provide. The written opinion 

(based on consultation and/or any follow-up examinations and tests) shall not reveal specific findings of 

diagnoses unrelated to occupational exposure. 

119

4. Information Regarding Student First Aid and Medical Insurance 

Please note that two first aid kits are located in the chemistry stockroom, room #110, underneath 

the phone. This phone, # 4712, is for emergency use only. For minor emergencies (cuts, burns, minor eye 

and skin injuries, etc.) please call Student Health Services 24 hours a day during the regular semester at 

phone # 5218, but not at night during the summer sessions or during regular semester holiday periods. 

During these periods, call Concentra Medical Center at 4410 Providence Lane, Suite I (off North Point 

Boulevard), phone # 896-9999. Save 911 for more serious emergencies (breathing difficulties, deep 

lacerations, broken bones, injuries from fires, etc.) or medical emergencies that fall outside the range of 

operational hours with either Student Health Services or the Concentra Medical Center on North Point 

Boulevard. 

DO NOT WEAR CONTACT LENSES in laboratories with constant exposure to chemical vapors, 

especially organic solvent fumes. In addition to trapping chemical vapors and concentrating them between 

the lenses and the eye and causing irritation, washing out your eyes is impossible. It is better to wear 

prescription lenses for chemical lab work and cover them with Departmental “Wraparound‟ Safety Glasses 

or full size goggles. 

Teaching Assistants and Professors who witness minor student accidents should assist insofar as 

they are able and then transport or otherwise accompany the individual to Student Health Services on the 

ground floor of the Reynolds Gymnasium. More serious accidents may require transportation of the victim 

to Concentra Medical Center at 4410 Providence Lane, Suite I (off North Point Blvd., phone # 896-9999). 

A Chemistry Department accident report form must be completed for all Chemistry Department accidents. 

Forms are located in the black filing cabinet in the stockroom # 110. 

All undergraduate students should have health insurance before enrolling for classes. The following 

information regarding student health insurance is provided by the University at: 

http://www.wfu.edu/administration/fas/ar/student_health_insurance.html 

“Wake Forest University is concerned that all students have adequate health insurance coverage. For 

students not covered under a parent's health plan, we strongly suggest obtaining insurance coverage. A 

Student Injury and Sickness Plan is available through Student Resources. A summary of the coverage and 

benefits of this plan is available on their website at www.student-resources.net. Wake Forest does not offer 

or sponsor any plan of insurance, and this link is provided so that you might make an informed choice. Each 

student is urged to investigate available options and determine which health insurance company has a policy 

best suited to their particular needs.” Contact Student Health Services (at phone # 5218) for any further 

questions you may have regarding student health insurance options. 

All graduate students are required to have health insurance before enrolling in classes. Information and 

enrollment forms are located at the Graduate School website: 

http://www2.wfubmc.edu/graduate/RChealth.html. Research students, either graduate or undergraduate, 

who are officially paid by the university and have accidents should take a copy of the completed Chemistry 

Department Accident Report form with them to the Human Resources Department in Reynolda Hall, room 

# 21, phone # 4945, where they will fill out yet another form, the “First Report of Incident” form, with Ms. 

Mimi Komos for insurance purposes. 

Any research workers in the Department not formally enrolled and not being paid by the 

University (i.e., visiting Post-Doctorates, students from other schools, etc.) are not automatically covered by 

University insurance and are not eligible for worker‟s compensation claims. They are responsible for 

obtaining their own medical insurance. 

120

5. Worker’s Compensation Procedures and Reporting Information 

(From Mimi Komos at komosmd@wfu.edu or phone number 4945) 

Evaluations of on-the-job injuries and occupational illnesses are to be referred to Concentra Medical 

Center, located at 4410 Providence Lane, off North Point Boulevard. Concentra's hours of operation are 

Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

For non-life threatening situations that require medical evaluation immediately, report the illness or injury 

to the supervisor, Workers' Compensation Coordinator (x4945) and the Safety and Environmental Affairs 

Office (x4224 or x4329) before seeking appropriate medical attention. The Workers' Compensation 

Coordinator or the Safety and Environmental Affairs Office can be contacted for a referral appointment to 

Concentra Medical Center. 

In the event of a serious, life threatening situation, dial 911 and the appropriate medical professionals 

will direct and/or transport patients to the Baptist Hospital Emergency Care Facility. The Safety Response 

Team can be dispatched to the scene for immediate assistance, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. by 

calling Facilities Management Customer Service at x4255. In addition, when school is in session, the 

Student Response Team, under the direction of Dr. Cecil Price of Student Health Service, is available "after 

hours" and weekends by calling Campus Police at x5591. 

If a non-life threatening incident occurs after normal work hours, PrimeCare Medical Center, located at 

7811 North Point Boulevard, may be used as a back-up to Concentra. PrimeCare is open: 

8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Monday - Friday 

8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Saturday 

12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sunday 

A confidential First Report of Incident Report must be completed for all injuries or 

illnesses as soon as possible and submitted to the Workers‟ Compensation Coordinator (x4945). Copies of 

this and other Human Resources forms are available http://www.wfu.edu/hr/forms/index.html 

Claims inquiries are to be directed to Risk Management, Wake Forest University Baptist 

Medical Center by calling the Claims Manager, at 716-5575. If you have other questions or 

concerns regarding Workers' Compensation, please contact Mimi Komos at komosmd@wfu.edu 

or x4945. 

Additional information on this and other policies can be found through the World Wide Web at: 

http://www.wfu.edu/hr/policies/index.html 

121

6. Accident and Chemical Exposure Assessment Report 



Name of person(s) involved in accident or injury ___________________________________________ 

undergraduate student___ graduate student___ Date and time of accident/injury_______________ 

Was the individual(s) a university paid research student? yes____ no___ 

Was the individual(s) a faculty or university staff member? Yes___ no___ 

Where in Salem Hall did the accident occur? _____________________________________________ 

Was first aid administered? Yes_____ no____ If yes, by whom? __________________________ 

How was first aid administered? ________________________________________________________ 

Describe the accident and what caused it __________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

____________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

List witnesses to the accident, if any ______________________________________________________ 

What can be done to prevent this type of accident from happening again? ________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

___________________________________________________________________________________ 

Chemical Exposure Assessment (if applicable) 

* Which chemical or chemicals used by the lab worker resulted in the exposure? If unknown, 

which chemicals in the immediate vicinity of the exposure might have been responsible? 

* Describe the lab work situation which led to the exposure. How did physical contact with the 

chemical occur? 

* What safety devices, from hood to safety glasses or gloves, etc., were or were not used during 

the exposure? 

* What signs or symptoms associated with chemical exposure were exhibited by the employee, 

such as skin rashes, unusually excessive allergies, breathing difficulties, corrosive injuries, etc. 

WRITE ON BACK IF MORE SPACE NEEDED 

Signature of person injured or involved in accident ___________________________________________ 

Form completed by ________________________________________________ 

122

L. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Working with Hazardous 

Chemicals 

1. Sources of Chemical Risk Assessment Information for SOPs 

Several governmental entities regulate workplace chemical use. Many list various categories and 

classes of dangerous chemicals which do not necessarily coincide with those of other agencies. For 

example, the EPA‟s list of “extremely hazardous chemicals” contains fewer chemicals than OSHA‟s general 

description of extremely hazardous chemicals (“acutely toxic” hazardous chemicals), for which no official 

list exists. Nevertheless, all institutions must have safeguards in place for working with both EPA and 

OSHA regulated extremely hazardous chemicals. Carcinogens are regulated by several different agencies, 

none of whom agree entirely on a definitive all-inclusive listing. What follows is a summary description of 

all regulations which apply to the Chemistry Department‟s use of any chemical whatsoever. All 

research and undergraduate teaching laboratories in Salem Hall must provide students with standard 

operating procedures (SOPs) to be followed when laboratory work involves the use of hazardous chemicals. 

"The Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) must include the necessary work practices, 

procedures and policies to ensure that employees are protected from all potentially 

hazardous chemicals in use in their work area. Hazardous chemicals as defined by the 

final standard include not only chemicals regulated in 29 CFR part 1910, subpart Z, but 

also any chemical meeting the definition of hazardous chemical with respect to health 

hazards as defined in OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200" 

[from Federal Register, Vol. 55, No. 21, page 3300]. 

"Hazardous Chemical means any chemical which is a physical hazard or a health 

hazard". 

"Physical hazard means a chemical for which there is scientifically valid evidence 

that is a combustible liquid, a compressed gas, explosive, flammable, an organic peroxide, 

an oxidizer, pyrophoric, unstable (reactive) or water reactive". 

"Health hazard means a chemical for which there is statistically significant 

evidence based on at least one study conducted in accordance with established scientific 

principles that acute or chronic health effects may occur in exposed employees." (29, CFR 

1910. 1200, Hazard Communication Standard). 

The OSHA Laboratory Standard, the final standard, (29 CFR 1910.1450), defines a hazardous 

substance as 

". . .a chemical for which there is statistically significant evidence based on at 

least one study conducted in accordance with established scientific principles 

that acute or chronic health effects may occur in exposed employees. The 

term health hazard includes chemicals which are carcinogens, toxic or highly 

toxic agents, reproductive toxins, irritants, corrosives, sensitizers, hepatotoxins 

nephrotoxins, neurotoxins, agents which act on the hematopoietic systems and 

agents which damage the lungs, skin, eyes, or mucous membranes." 

As you can see, the law is rather insistent that you consider any and all aspects of a chemical’s 

hazardous properties in preparing a Standard Operating Procedure for working with it. You should also 

notice that many of these laws overlap or use previous laws as the basis of newer ones. 

123

In addition to consulting those chemicals listed as hazardous laboratory air contaminants in 

OSHA's subpart Z – list: 

(again, see http://www.osha-slc.gov/OshStd_toc/OSHA_Std_toc_1910_SUBPART_Z.html),hazardous 

chemicals can generally be identified by reading the MSDS sheet for the particular chemical. These MSDS 

sheets are located in the stockroom, room # 110, Salem Hall. This room is accessible 24 hours a day 

(via the Salem Hall Submaster Key “SM” issued to all graduate students and all Research 

Undergraduate students in the event the door is locked). Health evaluation studies, epidemiological 

data, and toxicity assessments listed on these sheets clearly state whether or not a particular chemical is 

hazardous, based on the above definitions. 

Two other special categories of hazardous chemicals are addressed in Salem Hall's Chemical 

Hygiene Plan. These are particularly hazardous chemicals and a list of about 30 chemicals for which 

OSHA has "Substance Specific Standards" (29 CFR 1910. 1001-1050). They require more involved 

handling procedures and more elaborate means of containment, such as using "designated areas", i.e., 

special fume hoods and glove boxes, all of which are described specifically on page # 48 of this manual. 

“Substance Specific Standard” chemicals are usually carcinogens and can generally be handled the same 

way as one would handle carcinogens regarded as “particularly hazardous chemicals.” In any case, the 

laboratory manager will tell you whether you have any such carcinogens in your chemical inventory. 

Consult other sources of toxicity information kept in the chemistry department Stockroom, 

room # 110, such as Lenga, Robert E. Sigma-Aldrich Library of Chemical Safety Data, 2nd edition. 

Milwaukee, WI: Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, 1988. Read Chapter 3 of Prudent Practices, 2nd edition, 

pages 29-60. In particular, follow the "Quick Guide to Risk Assessment For Hazardous Chemicals" 

information found on page 47. 

A very good reference for toxic hazards for particular chemicals is kept in the Chemistry 

Department Stockroom, room # 110, for your reference: 

Patnaik, Pradyot. A Comprehensive Guide to the Hazardous Properties of Chemical 

Substances. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. 

Consult the following book for hazards due to reactivity for particular chemicals, which is kept in 

the Chemistry Department Stockroom for your reference: 

Urben, P.G., ed. Bretherick’s Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, 4th edition. 

Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd., 1995. 

Another good hazardous chemical reference is: 

Lewis, Richard J., Sr. Hazardous Chemicals Desk Reference, 3rd edition. New York: 

Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993. 

See the “Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals” handout for undergraduate Organic 

Chemistry labs listed in the training section of this manual for a good summary of toxicity of broad classes 

of chemicals. 

One other book you will find useful in preparing SOP‟s for Organic reaction setup techniques, 

elaborate glassware descriptions, etc., is Harwood, L.M. and Moody, C.J. Experimental Organic 

Chemistry: Principles and Practice. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications, 1989. Dr. Mark Welker 

has a copy. 

The American Chemical Society sometimes publishes letters from chemists regarding unpublished 

chemical accident reports, some of which involve accidents in “cutting edge” or current academic and 

industrial chemical research. See the Chemical & Engineering News “Safety Notes Index” (1976-1989) for 

an index of past issues (a hardcopy of which appears in the Departmental Chemical Hygiene Plan in the 

stockroom, room 110), and the following ACS web site for more current issues. 

You must be an ACS member to access this site. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/safety/index.html 

124

2. Summary of Regulated Chemicals Covered by this CHP 

1. OSHA regulated air-contaminants list, as elaborated in section III.K.1 of this manual. 

This essentially regulates any and all chemicals which require air-monitoring when 

continually released over and above their threshold limit value (TLV) in your lab or 

work area as a result of poor work habits or improper ventilation. The specific list of 

chemicals, referred to as OSHA Z-list substances, is found in: 

http://www.osha-slc.gov/OshStd_toc/OSHA_Std_toc_1910_SUBPART_Z.html 

2. OSHA Particularly Hazardous Chemicals, described in section III.F.1 of this manual: 

carcinogens 

teratogens/mutagens 

acutely toxic hazardous chemicals 

Carcinogens and mutagens/teratogens will be listed in the web site of your chemical 

inventory (http://www.wfu.edu/chem/cheminventory/index.html) 

and in the departmental MSDS sheet inventory, which includes chemicals used in all 

laboratories (a hardcopy of which will be in the Chemistry Department Stockroom, 

room # 110). Acutely toxic hazardous chemicals are not defined clearly by OSHA and 

will here be meant to apply generally to all chemicals in the Departmental inventory 

with HMIS/NFPA toxicity ratings of 3 or 4 (See the HMIS/NFPA hazard rating 

descriptions in the Training Section of this manual). 

3. OSHA “Substance Specific Standard Chemicals”, most of which are carcinogens. 

Again, if you have any of them in your lab, they will be identified in your laboratory 

inventory as carcinogens. 

http://www.osha-slc.gov/OshStd_toc/OSHA_Std_toc_1910_SUBPART_Z.html 

4. Chemicals which require prior approval before use by students within each lab in Salem 

Hall. The Lab Standard requires such a list to be generated by the chemistry 

department. It is located in section III.E of this manual. 

5. The list of OSHA P-listed extremely hazardous waste, which should be consulted to 

determine whether your lab generates chemical waste which is heavily regulated and 

should only be produced by you in limited quantities. Also consult your research 

Professor for further determination of what constitutes extremely hazardous waste 

generated in your lab (access this list at http://www.epa.gov/docs/epacfr40/chapt- 

I.info/subch-I/40P0261.pdf, and go to Part 261.33) 

6. EPA’s list of “Extremely Hazardous Chemicals” listed only in the Lab Manager’s 

Departmental Chemical Hygiene Plan Manual. You will not ordinarily need this list 

since it is primarily meant as a “Community Right-to-Know law” source of information. 

This is a listing of what EPA regards as extremely hazardous and is reported only when 

amounts over and above a certain “reportable amount” are spilled by the institution. 

Since we have only very small amounts, this should not be a problem. 

http://www.epa.gov/docs/epacfr40/chapt-I.info/subch-J/40P0302.pdf 

(go to Table 302.4) 

125

3. An Introduction to Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) 

A Standard Operating Procedure is a written statement clearly establishing the means by which you 

will maintain air concentrations of hazardous chemicals below the OSHA Permissible Exposure Level 

(PEL) for regulated chemicals in subpart Z, Substance Specific Standard chemicals, and particularly 

hazardous chemicals. It must also include the means by which you will protect yourself against all other 

nonspecific hazardous chemicals, whether they are health hazards or physical hazards, as defined previously 

in this section. 

Examples of SOPs would include procedures for using laboratory instruments or mechanical 

processes involving preparation of chemicals such as distillation of common laboratory solvents, 

repetitional separatory solvent extractions, unusually complicated chemical reactions, high-temperature oil 

bath heating techniques, use and handling of various classes of dangerous chemicals, use of rotaryevaporators, 

hazardous purification methods, etc., etc. Be sure to include any relevant information 

concerning types of gloves, personal protection equipment, the use of hoods, etc. 

The following Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are composed of both generally applicable 

procedures for all labs in Salem Hall and specific procedures meant for your lab only. A collection of all 

departmental SOPs will be kept in the chemistry department stockroom, room 110, on file with the MSDS 

sheets. Research students or faculty members are encouraged to add new SOPs as needed to this section of 

your particular manual. Please post a copy in the Departmental Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) in the 

stockroom with the laboratory manager. 

They can be written in any manner you wish, as long as the relevant safety information is 

effectively communicated to everyone. You can prepare monolithic literary harangues, short terse 

summaries, specific references to monographs kept near the CHP in your lab (such as your ever 

present copy of Prudent Practices, 2nd edition), chemical or instrumental company MSDS sheets, or 

operating manuals, or simple concise statements. 

126

4. SOPs for all laboratories of Salem Hall 

Laboratory Distillations at Atmospheric Pressure 

Distillation is the traditional method of purifying a chemical liquid. It is also used to separate one 

component in a liquid mixture from another. Distillation in most laboratories of Salem Hall involves 

refluxing volatile liquids at atmospheric or normal air pressure from a distilling flask through a "simple" or 

short path still head, or a longer "fractional" vertically held column, into a slightly downward angled 

condenser with a water-cooled jacket into receiving flasks. 

Many different sizes and shapes of distillation heads and columns exist in chemical laboratories, 

but all adhere to the same basic principles of safe use. Trouble can arise mainly from excess pressure buildup 

due to too rapid heating and unsafe use of flammable solvents, resulting in fires. In general, common 

high-boiling or nontoxic solvents can be distilled on lab benches, with efficient condenser jacket watercooling. 

Very low-boiling or more toxic compounds should be distilled only in a fume hood. 

Begin by attaching the water inlet hose on the lower water jacket inlet on the condensing column. 

The thermometer bulb should be placed just below the level of the roughly horizontal side arm of the 

distillation head. Just enough heat should be added to the distillation flask to raise the level of reflux only 

as high as the side arm. Additional heat is not needed. 

Do not completely fill the flask with liquid. A half-full or, at most, two-thirds full level is safer. 

Be sure all joints are tight, with grease if needed, and that the entire apparatus is well clamped and 

supported by ring stands. Fumes leaking through loose joints could come into contact with the heat source 

and cause a fire. 

Add boiling stones for atmospheric pressure distillations. More even boiling can be achieved with 

use of magnetic stir-bars. You should certainly use stirring for high boiling or very toxic compounds. Add 

boiling stones and stir bars to cool solutions, before you begin heating. Dropping cold boiling chips 

through a condenser into hot solutions will result in very rapid boiling and has been known to cause boilover 

of liquid through the top of the condenser. 

Ordinarily, you should raise the heating mantel on a platform, or "lab jack" so that you may 

quickly remove the source of heat if the liquid "bumps" uncontrollably or loss of vapor occurs through the 

top of the condenser. Heat sources ordinarily used in Salem Hall undergraduate organic labs include bare 

corning stirrer/hotplates, on low thermostat settings of about "3", with distilling flasks just touching or just 

above the surface and surrounded in a funnel of aluminum foil. Research labs make use of various types of 

heat sources, including heating mantels attached to variable transformers and oil baths on hotplates. When 

using oil baths, do not overheat the oil. 

The receiving flask should be of such design as to efficiently receive the condensed liquid through 

the receiving adapter. Vacuum adapters can be used for water-aspirator vacuum distillations or inert 

atmosphere applications. Gas cylinders of nitrogen or argon are commonly attached via hoses to reaction 

stills with appropriate regulators and fittings. 

Never heat a closed vessel. Always have some means of venting heated gasses through distillation 

setups. One could also attach a hose to the vacuum adapter and direct it into a hood for more effective 

removal of any uncondensed vapors which may escape from normal atmospheric pressure distillation. 

Purging of distillation apparatus with inert gasses while distilling is sometimes employed in research 

laboratories. Make sure to include some sort of "safety valve". 

Surround the receiving flask in an ice bath to further condense very volatile organic compounds. 

127

Make sure coolant is running through the condenser before you start heating the liquid. The rate of 

distillation, as determined by the number of condensed drops falling into the receiving flasks, should be 

relatively low, a few drops per second. Do not distill to dryness or "superheating" of the flask will occur, 

either cracking the glass or leaving a "tarry" residue which may be very flammable or even explosive. 

Potentially reactive or explosive solvents should be distilled behind transparent explosion shields 

(Instruments for Research and Industry, Inc. Catalog #D-15-29 PC, about $325, phone #1-215-379-3333). 

One is kept in room # 103 for emergencies. Your research advisor should obtain one if you feel it is 

necessary for any phase of your work. 

Refill liquid in the receiving flask or disassemble the entire setup only when the glassware has 

cooled down from the previous distillation. 

128

Compressed Gas Cylinders 

Gas cylinders in the Chemistry Department are generally received and stored in the loading dock 

area and secured upright in specially made cylinder racks labeled "Full Compressed Gas Cylinders". 

Flammable gases (like Hydrogen) and inert nitrogen and argon gases are kept here. A wall separates them 

from another incoming storage area near room #20, labeled: "Full Oxygen and Air Compressed Gas 

Cylinders" for industrial grade air and oxygen cylinders. A cylinder rack for empty cylinders, labeled 

"Empty Cylinders" is located next to room #19. Please be certain that the cylinders left in the empty rack 

are indeed empty (no cylinder should be completely emptied - see rules below). 

LEAKING COMPRESSED GAS CYLINDERS OR NATURAL GAS JETS IN LABORATORIES. 

If a large compressed gas cylinder or lecture bottle in your lab begins to leak, decide first of all 

whether it is a harmful gas or an inert one. Unless it is too dangerous to breathe, attempt to stop the 

leak before taking it to the loading dock area and calling security. If the leak occurs around the stem 

of a large cylinder, carefully load it onto a cylinder cart and take it to the loading dock. Call 

National Welders, Inc., Winston-Salem (744-0100) for immediate advice and cylinder removal. It 

might be wise to leave the cylinder on the cart outside the loading dock doors. The Winston-Salem 

office of National Welders will call their Charlotte Safety Division (headed by Randy Miller, 704- 

644-7513, or Ken Boyte, 704-644-3266) for especially difficult compressed gas cylinder leaks. If 

natural gas odor permeates your lab room from a gas jet leak which you cannot stop, try to open 

windows before calling security and leaving the room. Such leaks are an especially hazardous source 

of fire. 

Follow these rules when using compressed gas cylinders: 

* Identifying labels should be kept in place on cylinders. Missing labels on old lecture bottles 

spell trouble - get with your research advisor or the lab manager, find out definitely what the gas is by one 

means or another and label it! Keep lecture bottles in ventilated lower hood cabinets when not in use. 

* Store flammable gases like hydrogen away from oxidizers and corrosives, like oxygen and 

hydrogen chloride gas or ammonia. 

* Do not use inappropriate hose material as dispensing tubes from gas cylinder regulators. 

Corrosive gases may destroy rubber or latex tubing. Tygon tubing should perhaps be used instead, or 

copper or stainless steel, or some other non-corroding material. 

* When cylinders are no longer in use, take off their regulators, cap them with valve caps, and 

take them back to the loading dock holding area. It is your responsibility to make certain full cylinders are 

stored in the "full cylinder" racks and empty cylinders are placed in the "empty cylinder" racks. Do not 

allow unused cylinders to accumulate in your laboratory. 

Corroded cylinder valve stems, gas line fittings, or regulators are a source of danger and should be 

exchanged for better quality equipment. 

* Handle gas cylinders with extreme care. They are, of course, under a great deal of pressure and 

would transform themselves into fairly powerful missiles if the valve stem on top were to be sheared off. 

This could conceivably happen if they were dropped, especially if the valve stem falls against something on 

the way down. This will only be prevented if you endeavor to keep the valve cap on when moving the 

cylinder. 

* Take the regulator off the cylinder before you even consider taking the cylinder somewhere else. 

Move the cylinder on one of the two-wheeled chain cylinder dollies located in the loading dock area. Chain 

the cylinder and push the cart slowly. Never, never move a cylinder without a threaded valve cap cover 

attached. 

* Never leave cylinders unstrapped in the lab. Secure them against a wall or a lab bench. 

* Keep track of where you store cylinder caps for cylinders being presently used. 

129

* Do not grease or oil the regulator thread of a cylinder valve. Oil on a gas cylinder thread will 

soon be under very high pressure. If the gas reacts at all with organic material, this could lead to an 

explosion. This is especially true for Oxygen gas cylinders. Teflon tape can be used on the outlet side of 

the regulator, but not on the primary fitting connection between the regulator and the cylinder. 

* Never use a cylinder without an attached regulator. 

* Add flashback arresters to oxygen and hydrogen cylinders when used for torches for 

glassblowing or glass working. Flashback occurs when flames actually traverse through the gas line back to 

the cylinder outlet. 

* Do not completely empty a cylinder before returning it to the loading dock area. Slight positive 

pressure (between say 5 and 15 psi) will keep atmospheric oxygen from contaminating the cylinder 

contents, so that the cylinder can be safely refilled by the gas cylinder supplier. 

* Do not over-tighten a hand-valve on a gas cylinder. If hand tightening will not completely close 

the valve, call the gas cylinder company for removal after taking it at once to the loading dock. 

* Do not over-tighten the hand-valve on the liquid nitrogen tank in the loading dock area when 

you are through dispensing liquid nitrogen. The pipe wrench attached to the wall is for opening frozen 

valves, not for closing the valve. The slightest extra pressure on the valve when closing may damage it. 

Over-tightening the valve will crush the Teflon seals inside the valve and when this happens, the valve has 

to be rebuilt. 

We have placed a pipe wrench near the liquid nitrogen tank, loading dock area, for use in 

loosening frozen valves, when opening them. Some people are using the wrench for closing the valve 

afterward, which naturally makes it harder for the next person to open it again. PLEASE DON’T OVER- 

TIGHTEN THE VALVE WHEN CLOSING IT, or we will remove the wrench. There is no need for 

anything other than hand-tightening to shut off the valve. Occasionally, this hand valve may freeze in the 

open position, while you are dispensing liquid nitrogen. This happens especially when you turn it wide 

open and take a great deal of liquid from the tank. Water vapor in the air, specially on a rainy day, will 

actually freeze in the valve and make it hard to close. In this case, it may be justifiable to use the pipe 

wrench to just “crack” or “break” the frozen hand valve, without tightening it shut, and then closing it the 

rest of the way with your hand (in an absolute emergency, you could even pour hot water over the hand 

valve to thaw it). 

The simplest thing to do, while wearing thick insulation gloves, is to gently turn the valve back and 

forth when you open it up all the way on - that way, it can’t freeze. 

Sometimes, the safety valve (connected to the pressure gauge, on the opposite side of the tank from 

the dispensing hand-valve) begins releasing high-pressure vapor, with a hissing sound. The safety valve 

opens when too much pressure builds up above the layer of liquid gas inside the tank. This happens usually 

just after the tank has been delivered since the temperature outside is a lot higher than inside the building 

and movement of the tank during transportation has caused buildup of pressure from rapid evaporation. 

When the pressure in the tank goes above 22 pounds per square inch (psi), the safety valve automatically 

opens. 

Sometimes this valve will frost over and freeze, again because of water moisture in the air freezing 

upon contact with liquid nitrogen. When this happens, open the vent valve (the hand valve connected to the 

safety valve with the pressure gauge attached) and bleed off a little pressure until the gauge reads about 18 

psi, at which point the emergency venting from the safety valve will stop. Alternately, you could 

actually pour hot water over the safety valve and thaw it. National Welders personnel occasionally do this. 

You can get the water from the loading dock sink. The lab manager will leave small buckets or pans under 

the sink for this purpose. 

Perhaps you can pour water from one bucket while catching it as it falls from the valve into another 

smaller bucket. 

130

Summary of Liquid N2 Instructions 

1. Wear thick gloves or mittens to hold metallic 

Delivery Hose and open dispensing Hand Valve. 

Alternatively, get a couple of thick cotton towels. 

2. The attached pipe wrench is for opening a frozen 

liquid-nitrogen cylinder hand valve, not closing it. 

When closing the valve, hand-tighten it only! 

3. If the valve freezes open while you are dispensing 

liquid nitrogen, use the pipe wrench to just 

“crack” or loosen the hand valve and then close it 

by hand only. Alternately, pour a little hot water 

on the valve to thaw the frozen seal. A water 

bucket is located under the sink in the loading 

dock area. 

4. If there is too much pressure in a full tank just 

after the trucks deliver it to the loading dock, 

excess nitrogen gas will automatically escape 

through the safety valve. If too much goes 

through, that valve may freeze. Open the 

adjacent vent valve and vent until the pressure 

gauge reads 18 psi. If both valves freeze shut 

while open, pour hot water over them, using the 

bucket under the sink in the loading dock area. 

131

Safe Installation and Use of Gas Cylinder Regulators 

Specific gases require specific regulators. Otherwise, gases incompatible with the metal of a 

particular regulator may corrode it or even rupture the seals and diaphragms within the regulator. Industrial 

standards are in place which generally prevent improper connections between cylinders containing 

particular gases and a multitude of regulators commercially available (e.g. different thread sizes, clockwise 

or counterclockwise thread, or other special connector fitting requirements). However, you should still be 

diligent in choosing the proper regulator. Consult the gas cylinder company catalog and your research 

director for advice. 

Follow these steps for setting up a regulator attachment (from “Operating Instructions for General 

Purpose and High Purity Regulators”, Form #0056-0901, 2/83, Victor Equipment Company). 

"Important Safety and Operating Instructions 

For General Purpose and High Purity Regulators 

“Do not use this regulator with gases other than those for which it is intended. 

“Do not attempt to operate this regulator unless you have been trained in its proper use 

or are under competent supervision. Do not use this apparatus unless you are familiar 

with the hazards associated with the gas you are using. 

“Oxygen is not flammable; however, the presence of pure oxygen will drastically 

increase the speed and force with which burning takes place. Oxygen must never be 

allowed to contact oil, grease or other petroleum-based substances; therefore, use no 

oil or grease on regulator, cylinder, valves or equipment. Do not use or store near 

excessive heat (over 125 degrees F or 51.5 degrees C) or open flame. 

Setting Up Equipment 

1. “Secure cylinder to wall, stand or cart so it will not tip over or fall. 

2. Remove the protective dust seal from the cylinder valve. 

3. Inspect the cylinder valve for traces of dirt, dust, oil or grease. Remove dirt and 

dust with a clean cloth. NOTE: If oil or grease is detected, DO NOT use cylinder. 

(See warning note above.) Inform your gas supplier of this condition immediately. 

4. Inspect the regulator for damaged threads, dirt, dust, oil or grease. Remove dirt 

or dust with a clean cloth. NOTE: If oil or grease is detected or if threads are 

damaged, DO NOT use the regulator. Have your distributor or an authorized 

repair station clean the regulator and/or repair the damage before using. 

Installing the Regulator 

1. Make sure the regulator has the proper CGA inlet fitting to fit the cylinder valve. 

If the connection is so equipped, make sure the flat sealing washer is in place 

between the regulator and the cylinder valve outlet. Attach the regulator to the 

cylinder valve outlet. The treads may be either right hand or left hand depending 

on the cylinder and regulator connections. Regulator inlet connections with left 

hand threads have a “V” notch machined into the hexagonal nut fitting to signify 

a left hand thread. 

2. Tighten the regulator inlet nut securely. 

3. Make proper connection to outlet of regulator valve or fitting. 

4. Before opening the cylinder valve, release the tension on the regulator adjusting 

spring by turning the adjusting knob in a counterclockwise (decreasing gas flow) 

direction. 

Turning on the Cylinder 

1. Be sure that tension on regulator adjusting spring is released. After all pressure 

has been drained, release all tension on the pressure adjusting knob by turning it 

counterclockwise (decreasing) until the knob turns freely. Stand so the cylinder 

valve is between you and the regulator. NOTE: Never stand in front or in back of 

a regulator when opening the cylinder valve. Slowly turn the valve handle in a 

counterclockwise direction until you hear the gas begin to flow into the regulator. 

Wait about 10 seconds, then turn the cylinder valve fully open. 

2. To check for leaks, close the cylinder valve and observe the high pressure gauge 

for five minutes. If the high pressure gauge reading drops, there is a leak in the 

132

cylinder valve, inlet fitting, high pressure gauge, or regulator seat. If the high 

pressure gauge does drop, retighten the regulator-to-cylinder connection and 

repeat Step 1. Should the high pressure gauge continue to drop after retightening 

the regulator-to-cylinder connection, the regulator must be removed and returned 

for service. 

“Never attempt to tighten a cylinder valve or any parts of the valve. If the cylinder 

valve is leaking, place the cylinder outdoors and notify the cylinder supplier 

immediately. 

3. Keep the cylinder valve closed at all times, except when the regulator is in use. 

Adjusting Regulator 

Delivery Pressure and Flow 

1. After the regulator has been securely attached to the cylinder and no leaks exist 

(see previous sections), adjust the delivery pressure to the desired pressure setting 

by turning the adjusting knob in a clockwise (increasing) direction until the 

desired pressure is reached. 

2. If the regulator is equipped with an outlet valve (or needle valve), flow can be 

regulated by proper adjustment of the valve. 

Turning Off Cylinder Valve 

“When you have finished using the regulator, close the cylinder by turning the handle 

in a clockwise direction and allow all pressure to drain from the regulator. Gas will 

cease to flow and the pointers on both pressure gauges will indicate “0” when all 

pressure has been drained from the regulator. After all pressure has been drained, 

release all tension on the pressure adjusting knob by turning it counterclockwise 

(decreasing) until the knob turns freely. Turn the outlet valve, if so equipped, in a 

clockwise direction to turn off valve. 

Removing Regulator 

1. “It is not necessary to remove the regulator unless the cylinder is being moved or 

an empty cylinder is being exchanged for a full one. 

2. NEVER attempt to remove the regulator if any pressure is showing on either 

pressure gauge. Turn the cylinder valve handle clockwise and allow all pressure 

to drain from regulator. Gas will cease to flow and the pointers on both pressure 

gauges will indicate “0” when all pressure has been drained from the regulator. 

After all pressure has been drained, release the tension on the pressure adjusting 

knob by turning it counterclockwise (decreasing) until the knob turns freely. 

3. Remove the regulator from the cylinder and replace the protective cap on the 

cylinder.” 

Information on Aldrich regulators can be obtained at: 

https://www.sigma-aldrich.com/aldrich/bulletin/al_techbull_al151.pdf 

Again, remember that specific regulators are made for each gas used in the lab, and that some 

regulator inlet CGA fittings employ left-handed thread rather than right-handed thread. You will see a "V" 

notch on the outlet nut fitting for left-handed thread. 

If the thread is right-handed, the hexagonal outlet nut fitting will not be so notched, and you can 

remove the regulator using a wrench by loosening the fitting in a normal counterclockwise direction 

(meaning toward the left as one faces the outlet), or as one anonymous graduate student put it, "Rightie 

tightie, lefty, loosie". 

DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN regulator fittings while installing them onto the tanks. This may 

damage the thread. Slightly more than a good hand-tightening is really all they need. The “ball and socket” 

fitting is constructed so as to compress and automatically seal when the tank valve is opened so that the gas 

pressure actually tightens the seal, since the metal surfaces at the point of contact are made of malleable 

brass or chrome-plated brass. Even if you did not tighten it enough, nothing worse than a loud hiss of 

escaping gas would occur - after all, you would not expect the regulator to dislodge itself, like an unwinding 

propeller, would you? Most people overtighten regulators, making removal difficult and dangerous. 

Pounding on a wrench handle to remove regulators is unwise. 

Again, in reference to the “ball and socket” joint connection between the regulator inlet shaft and 

the cylinder outlet stem - After the male-threaded regulator and female-threaded cylinder fittings are 

connected, this is the airtight seal between the two pieces of equipment. This is the area which requires the 

most cleaning. Sometimes microscratches develop in the “ball and socket” area, resulting in slow gas leaks. 

133

Test for leaks anywhere by squirting soapy water (such as “Snoop” brand name solution) onto the fitting. If 

a steady stream of bubbles appears, loosen the fitting, tilt the angle of the regulator slightly, and retighten. 

The leak would not happen unless scratches from both surfaces coincide – changing the angle of metal-tometal 

contact lessens the probability of matching microscratches. 

Teflon tape used on the attachment fitting between regulator and cylinder does nothing to improve 

the seal between the surfaces of the “ball and socket” joint. Hence, tape should be avoided, except for gas 

line fittings which employ thread only, such as regulator outlets, or needle valves on the outlet side of the 

regulator, or gas line connectors further down the gas line, away from the regulator and cylinder. Likewise, 

teflon tape can be used to tighten pipe (NPT) thread fittings in gas lines, since these tapered thread fittings 

are constructed so as to seal at the threaded metal surfaces. Swagelok fittings seal when the front and back 

ferrules within the fitting press against each other – which cannot happen if they are separated by teflon 

tape. DO NOT use teflon tape on Swagelok fittings. 

The Lab Manager has a useful book entitled “Swagelok Tube Fitter’s Manual” which you are 

welcome to consult whenever you wish. The following web site list very good directions for working with 

swagelok fittings: http://www.swagelok.com/ and click on “Products”, “Catalogs”, “Fittings-Tube”, 

“Connects tubing to tubing”, and, finally, any one of the remaining options, such as “Reducing Union 

Tees”, and on to “Assembly/Installation” PDF files, such as those for adapters/ reducers “for one-and-aquarter 

inch & 25 mm and larger”sizes. 

See also the following helpful procedures if your lab has need of them: 

"Lightup and shut down procedure for oxygen fuel torch," National Welders Supply Company, 

Inc., PO Box 31007, Charlotte, NC 28231, phone # 1-800-866-4422. [located in the stockroom hardcopy 

of the CHP, room # 110] 

"Atomic Absorption Acetylene: Recommendation for Use," National Welders Supply Company, 

Inc., PO Box 31007, Charlotte, NC 28231, phone # 1-800-866-4422, Company memo from Gary Stiles to 

district managers. [located in the stockroom hardcopy of the CHP, room # 110] 

"Technical Information Bulletin #AL-167, Instructions for Using the Calibration-Gas Cylinder," 

Aldrich Chemical Company, 1001 West Saint Paul Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, phone # 1-800- 

558-9160. [located in the stockroom hardcopy of the CHP, room # 110] 

134

Laboratory Operations Involving Reduced Pressure or Vacuum 

Low pressure operations in the chemistry department are frequently used in research laboratories 

and less frequently in advanced undergraduate labs, with the exception of common vacuum filtration. 

Water aspirators in undergraduate labs can safety be used as sources of vacuum for filtration if 

heavy walled Erlenmeyer flasks are employed as the evacuation vessel. A supply of such flasks is kept in 

the stockroom. All students are assigned one for each lab class. It is generally a good idea to place a 

smaller "trap" 250 ml flask between the filter and the aspirator, so that water cannot be sucked back into the 

system if the water pressure should fall unexpectedly while filtering. Also, the filtrate solution can be 

trapped here if accidentally taken up into the vacuum line. 

Large glass vacuum desiccators should be taped on the surface with electricians tape in strips, so as 

to minimize flying glass from possible implosions. Only chemicals being dehydrated in order to be kept dry 

should be stored in a desiccator. When opening a desiccator that is under vacuum, make sure that 

atmospheric pressure has been restored first. A "frozen" desiccator lid can be loosened by using a singleedge 

razor blade as a wedge, which can then be tapped with a wooden block or gently with a hammer to 

raise the lid. 

Vacuum distillations can be performed in undergraduate laboratories using water aspirators as a 

vacuum source. Research labs sometimes make use of vacuum pumps. Problems with super-heating and 

sudden boiling, or "bumping", are more likely to occur with distillations under reduced pressure. It is 

therefore prudent to make use of magnetic stir bars. Boiling stones only increase bumping in this situation. 

Double-check all clamped fittings. Slowly close and open stopcocks to evacuate the apparatus. Implosions 

are possible under high vacuum, so use a safety shield, if your research advisor thinks it necessary. Allow 

the system to cool before allowing air into the apparatus. Oxygen may be all the material inside the flask 

needs for a small explosion of peroxides or other highly reactive material that has been concentrated in the 

distillate. Never distill to dryness! 

Vacuum pumps should not be used without cold traps to contain volatile vapors in the vacuum line 

before they mix with pump oil. Corrosive organic compounds naturally tend to destroy pump vanes if oil 

isn't changed frequently. 

Various devices containing mercury are used with vacuum apparatus. Manometers, McLeod 

gauges, and thermometers attached to such equipment can easily break or overturn, spilling mercury. 

Regularly inspect all mercury containing devices. Try to keep them in a plastic pan of sufficient volume to 

hold all of the mercury in case of a break. Use the mercury spill-kit hand pump located in the Chem. Dept. 

stockroom, #110 to clean up mercury spills and deposit it in the holding tray located in room #20, in the 

hood. 

135

Use of Reflux Condensers 

Both undergraduate organic laboratories and research laboratories frequently require the heating of 

liquid mixtures to facilitate chemical reactions. These mixtures are composed of reactants dispersed in 

organic solvents, usually in round-bottomed flasks capped by upright, jacketed water-filled glass tubes 

refereed to as reflux condensers. 

Common, generally nontoxic solvents can be refluxed on open laboratory benches. Ideally, 

however, all reflux condensers should be set up in a hood, in case too much heat is applied and vapors rise 

out of the condenser. Since boiling solvents do not increase in temperature, increasing the heat applied will 

only cause loss of solvent vapor, not an increase in reaction rate. A condensation level of 1 or 2 inches 

above the bottom of the condenser tube is all that is necessary. 

Tap water is cold enough for most refluxes. However, very low boiling solvents like acetone or 

ethyl ether may require ice-cooled water supplied with submersible lab pumps. Constant temperature waterbaths 

can also be used. 

The condensers should be placed vertically onto the round bottom heating flask and attached 

firmly to ring stands with metal clamps. The water inlet should be through the lower end of the condenser. 

Water hoses should be clamped onto water inlets/outlets on the condensers with Ace Glass wire hose 

clamps (located in the stockroom for Departmental use) or thick copper wire, twisted on firmly with a pair 

of pliers (Thin wire could eventually slice through the tubing). Hose clamps are not a good idea. Surging 

pressure in Salem Hall water lines could cause water hoses to slip off if they are held onto a serrated 

condenser hose adapter fittings with flat hose clamps. The only disadvantage of using wires is that you 

must cut them off periodically when they become corroded and replace them. Use of Tygon tubing, instead 

of rubber, will allow you to actually see the water flowing through the hose. You can then run water 

through with a relatively slow speed, which is all you need in water condenser coils. Also, this means there 

will be less chance of a spill when inevitable water pressure surges occur in Salem Hall at night. The water 

pressure never falls to zero, so you basically can’t have the water flow on too low. Once you have 

connected the water hose clamps, gently but firmly pull on the lines to make sure they are on tight. 

I am currently looking for inexpensive in-line water flow indicators (will purchase those without 

molded plastic halves which could pry apart under water pressure surges) which you can attach anywhere in 

the water line to more readily judge the flow of water through the line. 

You may also purchase Water-Flow Monitor sensor instruments with solenoid valve automatic 

water shut-off mechanisms for about $600 from I2R Company. 

"Bumping" of solvents can be avoided by adding boiling stones. 

Magnetic stir bars can also be added to stir the boiling solution, allowing more even boiling. 

Safe Use of Laboratory Centrifuges 

Lab centrifuges in Salem Hall are of the low-speed type, and do not need special handling 

requirements. They are supported on suction-cup feet and will not ordinarily wobble to the point of falling 

off bench tops. Balance them by placing test tubes half filled with water immediately opposite the test tube 

being centrifuged. 

Occasionally check the power cord and keep extraneous lab equipment from cluttering bench tops 

near the centrifuge. 

136

Use of the Hydraulic Press (prepared by Dr. Ron Noftle) 

(Note: Serious injury can result if you do not set the press up properly 

so pay attention to these directions.) 

1. Be sure that the parts of the sample press fit together in alignment. 

All of the parts must contact each other and the sample perfectly. 

2. When you place the assembled sample press in the hydraulic press: 

a. make sure that it is in the middle of the hydraulic press plate 

b. place the aluminum plate over the plunger and gradually crank 

the hydraulic press until the system is tight. 

c. check to make sure that the sample press is perfectly vertical 

with respect to the hydraulic press and does not lean at all 

d. close the Plexiglas door 

e. crank up the pressure to no more than 12,000 PSI. Allow the 

sample to sit in the press for a few minutes so that the heat will 

be dissipated and then gradually release the pressure. 

Upper Plate of 

Hydraulic Press 

(bottom view) 

Al Plate 

Sample 

Press 

Bottom Plate 

of Hydraulic 

Press 

(side view) 

You can see that, if the 

sample press is not placed 

properly in the hydraulic 

press, on applying pressure, 

it (or pieces of it) could fly 

out at tremendous speed and 

could go right through the 

Plexiglas door which is really 

only a first-line protection. 

This has happened at other 

laboratories 

137

Detection and Removal of Organic Peroxides 

When working with a great variety of organic chemicals in research laboratories, you may 

encounter bottles of older organic ethers or other organic liquids which are capable of autooxidation and 

subsequent formation of explosive peroxides, especially those which have undergone extensive exposure to 

air. These are one of the worst dangers you may face in such laboratories. 

You should be aware of which chemicals can conceivably form peroxides, how to chemically test 

for the presence of peroxides, and how to destroy the peroxides within the organic liquid (if the content of 

peroxides is not too high) so that you may still make use of the liquid compound. 

Please read sections concerning peroxides, pages 54-56, pages 99-101, and 162-163 of Prudent 

Practices, 2nd Edition for specific information concerning the above points. 

In particular, it shall be standard procedure for graduate students working in research laboratories 

to search through their labs once a year for all chemicals in table 3.13 on page 56 of Prudent Practices, 2nd 

Edition, and consult with their research advisors as to the condition and age of containers of such chemicals 

and decide whether they should be tested for peroxide content via the methods listed on page 100 of 

Prudent Practices, 2nd Edition. The first test mentioned will only indicate peroxides of chemical structure 

ROOH (R=alkyl). Dialkyl peroxides (ROOR) can be detected with the 2nd method, which employs a 10% 

aqueous solution of potassium iodide with a starch indicator solution. 

Generally, the best method is the last listed, i.e., peroxide test strip paper (EM Quant Test Strips, 

catalog #TM-1162, for 0.5 to 25 ppm peroxide content detection, and catalog #TM-27173, for 0 to 100 

ppm peroxide content detection, Lab Safety Supply, Inc., phone #1-800-356-0783). 

“Instructions for Use” 

[from Peroxide Test instruction booklet, Merckoquant 10011, E. Merck Co., 

64271 Darmstadt, Germany, phone # (06151)720.] 

“Aqueous Solutions: 

1. Remove 1 test strip and immediately reclose the tube. 

2. Dip the test strip into the solution to be tested for 1 sec, such that the 

reaction zone is completely wetted (a small square area on the end of the 

strip, clearly visible). 

3. Remove the test strip, shake off excess liquid and compare the reaction zone 

with the color scale after 15 sec. 

“Organic Solvents (volatile ethers) 

1. Remove 1 test strip and immediately reclose the tube. 

2. Dip the test strip into the solvent to be tested for 1 sec, such that the reaction 

zone is completely wetted. 

3. Move the test strip slightly to and fro for 3-30 sec until the solvent has 

evaporated from the reaction zone, then 

a) dip into distilled water for 1 sec, shake off excess water 

or, 

b) breathe on it 4 times each for 3-5 sec. 

4. After 15 sec, compare the reaction zone with the color scale.” 

138

At the present time, test strips for general use are kept in the small portable refrigerator kept in the 

back of undergrad lab room #101. Newly purchased tubes of these test strip papers should be stored in a 

refrigerator, but see the enclosed instruction sheet for storage of opened containers. 

Methods for destruction of peroxides can be found in the following references: 

Gordon A. J. and Ford, R. A. The Chemist’s Companion. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 

1972, page 437 

Perrin, D.D. and Armarego, W.L.F. Purification of Laboratory Chemicals, 3rd Edition. Oxford: 

Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd., 1994. 

Jackson, H.L. et al., J. Chem. Educ., 47 (1970), page A175. 

When opening containers of Ethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, or 1,4-dioxane in the solvent room #20, 

which are usually purchased in large 5 gallon (or 20 liter) metal containers, please label them with the date 

upon which they are first opened. 

You should make an attempt to label all chemicals in your laboratory which could conceivably 

form peroxides with the opening date. Please see the above mentioned table 3.13 for the list of such 

chemicals. 

When bottles are found to actually contain levels of peroxides above the 25 ppm concentration 

range, you should not, of course, use it. You may remove the peroxides via one of the above referenced 

purification methods (with your research advisor’s guidance) or carefully destroy them (again, following 

specific instructions) or take them, properly labeled, to the waste holding area in room #20 for removal by 

the Chemical Waste Company. Even containers with less than 25 ppm peroxide content should not be 

handled or used without direct supervision from your research advisor. Obtain his/her judgment as to 

whether it is best to remove the peroxides or simply have them taken out by the waste company. 

GENERAL METHOD FOR DESTRUCTION OF PEROXIDES WITHIN AN ORGANIC LIQUID 

Gently open the cap of the bottle and pour the organic liquid into a larger container, such as 

a beaker (preferably a large 4 liter polyethylene beaker, found in the general chemistry prep room) 

or a larger polyethylene pan. If the organic liquid is soluble or miscible in water, dilute it with 

roughly the same volume of water. Slowly, with stirring, add a dilute solution of sodium bisulfite and 

stir for about 20 minutes. Then test again for destruction of peroxides with test strips. 

If the liquid is not soluble in water (such as ethyl ether) simply add a smaller volume of 

aqueous sodium bisulfite to the organic liquid in a beaker and stir longer. Use a magnetic stirrer. 

Again, test the organic layer for peroxides. Separate the layers in a separatory funnel and reuse the 

organic liquid or bottle it up for disposal. 

Washing with dilute sodium bisulfite is generally the best way to remove peroxides. You will 

find sodium bisulfite in the organic chem. prep room (room #103) if you need it (see reference 

Jackson, H.L. et al., J. Chem. Educ., 47 (1970), page A175). 

139

5. Laboratory Specific SOPs 

Guidelines for care & Use of Dry Solvent Stills [Example] 

(Procedure formerly used in Dr. Davies’ Lab, written by Nick Huby, grad student) 

It is my hope that by requiring each person in the lab to be personally responsible for the upkeep of 

the solvent stills the burden that effort this entails will be equally shared throughout the lab community. 

Somewhat optimistically I also hope that this will also engender a greater sense of responsibility by people 

at all times when using these pieces of communal apparatus. 

I have decided quite arbitrarily and of my accord that each person's period of responsibility will 

run from twelve noon Wednesday through to twelve noon the following Wednesday. During this time it is 

their responsibility to: 

i) ensure that the stills are being used in a responsible manner 

ii) ensure that the stills do not get dangerously low, i.e. they are filled up as required 

iii) ensure that there is an adequate supply of pre-dried solvent available to fill the stills with when 

required 

iv) ensure that the pre-dried solvent bottles contain an adequate amount of sodium ribbon 

v) ensure that the stills are kept in a usable state, i.e. diethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran, and hexane 

stills retain the blue color of sodium benzophenone ketyl 

vi) ensure that water tubing to condensers and argon tubing does not leak 

vii) ensure that argon cylinder is not empty 

viii) ensure that there is mineral oil in both bubblers 

Their period of responsibility for a still will be extended, as necessary, until that still is in a usable 

condition. 

Ether 

Diethylether for use in the still is pre-dried over sodium ribbon and is kept in a bottle in the solvent 

cupboard under the oven. Only fill this bottle with anhydrous ether, since anesthesia and 

chromatography/extraction grade ether both contain ethanol which reacts with sodium. Sodium ribbon is 

used as it has a large surface-to-volume ratio and it can be added directly to the solvent before the sodium 

surface can be tarnished by atmospheric moisture. It will at times be necessary to add further sodium ribbon 

to the bottle as old sodium ribbon is consumed. If the build up of junk in the bottles becomes too great 

most of the ether will have to be decanted off, the bottle cleaned, and fresh sodium added to the ether which 

was decanted off (follow instructions given for starting still from scratch.) 

Once pre-dried the ether can be added directly to the ether still. The still also contains sodium 

ribbon, the blue color is due to sodium benzophenone ketyl. Provided that the ether is dry it is only 

necessary to add a spatula or so of benzophenone to obtain this blue color. 

140

The oxidation potential of sodium is such that it can reduce water and liberate hydrogen gas 

concomitantly forming sodium hydroxide. In the presence of alcohols the corresponding sodium alkoxide is 

formed. In the absence of water and alcohols (the most likely contaminants) sodium metal can donate an 

electron to the carbonyl group of benzophenone to form the resonance stabilized ketyl radical. 

Ketyl radical is a very sensitive indicator for traces of moisture and oxygen(a diradical in the 

ground state) and the blue color will occasionally be lost during the normal usage of the still due to 

consumption of benzophenone ketyl by the above contaminants. The blue color can be returned in one of 

the following ways: 

i) addition of further benzophenone and continued refluxing until dry. 

ii) crushing the sodium with a glass rod to expose a clean, reactive surface. 

iii) starting the still up from scratch. This will periodically occur when the amount of reduction 

products in the distillation flask build up beyond a certain level or if some idiot pours ether in the 

still. 

To start the still up from scratch 

First destroy any remaining sodium in the flask by slow addition of ethanol to the residue 

remaining in the flask. This is best carried out in a fume hood as hydrogen will evolve, the flask will grow 

warm and ether may be boiled off. the reaction may be slowed by dilution with hexane. Once rapid 

evolution of hydrogen has ceased cautiously add water to make certain that all the sodium has been 

destroyed. Clean out and dry the flask. Refill the flask with pre-dried ether and then add sodium ribbon. 

Reflux the ether for several hours to make sure it is thoroughly dry before adding benzophenone. 

THF 

Instructions for the use of the THF are still the same as for the ether still except that the pre-dried 

THF bottle (kept in the solvent cupboard under the oven) may be filled with regular grade solvent from the 

blue Fisher can in the solvent room. 

Hexane 

As with the ether and THF, hexane is dried over and distilled from sodium using benzophenone as 

its indicator. Because of the low solubility of benzophenone in this solvent it is necessary to add 

approximately ten milliliters of dry triglyme (a high boiling point poly-ether) as a co-solvent so that the 

strong color reaction is observed. The blue color of the ketyl radical may at times be lost when the still is 

left to stand at room temperature because of this solubility problem but the color should return upon 

refluxing for a short while. 

Hexane does not absorb a lot of water and the regular grade of hexane found in the blue cans in the 

solvent room can be used to top up the pre-dried solvent bottle. 

Dichloromethane 

Halogenated solvents should never be dried over sodium. This could cause the formation of 

carbenes. 

Dichloromethane is dried by distillation from calcium hydride (kept in a desiccator above the 

balances.) There is no need to pre-dry dichloromethane for use in the still, so the still may be topped up 

with solvent directly from the can. Never use sodium metal as a drying reagent for Halogenated solvent 

(Carbenes are formed). 

Sodium Ribbon 

As noted before, sodium ribbon is used to dry ether, THF, and hexane because of its large surfaceto-volume 

ratio and the high reactivity of the fresh sodium face which is exposed. Sodium ribbon is formed 

by use of a sodium press (kept in the bottom corner cupboard under the stills.) 

Secure the body of the press assembly to the edge of a work top with two clamps provided. The 

movable barrel of the die screws on to the notched vertical bar in the press assembly and is moved up and 

down by means of the lever at the right hand side. 

141

Fill the body of the die with lumps of cut sodium. Sodium is a soft metal and can be easily cut 

with a sharp knife. This is best carried out while holding the lump of sodium with a pair of tweezers under 

hexane (the hexane serves to wash off the mineral oil in which the sodium is stored and prevent the sodium 

from reacting with the atmospheric moisture.) Sodium should not be handled with your bare hands as it will 

react with moisture in your skin to form sodium hydroxide. That slimy feeling is your skin getting turned 

into soap! 

Place the die onto the platform of the press assembly with the rounded side facing outwards. 

Rotate the lever until sodium ribbon is forced from the slit at the bottom of the die. This requires effort! 

Have someone standing ready so that the sodium is squeezed directly into the bottle or flask and a minimum 

amount of reaction occurs with atmospheric moisture. Break the sodium ribbon off with a pair of tweezers 

and push it below the surface of the solvent to be dried. 

To remove the barrel from the die body it may be necessary to unscrew the two parts from the 

notched vertical bar, placing the barrel and die so that the lower collar is below the level of the platform and 

then screwing the barrel onto the notched vertical bar with the lever. 

This will have to be repeated three or four times to obtain sufficient sodium ribbon for a still. Two 

or three repetitions should be sufficient for a pre-dried solvent bottle. 

After using this piece of apparatus fragments of sodium metal left in contact with the die and in the 

hexane used for cutting up lumps of sodium may be cleaned and dried in the oven. 

Addition of sodium to wet solvents will result in the evolution of hydrogen. It is prudent not to 

tightly stopper a container until rapid hydrogen evolution has ceased to avoid a pressure build up. It is 

probably best to leave pre-dried solvent bottles standing in a fume hood overnight first, then break up the 

sodium ribbon with a glass rod before returning the solvent bottle to storage. 

142

Standard Operating procedure for use of the Bomb Calorimeter in the Physical 

Chemistry Teaching Laboratory, written by Jason Weibel, graduate student. 

The bomb calorimeter is used in the determination of the enthalpy of combustion of a given 

sample. Although the samples and equipment used in the experiment are relatively safe and fool-proof, care 

must be taken and, as always, some common sense used. Consult the physical chemistry lab TA‟s manual 

for information about the specific experiment run during the course of the semester. 

Experimental Setup 

1) Connect the equipment required for the experiment as shown in the physical chemistry lab TA‟s 

manual. Consult the sample containers for any specific precautions or concerns in the use of the 

chemicals. 

2) The bomb calorimeter requires an atmosphere of oxygen gas surrounding the sample. Obtain a 

cylinder of the gas and connect to the system. Be sure to secure the gas cylinder to the lab bench 

or other immobile, stationary object before attempting to perform any operations with the cylinder, 

including connecting it to the system. Consult the standard safety procedures for use of gas 

cylinders and specifically the information concerning the use of oxygen cylinders. Also determine 

the type of regulator required and the care and handling of such before putting a regulator on the 

system. 

Experimental Procedure 

1) Make a pellet of the sample using the pellet press. Examine the sample container for specific 

information about the chemicals. 

2) Place the pellet in the calorimeter and secure the top of the bomb. Take care to make sure that the 

bomb is properly threaded into its connection on the calorimeter. 

3) Flush the system with O2 gas. Make sure that the exhaust nozzle of the system is in a position to 

minimize the chance that anyone will be harmed by objects in or around the bomb calorimeter that 

may become dislodged while flushing the system. Close the exhaust nozzle and fill the sample to 

approximately 25 atmospheres, watching the pressure gauge on the calorimeter to make sure that 

the pressure does not become too high. After the system is brought to the correct pressure, close 

the connection to the oxygen cylinder and then open the exhaust nozzle. After the pressure in the 

bomb calorimeter returns to atmospheric, close the exhaust nozzle and repeat two more times. 

4) Combustion of the sample. After the final flushing of the sample close the exhaust nozzle and again fill 

the bomb calorimeter with oxygen to a pressure slightly greater than 25 atmospheres. MAKE 

SURE THAT THE CONNECTION TO THE OXYGEN GAS CYLINDER IS CLOSED AND 

PREPARE TO FIRE THE BOMB. If the pressure in the calorimeter is falling slightly, wait until 

the pressure is 25 atmospheres and then press the fire button on the calorimeter, if the pressure is 

steady simply press the fire button. 

5) After the temperature in the bomb has reached a steady value prepare to remove the top of the system. 

Open the exhaust nozzle of the system following the precautions listed in step 3. After the system 

has returned to atmospheric pressure unthread the top of the bomb and remove. Check for 

anything that appears unusual and then remove the sample holder. The parts of the system may 

have become hot, so use caution in handing the components of the system. Clean the components 

of the system and repeat experiment as many times as is called for. 

143

In-house Monitoring of Research Laboratory Safety Conditions 

In an effort to encourage closer scrutiny of possible safety problems within each research 

laboratory, the Laboratory Manager is asking each research group to consider filling out the following two 

forms weekly (or bi-weekly) and keep them recorded in a notebook or file close to your Chemical Hygiene 

Plan Manual. 

Once a month, the Laboratory Manager will check out each laboratory and offer suggestions for 

improvements. The Laboratory Manager will also check the above mentioned records. 

An additional form for overnight reactions is meant for attachment on hoods next to reaction 

apparatus (not too close - otherwise they would burn up along with your ill-planned experiment!). 

Please note that additional plastic, wire, and metal hose clamps of various sizes are located in 

countertop drawers in the stockroom (#110) for tightening water hose connections on distillation apparatus. 

Also, the Laboratory Manager has ordered more miniature submersible pumps for each research laboratory, 

and has already distributed them. Please do not reflux overnight reactions with water faucet-condenser 

connections - use water bath pumps or recirculators as sources of water. 

Ace glass wire hose clamps are cheap and best for standard size hose connections to condenser 

apparatus. Order them from Ace Glass (catalog # 11145-20, tubing clamp, phone # 1-800-223-4524). 

Keep all or only a portion of the following procedures in your CHP, depending upon whether they 

are actually applicable to your laboratory setting. If some of the instruments or facilities listed in the nightly 

shutdown procedure are not present in your lab, discard these entries. If you would rather extend the time 

period for inspections or change the days, etc., just change the forms via work processor and write your 

own. At the very least, please use the “overnight reaction in progress” form with all indicated phone 

numbers for emergency contact. 

144

OVERNIGHT REACTION IN PROGRESS 

In case of malfunction, please contact: 

Graduate Student 

Phone Number 

Dr. 

Phone Number 

Actions to be take in case of malfunction: 

1. Turn off the stirrer/hotplate 

2. Cut off water faucet 

3. Call security in case of extensive damage (5911) or clear 

indications of problems with fire, flooding, electrical shortage, etc. 

4. Other 

145

WEEKLY CHECK LIST (DAYTIME HOURS) 

provided by Dr. Susan Jackels 

To be completed by last person to leave the laboratory each night (weekdays only). Put your initials 

in the appropriate space and add to notebook for record-keeping at the end of the week. You may 

also wish to add a few items of your own, like balances off, lights out, oven doors closed and 

computers off (especially if located next to a water faucet. 

Week of: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 

Water 

faucets 

Off ? 

Stirrer/Hot 

Plate 

Distillation 

Apparatus 

Water 

Pumps 

Hood 

Sashes 

Rotary 

Evaporator 

Vacuum 

Pumps 

Gas/Air 

Jets 

Off ? 

Heat and 

water off ? 

Off ? 

Closed ? 

Water 

off ? 

Off ? 

Closed ? 

146

(NIGHTS AND WEEKENDS) 

provided by Susan Jackels 

Indicate the general purpose of your lab entry in comments section (study, monitor overnight 

reaction, lab cleanup, use NMR, GC, etc.). Indicate general state of lab in Misc. section (OK or list 

specific safety problems, instrument failures, difficulties with service facilities, etc. 

Date/Initials Time In Time Out Comments Misc. (ok?) 

147

Insert: "Technical Information Bulletin #AL-134 Handling Air-Sensitive Reagents," Aldrich Chemical 

Company, 1001 West Saint Paul Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, phone # 1-800-558-9160. 


Insert: "Technical Bulletin AL-164, Handling Pyrophoric Reagents" Aldrich Chemical Company, 1001 

West Saint Paul Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, phone # 1-800-558-9160. 


Insert: "Technical Information Bulletin AL-139, Kugelrogr Apparatus" Aldrich Chemical Company, 1001 

West Saint Paul Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233, phone # 1-800-558-9160. [located in the stockroom 

hardcopy of the CHP, room # 110] 

Acronyms for shelf chemical storage codes, Dr. Bierbach’s Lab room # 107 

Key for Chemical Inventory‟s Location Column 

Symbol Location 

AA Amino Acids 

CS Center Shelf 

D1 Desicator Chemicals 

FR Refrigerator 

HS Halogenated Solvents 

MA Mineral Acids/ Thiols 

MB Hydroxides/Oxides/Ammonia 

MO Miscellaneous Organic Salts 

MS Metal Salts 

NS N/S Heterocyclics 

OA Organic Acids 

OB Organic Bases 

OS Organic Solvents 

PM Precious Metals 

QS Quarternary Salts 

TOX Toxic/Carcinogens 

VA Volatile Amines 

Information Regarding Hydrofluoric acid burn treatment, meant mainly for Dr, Ron Noftle’s 

Research Lab in room 117 [hardcopies located in the stockroom hardcopy of the CHP, room # 110, 

and in Dr. Ron Noftle’s Lab room # 117]: 

Links for treatment of Hydrofluoric acid burns: 

http://membership.acs.org/F/FLUO/hfmedbook.pdf 

http://www.airproducts.com/Responsibility/EHS/ProductSafety/ProductSafetyInformation/Safetygrams/safe 

tygram29.htm 

http://www.calgonate.com/ 

148

IV. Training 

149

A. Introduction to Training 

Students receive safety training for each laboratory class taken in the chemistry department. This 

applies to all students, including undergraduate, graduate students, and post-Doctorates. As the 

undergraduate proceeds through more advanced lab course, he/she will be exposed gradually to more 

informative safety instruction. The bulk of such instruction takes place in the freshman and sophomore 

years, in Freshman Chemistry Labs, and Organic Chemistry Labs, a total of four consecutive semesters of 

direct audio-visual, computer-assisted, and personal instruction. Higher division undergraduate labs receive 

printed information reinforcing previous instruction and encounter more safety rules for more complicated 

experimental methods directly from lab instructors and chemical literature, texts, etc. 

One hardcopy of the Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) for all Laboratories is kept in the stockroom, 

room 110, Salem Hall. In addition to the safety text consisting of the departmental CHP, it includes the 

following description of information presented to all undergraduate students: 

Graduate students and post-doctorates receive much more printed instruction and printed specific 

Standard Operating Procedures regarding hazardous chemicals encountered in research labs. Teaching 

assistants are generally beginning graduate students in the department and are expected to participate in 

beginning undergraduate laboratory safety instruction, since they are expected to guide undergraduates 

directly in implementation of lab safety rules. 

The undergraduate training information in this section should be read by graduate students as well, 

since many of them will act as Teaching Assistants sooner or later. Just skim through the information which 

does not apply to your T.A. duties. 

Summer Session Chemistry Department Research Undergraduates working with chemicals are also 

required to undergo safety training, in May or June of each year. They will read the Bowman-Gray School 

of Medicine‟s “The Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals” and “Procedures for Handling 

Hazardous Chemical Waste” in this manual and read and sign the “Basic Safety Rules for All 

Undergraduate Laboratories” and view the Safety film seen by research graduate students. Bowman Gray 

School of Medicine’s chapter on “The Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals” originates from their 

Chemical Waste Disposal: Policies and Procedures manual, 1985, pages III 2-6, and is meant not only as 

instruction in the specific chemical hazards of the chemicals all graduate students and all undergraduate 

students work with in our Labs, but also as instruction in hazards encountered in working with hazardous 

chemical waste. 

150

B. Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) for Freshman Chemistry Labs 

First semester Students of Freshman Chemistry Lab 111L receive the following audio-visual and 

printed information, in addition to safety discussions from the departmental laboratory manager and 

instructors: 

� Video Audio-Visual Program from American Chemical Society, “Starting With Safety: An 

Introduction for the Academic Chemistry Laboratory”, covering the following topics; 

a) Handling Chemicals Safely 

b) Bunsen Burners and Glassware Safety 

c) Thermometer Safety 

d) Glass Tubing Safety 

e) Centrifuge Safety 

f) Dressing for Safety 

g) Behavior in the Laboratory 

h) Emergency Equipment 

A copy of the manual of the text of this film is kept near the Undergraduate Laboratory CHP in the 

stockroom, room #110. 

� A Chemistry Department Emergency Information sheet with all emergency phone numbers needed by 

injured students, reproduced on page 6 of this manual. This sheet is posted near all laboratory phones 

in the building, including the stockroom emergency phone. 

� Instructor‟s hand-out information on laboratory check-in, which includes remarks concerning the 

Additional Safety Sheet (see next page), which is also handed out to each student. This sheet, titled 

“Additional Safety Information, Freshman Chemistry Labs”, includes a brief introduction to National 

Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and HMIS symbols, color codes, and hazard ratings, which appear in 

many manufacturers‟ labels on chemical containers. Material Safety Data Sheets are also introduced. 

When the audio-visual presentation and discussions are finished, the students must all sign the Wake Forest 

University Hazard Communication Training Log form. Throughout the semester, students are required to 

wear safety glasses/goggles/or side shields and obtain gloves from the stockroom window when hazardous 

chemicals are used for a particular experiment. 

Chemical preparation personnel (usually an assigned graduate student) for Freshman Chemistry 

Labs must follow the same safety procedures listed above, and are to regard the General Chemistry CHP as 

their own CHP for prep work done in room #103. In addition, they will have read the Departmental 

Chemical Waste manual and will prepare chemical waste containers for the freshman labs. During the 

safety film students are told that their teacher (or graduate student teaching assistant) will be handling the 

chemical waste generated in these labs. 

151

1. Additional Safety Information, Chemistry Lab 108L and 111L 

1. Please note that two first aid kits are located in the chemistry stockroom, room # 110. For minor 

emergencies (cuts, burns), please notify your TA or instructor and call Student Health Services during 

daylight hours and University Security at night. For more serious injuries (breathing difficulties, severe 

lacerations, broken bones, etc.) call 911. Phones for emergency use are located in the chemistry 

stockroom (#110). All emergency phone numbers are posted on the wall next to the phone. TAKE 

SPECIAL NOTE OF THE POISON CONTROL CENTER PHONE NUMBER LISTED AT THE 

BOTTOM OF THE EMERGENCY INFORMATION PHONE # SHEET. Call this number if you 

ingest or are otherwise harmed by a chemical. Be sure to tell the Poison Control Center operator which 

chemical has affected you, or they will not be able to help. This is a very good source of information. 

They can fax the information to you for physician use at the Chemistry departmental fax #, 336-758- 

4656. 

2. An emergency oxygen breathing device is located in the stockroom (room #110). 

3. Take the time to find safety equipment located in the hallway adjacent to your assigned lab room, 

including fire blankets and dry powder fire extinguishers for wood or paper fires. The CO2 (carbon 

dioxide) fire extinguishers in your lab room work best for electrical and organic chemical solvent fires. 

When you must use the extinguishers, you will first have to pull the retaining ring out of the 

extinguisher handle by TWISTING THE PIN LATERALLY TO BREAK THE PLASTIC TIE and 

then pulling out the pen, away from the cylinder. 

4. Many chemicals used in the lab must be collected in proper containers for waste disposal. You will 

receive special instructions about disposing of any unusually dangerous chemicals. Otherwise, follow 

the instructions listed in your lab texts and manuals, or those given by your Teaching Assistant. 

5. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for each and every chemical you will encounter in this course are 

located in the Chemistry Stockroom (room #110) and are available for you anytime you wish to obtain 

information regarding health hazards encountered in working with the chemical. Read both MSDS 

explanatory wall charts located in the hallway between rooms 101 and 105. The Chemical 

Hygiene Plan and Safety Manual for this course is located in the Chemistry Stockroom (room #110) 

next to the MSDS sheet collection. 

6. Read the third wall chart located in the hallway between rooms 101 and 105, explaining the 

multicolored Hazard Material Identification System (HMIS) labels and the National Fire 

Protection Association (NFPA) system labels for rating chemical hazards. Some chemical 

companies print these hazard labels on their chemical containers. You will encounter some in your lab 

and OSHA requires that you be familiar with the numerical / color-coded hazard ratings. Each of these 

three colored, hazard category fields for a chemical (toxicity, flammability, and reactivity) receives a 

numerical rating from 0 to 4, with 0 being least dangerous and 4 meaning most dangerous. 

7. When you go upstairs to the lab, make certain you have all the equipment listed on your check-in sheet, 

which will be located on your lab bench along with a lab student identification card. Discard the 

check-in sheet when you are finished with it. Print your name on top of the lab card, which will also be 

used to record the glassware you break throughout the semester, and give it to the stockroom clerk. 

Obtain safety glasses from the stockroom window. We have one style for people with normal 

vision and another “oversized” style to fit over prescription eyeglasses. The safety glasses will be 

your personal property for the rest of the semester, not to be shared with students in other lab sections. 

Don‟t leave them in your locker drawer. Take them home and bring them to each Lab session. Please 

return them to the stockroom at the end of the semester. 

152

2. HMIS / NFPA Chemical Hazard Ratings on Departmental MSDS Sheets 

Although the OSHA Laboratory Standard is the particular law applicable to an academic 

laboratory setting, it should also include the requirements for hazardous chemical assessment contained in 

the previous standard, the Hazard Communication Standard. 

“....Chemical manufacturers and importers shall evaluate chemicals produced in their workplace 

or imported by them to determine if they are hazardous. Employers are not required to evaluate 

chemicals unless they choose not to rely on the evaluation performed by the chemical 

manufacturer or importer for the chemical to satisfy this requirement.” 

“Chemical manufacturers, importers, or employers evaluating chemicals shall describe in 

writing the procedures they use to determine the hazards of the chemical they evaluate. The 

written procedures are to be made available, upon request, to employees, their designated 

representatives, the Assistant Secretary and the Director. The written description may be 

incorporated into the written hazard communication program....” 

“The hazard determination requirement of this standard is performance-oriented. Chemical 

manufacturers, importers, and employers evaluating chemicals are not required to follow any 

specific methods for determining hazards, but they must be able to demonstrate that they have 

adequately ascertained the hazards of the chemicals produced or imported in accordance with the 

criteria set forth....” 

“The standard’s design is simple. Chemical manufacturers and importers must evaluate the 

hazards of the chemicals they produce or import. Using that information, they must then prepare 

labels for containers, and more detailed technical bulletins called material safety data sheets 

(MSDS). 

Chemical manufacturers, importers, and distributors of hazardous chemicals are all 

required to provide the appropriated labels and [MSDS] to the employers to which they ship the 

chemicals. The information is to be provided automatically. Every container of hazardous 

chemicals you receive must be labeled, tagged, or marked with the required information. Your 

suppliers must also send you a properly completed....MSDS....at the time of the first shipment of 

the chemical, and with the next shipment after the MSDS is updated with new and significant 

information about the hazards. 

You can rely on the information received from your suppliers. You have no independent 

duty to analyze the chemical or evaluate the hazards of it.” 

(29 CFR Chpt. XVII (7-1-95 Edition), 1910.1200 and Appendices C and E). 

OSHA generally endorses a universal method of hazard assessment originated by the National Paint and 

Coatings Association. 

This department rates all newly received chemicals with the National Paint and Coatings 

Association‟s Hazardous Materials Identification System (HMIS). The laboratory manager has 

determined that this practice serves as a convenient system for listing individual “particularly 

hazardous substances” (that is, carcinogens/mutagens/teratogens/acutely toxic compounds). The 

HMIS system is similar in most respects to the National Fire Protection Association system (NFPA). The 

NFPA system lists various hazards which are included in the HMIS numerical classification already. See 

page 49 of Prudent Practices, 2nd edition. A commercial HMIS “Implementation Manual” is also kept in 

the Chemistry Department stockroom, room # 110. Both systems serve as a nationally recognized method 

of rating hazards. All lab chemical suppliers and manufacturers publish Material Safety Data Sheets 

(MSDS) for chemicals they sell and many supply HMIS / NFPA ratings either on the MSDS or the chemical 

bottle label. 

This department maintains a set of complete MSDS sheets in the stockroom, room # 110, with 

HMIS / NFPA ratings printed in the upper right-hand margin on the first page of each sheet set. They are 

153

ated by stockroom personnel and based on information stated in the MSDS sheets. The rating system is 

explained below. Chemical manufacturers are legally responsible for reliability of information supplied on 

MSDS sheets. When HMIS ratings are not supplied by them, this department will supply them by criteria 

listed on the next few pages. SINCE AN ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT LACKS INDUSTRIAL HAZARD 

ASSESSMENT CAPABILITY, WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY CANNOT IN ANY WAY BE HELD 

LIABLE FOR THE ACCURACY OF DEPARTMENTALLY SUPPLIED HMIS RATINGS. 

Summaries of the HMIS / NFPA systems and MSDS sheets in wall chart form are kept in the 

undergraduate laboratory hallway bulletin boards, located near the stockroom, room # 110. You are 

required to first consult this manual, and read the wall charts for basic required introductory information. If 

you need further elaboration, then view the departmental video entitled “Hazardous Materials 

Communication Program, Bowman Gray School of Medicine”, kept by the laboratory manager. Also, the 

National Paint and Coatings Association Implementation Manual is kept with the laboratory manager for 

your reference if requested. 

The ratings are also listed in the inventory of all MSDS sheets for Salem Hall and for each 

chemical in each research laboratory. 

Please consult the MSDS word dictionary in the training section of this manual for explanations of 

rating terminology. Note, in particular, that LD subscript 50 refers to lethal dose of 50% of the population 

of tested animals. Nearly all of the toxicity ratings are based on animal data. 

3. HMIS and MSDS Clarifications 

Clarification of Laboratory Manager‟s reasons for continuing to maintain paper copies of MSDS, updating 

inventory of all chemicals within the department, and use of HMIS ratings system. (Written by Julianne 

Braun, graduate student): 

Legal requirements - types of hazards, MSDS 

29CFR 1910.1450(h)(1)(ii) “Employers shall maintain any material safety data sheets that are 

received with incoming shipments of hazardous chemicals, and ensure that they are readily accessible 

to laboratory employees.” 

29CFR 1910.1450(e)(3)(viii) [The chemical hygiene plan shall include…] “Provisions for 

additional employee protection for work with particularly hazardous substances. These include 

“select carcinogens”, reproductive toxins and substances which have a high degree of acute toxicity. 

…” 

Why use inventory & ratings to comply ? 

The law requires that special treatment be given to certain classes of substances. The only way to be 

able to comply with the law is to identify which substances we have which require special treatment. The 

best means of doing this appears to be through an inventory of all chemicals in the department. The 

inventory can then be cross-referenced with lists of those substances requiring special handling. 

The OSHA Laboratory Standard (29 CFR 1910.1450) specifically lists those substances which must be 

treated as “select carcinogens”, but for reproductive toxins and for “substances which have a high degree of 

acute toxicity” criteria are given, but not specific lists. The law places the responsibility for determining 

which chemicals meet the criteria (and thus require special handling, storage, waste removal and 

decontamination procedures) on the employer. Because all of the MSDS which have been filed in the 

MSDS library in the stockroom have been rated according to the HMIS system, it was determined that the 

HMIS system of ratings would be the most efficient means for determining which chemicals meet the 

OSHA criteria for “reproductive toxins” and “substances which have a high degree of acute toxicity” 

without having to use some new rating system and rate all our existing MSDS with the new system. 

MSDS - paper vs. CD-ROM or network access 

Because OSHA requires that MSDS from each source of supply be maintained, it is not feasible to attain 

legal compliance by use of a pre-packaged CD-ROM of MSDS. The time and resources required to scan all 

of our existing MSDS into a custom CD-ROM would probably far exceed their usefulness. Legal 

compliance matters aside, I think it would be great to get some health and safety information available to 

faculty and students via a networked CD-ROM. When considering how much of our resources should be 

spent on this, please keep in mind that MSDS for all chemicals sold by Fisher are available via WWW at 

URL http://www.fisher1.com., and from Sigma-Aldrich at: 

http://www.sigma-aldrich.com/saws.nsf/msdshelp?OpenForm 

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4. INTERPRETING CHEMICAL HAZARD HMIS RATINGS 

The HMIS (Hazardous Material Information System) rating consists of a set of three numbers 

representing Acute (or immediate) Toxicity, Fire, and Reactivity, in that order, followed by a letter code for 

Personal Protection Equipment and ending with a letter(s) for Chronic (or long-term) Toxicity, if necessary. 

The numerical hazard ratings are as follows: 

4 - severe hazard Chemical Inventory Safety Data Column Key 

3 - serious hazard ct = Chronic toxicity hazard, if indicated by an asterisk 

2 - moderate hazard at = Acute Toxicity fl = Flammability 

1 - slight hazard re = Reactivity pe = personal protective equipment 

0 - minimal hazard ct2 = actual description of Chronic toxicity hazard 

The Personal Protection Equipment code (PPE) begins with letter A for least equipment needed 

(safety glasses), through H (the most common – standing for use of safety glasses, lab coat, gloves, and a 

hood) and ends with K for something extremely dangerous and requiring elaborate protection, such as selfcontained 

breathing apparatus. Note that a good fume hood may normally be used in place of respirators. 

An asterisk next to the Acute Toxicity rating in the first column on the left indicates that a special 

“Chronic”, or long-term, hazard exists for the chemical, and will be identified by an additional letter(s) 

immediately following the capitol letter designation for PPE in the last column on the right. In some cases, 

a chemical could have more than one chronic health hazard letter designation. These special hazards are: 

M –mutagen Example: for Benzene, *330Hcm 

m - suspected mutagen Acute toxicity is 3, with an associated Chronic hazard 

T – teratogen Flammability rating is 3 

t - suspected teratogen Reactivity rating is 0 

C – carcinogen PPE rating is H 

c - suspected carcinogen Chronic toxicity rating is cm 

A – allergen (for suspected carcinogen and 

S - can cause silicosis suspected mutagen) 

Note that chronic health hazards may also be indicated in plain English on the container 

label and/or the MSDS sheet. Chemicals bought from a company and sent without MSDS sheets must be 

assumed to have ratings in each category of 4 until proven otherwise. Missing hazard data in any category 

of an MSDS sheet will likewise result in a rating of 4 unless the faculty or the laboratory manager judges 

the chemical deserving of a lower rating based on knowledge of chemical properties. 

155

5. SOME HMIS RATINGS FOR COMMON CHEMICALS 

Concentrated H2SO4 302H Chalk 000A 

(Sulfuric acid) toxicity rating is 3 

flammability rating is 0 

Reactivity /Corrosivity rating is 2 

PPE is H (Splash Goggles, gloves, 

synthetic apron, vapor respirator) 

NaOH 302H Ether 340H 

Chlorox 201B Acetone 131H 

(Sodium hypochlorite) 

Antifreeze 2*10Am Methanol 240C 

(Ethylene glycol) *Suspected mutagen 

CdSO4 300C MgSO4 200C 

PbCrO4 4*00HC FeSO4 200A 

*Carcinogen 

PbO2 3*00FT Acetic Acid 322H 

*Teratogen 

toxicity rating is 3 

flammability rating is 0 

Reactivity /Corrosivity rating is 0 

PPE is F (Splash glasses, gloves 

synthetic apron, dust respirator) 

156

6. Summary of HMIS Ratings 

(from National Paint and Coatings Association's "HMIS Hazardous Materials Identification System 

Implementation Manual", 1981, page 109, reprinted by American Labelmark Co., Labelmaster Division, 

Chicago, Illinois.) 

I. "Health Hazard Rating 

0 Minimal Hazard No significant risk to health. 

1 Slight Hazard Irritation or minor reversible injury possible. 

2 Moderate Hazard Temporary or minor injury may occur. 

3 Serious Hazard Major injury likely unless prompt action is taken and medical treatment given 

4 Severe Hazard Life-threatening, major of permanent damage may result from single or 

repeated exposures. 

II. Flammability Hazard Rating 

0 Minimal Hazard Materials that are normally stable and will not burn unless heated. 

1 Slight Hazard Materials that must be preheated before ignition will occur. Flammable liquids 

in this category will have flash points (the lowest temperature at which ignition 

will occur) at or above 200�F (NFPA Class IIB). 

2 Moderate Hazard Material that must be moderately heated before ignition will occur, including 

flammable liquids with flash points at or above 100�F and below 200�F (NFPA 

Class II & Class IIIA). 

3 Serious Hazard Materials capable of ignition under almost all normal temperature conditions, 

including flammable liquids with flash points below 73�F and boiling points 

above 100�F as well as liquids with flash points between 73�F and 100�F 

(NFPA Class 1B and 1C). 

4 Severe Hazard Very flammable gases or very volatile flammable liquids with flash points below 

73�F and boiling points below 100�F (NFPA Class 1A). 

III. Reactivity Hazard Rating 

0 Minimal Hazard Materials that are normally stable, even under fire conditions, and will not react 

with water. 

1 Slight Hazard Materials that are normally stable but can become unstable at high 

temperatures and pressures. These materials may react with water but they will 

not release energy violently. 

2 Moderate Hazard Materials that, in themselves, are normally unstable and will readily undergo 

violent chemical change but will not detonate. These materials may also react 

violently with water. 

3 Serious Hazard Materials that are capable of detonation or explosive reaction but require a 

strong initiating source of must be heated under confinement before initiation; 

or materials that react explosively with water. 

4 Severe Hazard Materials that are readily capable of detonation or explosive decomposition at 

normal temperatures and pressures.” 

IV. Personal Protective Equipment 

Appropriate protective equipment to be worn or used will be indicated by a letter immediately following the 

actual numbered HMIS rating (see the HMIS class identification sheet on the next page for letter 

designations). 

V. Chronic Health Hazards 

If present, will be so indicated by means of an asterisk (*) associated with the HMIS Health Hazard rating, 

and specified with a letter listed after the PPE letter rating. The letter designations are: 

M, mutagen C, carcinogen 

m, suspected mutagen c, suspected carcinogen 

T, teratogen A, allergen 

t, suspected teratogen S, can cause silicosis 

157

LETTER DESIGNATIONS OF 

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE 

EQUIPMENT FOR THE HMIS 

CLASS EYE HAND BODY RESPIRATOR FOOT 

A SAFETY GLASSES 

B SAFETY GLASSES GLOVES 

C SAFETY GLASSES GLOVES SYNTHETIC APRON 

D FACE SHIELD GLOVES SYNTHETIC APRON 

E SAFETY GLASSES GLOVES DUST 

F SAFETY GLASSES GLOVES SYNTHETIC APRON DUST 

G SAFETY GLASSES GLOVES VAPOR 

H SAFETY GOGGLES GLOVES SYNTHETIC APRON VAPOR 

I SAFETY GLASSES GLOVES DUST / VAPOR 

J SAFETY GOGGLES GLOVES SYNTHETIC APRON DUST / VAPOR 

K AIRLINE HOOD/MASK GLOVES FULL PROTECTIVE SUIT BOOTS 

X SITUATIONS REQUIRING SPECIAL HANDLING 

158

7. Hazard Communication Training Log Form 


Hazard Communication Training Log 

DATE OF TRAINING: INSTRUCTOR: 

TIME OF TRAINING: DEPARTMENT: 

LOCATION OF TRAINING: 

Student Name (Print) Signature Student Name (Print) Signature 

1. 41. 

2. 42. 

3. 43. 

4. 44. 

5. 45. 

6. 46. 

7. 47. 

8. 48. 

9. 49. 

10. 50. 

11. 51. 

12. 52. 

13. 53. 

14. 54. 

15. 55. 

16. 56. 

17. 57. 

18. 58. 

19. 59. 

20. 60. 

21. 61. 

22. 62. 

23. 63. 

24. 64. 

25. 65. 

26. 66. 

27. 67. 

28. 68. 

29. 69. 

30. 70. 

31. 71. 

32. 72. 

33. 73. 

34. 74. 

35. 75. 

36. 76. 

37. 77. 

38. 78. 

39. 79. 

40. 80. 

159

C. Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) for Organic Chemistry Labs 

First semester Organic Chemistry lab (CHM 122L) students view the following audio-visual tape 

and receive printed safety information, in addition to safety instructions from the departmental laboratory 

manager and instructors, as follows: 

* Audio-Visual Program from the American Chemical Society entitled “Introduction to 

Laboratory Safety,” covering the following topics; 

a) Chemical toxicity, Threshold Limit Values, and Permissible Exposure Levels of Vapors of 

hazardous chemicals 

b) Corrosivity, Flammability, and Reactivity definitions, examples, and hazards of pyrophoric 

and water-reactive chemicals 

c) Summary of departmental requirements for MSDS sheets and sources of information in 

departmental books and literature sources 

d) Information about the Chemical Hygiene Plan requirement, Hazardous Waste Policy, chemical 

spills, and the OSHA Laboratory Standard requirement for description of carcinogens, 

mutagens/teratogens, and extremely hazardous chemicals and the requirement for designated areas 

in research labs 

e) Segregation of chemicals, storage areas for larger volume organic solvents in cabinets under 

hoods in back of undergraduate Organic Chem labs 

f) Fifty-five gallon Acetone drum grounding wires in the solvent room (room #20) for anti-static 

electricity buildup 

h) Organic Peroxide buildup in certain bottles of old ether containers, and how to test for 

peroxides with departmentally available test strip paper. 

(A copy of the major part of the text of these films is kept near the Undergraduate CHP in the 

stockroom, room #110.) 

* A Chemistry Department Emergency Information sheet with all emergency phone numbers 

needed by injured students, reproduced on page 6 of this manual. This sheet is posted on the wall 

next to each laboratory phone in the building, including the stockroom phone. 

* Instructor‟s hand-out information on laboratory check-in, which includes the following 

laboratory safety and regulation discussion, meant as an additional source of safety instruction for 

the student, entitled “Laboratory Safety and Regulations for Organic Labs”. 

� Direct Instruction in the handling of Chemical waste by reading Chapter one of their textbook, 

The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual, subsection titled “Disposing of Waste”, and 

following all written and verbal clean-up and chemical waste handout procedures listed in the 

experimental instructions prepared by the Lab class instructor for each experiment. If the 

alternate Organic Lab text is used (Williamson, Kenneth L. Macroscale and Microscale 

Organic Experiments, 3rd edition, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1999), Chapter two, “Laboratory 

Safety and Waste Disposal,” is required reading for the students. It contains detailed 

information on handling chemicals for the entire course. 

160

Laboratory Safety and Regulations, Organic Lab 122L and 223L 

1. Read chapter 1 of your textbook (The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual), titled "Safety First, 

Last, and Always," before the next lab session. Follow all future experimental clean-up and chemical waste 

handout procedures given to you by your Lab T.A. or Lab class instructor. 

2. Please note that two first aid kits are located in the Chemistry Dept. Stockroom, Salem #110. For 

minor emergencies (cuts, burns) please notify your TA or instructor and call Student Health Services during 

daylight hours and University Security at night. For more serious injuries (breathing difficulties, severe 

lacerations, broken bones, etc.) call 911. Phones for EMERGENCY USE ONLY are located in the 

chemistry stockroom (Salem #110) and the Preproom (Salem #103). TAKE SPECIAL NOTE OF THE 

POISON CONTROL CENTER PHONE NUMBER LISTED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE EMERGENCY 

INFORMATION PHONE # SHEET HANDOUT. THESE SHEETS ARE ALSO POSTED ON THE 

WALL NEXT TO EACH PHONE IN ROOMS 110 AND 103. Dial the Poison Control Center phone 

number if you ingest or are otherwise badly harmed by a chemical. Be sure to tell the Poison Control 

Center operator which chemical has affected you, or they will not be able to help. This is a very good 

source of information. They can fax the information to the Department for physician use, at fax # 336-758- 

4656. 

3. An emergency oxygen breathing device is located in the stockroom (Salem #110). 

4. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for each and every chemical you will encounter in this course 

are located in the Chemistry Stockroom (Salem #110) and are available for you anytime you wish to 

obtain information regarding health hazards encountered in working with the chemical. 

5. Read the Basic Safety Rules for All Laboratories handout on your assigned lab bench. Keep the first 

two pages for your reference, but sign and tear off the last page and give it to the stockroom clerk after you 

have obtained missing glassware or equipment for your lab locker drawers. Obtain safety glasses from 

the stockroom window. We have one style for people with normal vision and another “oversized” 

style to fit over prescription eyeglasses. These are your personal safety glasses for the rest of the 

semester, to be returned when you check out, again to the stockroom window. 

6. Take the time to find safety equipment located in the hallway adjacent to your assigned lab room, 

including fire blankets and dry powder fire extinguishers for wood or paper fires. The CO2 (carbon 

dioxide) fire extinguishers in you lab room work best for electrical and organic chemical solvent fires. 

When you must use the extinguishers, you will first have to pull the retaining ring out of the extinguisher 

handle by TWISTING THE PIN LATERALLY TO BREAK THE PLASTIC TIE and then pulling out the 

pen, away from the cylinder. 

7. The Chemical Hygiene Plan and Safety Manual for this course is located in the Chemistry Stockroom 

(Salem #110) next to the MSDS sheet collection. We have MSDS sheets for each chemical in your lab. 

Take the time to look over the Hazardous Material Identification System (HMIS) Labeling 

Chart located in the hallway just across from your lab room on the bulletin board next to Salem # 

105. Chemical companies typically give each chemical an HMIS safety rating on their MSDS sheet. 

Also, skim through the 2 posted wall charts titled "Material Safety Sheets: How to Read, Use, 

and Understand them" and "How to Use and Understand Material Safety Data Sheets" located in the 

hallway between Salem #s 101 and 105, next to your lab rooms. Completely read through the wall 

chart titled “Hazardous Waste Chemical Inventory” on the wall next to room # 103. 

8. Other sources of risk assessment information (i.e., how to determine whether a certain chemical is toxic 

or otherwise dangerous to work with) can be found in the departmental Stockroom, Salem # 110. Their 

descriptions follow: 

A very good reference for toxic hazards of general categories and classes of chemicals is: 

Patnaik, Pradyot. A Comprehensive Guide to the Hazardous Properties of Chemical 

Substances. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1992. 

161

Consult the following book for hazards due to reactivity of particular chemicals: 

Urben, P.G., ed. Bretherick's Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, 4th edition. Oxford: 

Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd., 1995. 

Another good hazardous chemical reference for particular chemicals is: 

Lewis, Richard J., Sr., Hazardous Chemicals Desk Reference, 3rd edition. New York: 

Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993. 

The two volume set of Lenga, Robert E. Sigma-Aldrich Library of Chemical Safety Data, 2nd 

edition. Milwaukee, WI: Sigma-Aldrich Corporation, 1988, is a huge collection of safety information for 

specific Organic chemicals. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienist‟s Threshold 

Limit Values (TLVs) booklet is kept there as well. TLVs are the maximum allowable inhalation levels of 

chemicals present in the laboratory air, measured in milligrams per cubic meter (mg/m 3 ) or parts per million 

(ppm) in the air you breathe in the immediate vicinity of your work. OSHA has adopted the TLVs and 

refers to them in the law as Permissible Exposure Levels (PELs). The hoods in your lab are designed to 

keep exposure levels below the PELs of chemicals you use. Find this booklet with the other books listed 

above in the Chemistry Department Stockroom, # 110. 

The Bowman Gray School of Medicine's summary titled "Health Hazards of Some 

Common Chemicals" is included in your online information page for this course. You will probably 

find that this is the most useful source information for the hazards of most of the chemicals you will 

be using in this lab. 

9. First semester Intro Organic Chemistry lab (CHM 122L) students view the following audio-visual tape 

and receive printed safety information, in addition to safety instructions from the departmental laboratory 

manager and/or your instructor: 

* Audio-Visual Program from the American Chemical Society entitled "Introduction to 

Laboratory Safety," covering the following topics; 

a) Chemical toxicity and the three types of OSHA Permissible Exposure Levels (PELs) of 

the relatively low air concentrations of hazardous chemicals encountered in your lab; 

� Time Weighted Averages (TWAs), which are averages of air concentrations 

measured over an 8 hour workday 

� Short Term Exposure Levels (STELs), which allow exposure to a higher 

concentration of a chemical, usually for a 15 minute period 

� Ceiling Limits, air concentration levels which cannot be exceded in any case, 

usually for irritant chemicals 

b) Corrosivity, Flammability, and Reactivity definitions, examples, and hazards of 

pyrophoric and water-reactive chemicals 

c) Summary of departmental requirements for MSDS sheets and sources of information in 

departmental books and literature sources 

d) Information about the Chemical Hygiene Plan requirement, Hazardous Waste Policy, 

chemical spills, and the OSHA Laboratory Standard requirement for description of 

carcinogens, mutagens/teratogens, and extremely hazardous chemicals and the requirement 

for designated areas in research labs 

e) Segregation of chemicals, storage areas for larger volume organic solvents in cabinets 

under hoods in back of undergraduate Organic Chem labs 

f) Fifty-five gallon Acetone drum grounding wires in the solvent room (Salem #20) for 

prevention of static electrical charge buildup 

h) Organic Peroxide buildup in certain bottles of old ether containers, and how to test for 

peroxides with departmentally available test strip paper. 

162

When these audio-visuals and discussions are finished, the students must all sign the Wake Forest 

University Hazard Communication Training Log form. 

* Lastly, the student must read the Basic Safety Rules for All Laboratories form, sign it, and turn 

the signature page in to the Stockroom at check-in and pick up safety goggles along with an apron, 

cotton towel, and any missing equipment in their laboratory lockers. Throughout the semester, 

they are required to wear safety glasses/goggles/or side shields and obtain gloves from the 

stockroom window when hazardous chemicals are used for a particular experiment 

* One laboratory textbook for this course (Williamson, Kenneth L. Macroscale and Microscale 

Organic Experiments, 3rd edition, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1999) contains both normal-scale and 

micro-scale experiments, to cut down on the amount of hazardous chemical waste generated in 

theses labs. Chapter two, “Laboratory Safety and Waste Disposal,” is required reading for the 

students. It contains detailed information on handling chemicals for the entire course. In addition, 

each experimental procedure in the book ends with a section entitled “Cleaning Up.” These 

contain specific waste disposal information which are in all cases followed by the student as the 

last step in their experiments unless otherwise instructed by their T.A.‟s to follow the instructions 

listed by the Chemical Preparation Personnel or the Hazardous Waste Manual in the Departmental 

Chemical Hygiene Plan. The other textbook is titled The Organic Chem Lab Survival Manual and 

contains an excellent subsection in the first chapter titled “Disposing of Waste”. In addition to 

comments in the safety film and the Lab Instructor‟s waste guidelines for each experiment, these 

textbook chapters and safety film comments constitute the final training all undergraduate students 

receive in handling hazardous waste, unless they engage in Summer School undergraduate 

chemical research, in which case they are required to read the Departmental Chemical Waste 

manual in the Chemistry Department‟s Chemical Hygiene Plan and so certify by signing the . 

* The student will also be given, via the on-line Chemistry Dept web page, a handout listing 

Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals to be consulted throughout the semester as specific 

information regarding chemical hazards and toxicity. It is also listed on the next page of this 

manual. 

* Instructors and Chemical Preparation Personnel (graduate students preparing the chemicals 

used in the lab) occasionally write specific chemical dispensing instructions and special hazardous 

waste instructions for the T.A.‟s. These will be handed out during pre-lab lectures. 

Second semester Organic Chemistry (CHM 223L) students will receive the Emergency 

Information sheet, the Laboratory Safety and Regulations handout, the Basic Safety Rules for all 

Laboratories signature handout, and the electronically generated Bowman Gray Health Hazards of Some 

Common Chemicals. 

163

1. Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals 

(From Bowman Gray School of Medicine’s Chemical Waste Disposal: Policies and Procedures, 1985, 

pages III 2-6, reprinted with permission) 

Some of the more obviously dangerous properties of common classes of chemicals are listed here 

as a preliminary source of toxicity information. Physical and health hazards are described, along with 

“signs and symptoms associated with exposures to hazardous chemicals used in the laboratory” (OSHA, in 

29 CFR 1910.1450). You will not be using all of these chemicals in the undergraduate labs. In fact, the 

more dangerous a chemical is, the less likely it will be assigned as a reagent in your lab. 

1. “ Acids 

Acetic acid is considerably more corrosive to the skin than is generally believed, readily 

penetrating the skin producing blisters, dermatitis, and ulcers. Even at room temperature the 

vapor is highly irritating to the eyes and to the nose and throat on inhalation. 

2. Alcohols 

Chromic Acid is a strong oxidizing agent but not a strong acid. It is both poisonous and irritating 

to the skin. Precautions should be taken against skin contact with the solid or its solutions and 

against inhalation of dust from the solid or of mist from the solutions. Reaction with chlorides 

yields chromyl chloride. Chromic acid and chromyl chloride are suspected carcinogens. 

Hydrochloric acid fumes are corrosive to tissues on contact. 

Hydrofluoric acid is extremely irritating and corrosive to the skin and mucous membranes. It 

produces severe skin burns which are slow in healing. Burns must be treated immediately as 

tissue necrosis can develop. It is highly toxic by ingestion or inhalation. 

Nitric acid is a powerful oxidizing agent. In the oxidation of most organic materials, concentrated 

nitric acid will produce dense clouds of highly toxic red or brown oxides of nitrogen. Since 

inhalation of these oxides in dangerous quantities produces only a mild irritation of the 

respiratory organs, it is possible to inhale a dangerous concentration without much discomfort or 

apparent injury. 

Picric acid is rapidly absorbed through the unbroken skin and even more rapidly through wounds, 

leading to headache, fever, and insomnia. Exposure to the dust of picric acid may cause irritation 

to the nose and throat and especially of the eyes, leading to ulceration of the cornea. It is also 

hazardous due to its explosive properties. 

Sulfuric acid (concentrated) chars and destroys plant or animal tissue because of its avidity for 

water, which it removes from organic material with which it comes in contact. The fumes are 

extremely irritating both to the skin and to the mucous membranes. 

Phosphorus halides and oxy-halides are fuming liquids or solids which decompose rapidly in the 

presence of water or moist air to form hydrochloric, phosphorous, or phosphoric acids. The 

vapors are strongly irritating to the skin, mucous membranes, and respiratory system. 

Phenol (carbolic acid) is readily absorbed through the intact skin. Liquid phenol in contact with 

skin produces a tingling sensation followed by a loss of feeling. The skin becomes white and 

wrinkled and later turns dark brown and sloughs off. This is not a true corrosive action, but is a 

local gangrene caused by destruction of the blood supply to the affected area. 

164

The alcohols show a regular dependence of narcotic action on their physical constants. 

Anesthetic power increases with increasing molecular weight. Butyl and amyl alcohol have in 

addition a slight irritant action and some degree of poisonous action on the protoplasm. 

Secondary alcohols are stronger narcotics than the primary alcohols. With the exception 

of methyl alcohol, the toxicity of the alcohols is comparatively small. Methyl alcohol is a 

poisonous substance and contact, as well as inhalation, should be avoided. This compound exerts 

a particular effect on the optic nerve and ingestion or inhalation may cause blindness. 

3. Glycols and alcohol-ethers 

These are principally blood and kidney poisons. The glycols are not considered exceedingly 

toxic; ethylene glycol and ethyl ether are of comparable toxicity. Cellosolve, methyl cellosolve, 

and carbitol are common alcohol-ethers which are considered hazardous in high concentrations. 

4. Aldehydes and ketones 

5. Alkalies 

6. Aniline 

The aldehydes are primarily irritants but they also have some narcotic action. Formaldehyde is 

poisonous and a concentration of 5 parts per million is considered the threshold of a safe working 

atmosphere. Acrolein is a lachrymator and was used in a war gas mixture. 

The ketones are narcotic and are markedly stimulating to the respiratory center. In comparison 

with some of the other solvents, they are relatively harmless although the inhalation or ingestion 

of large quantities can be toxic. 

Sodium and potassium hydroxide are white solids which are extremely soluble in water. The most 

common injuries suffered are burns of the skin or eyes on contact. They are especially destructive 

to eye tissue. 

Ammonia is a strong irritant and can produce sudden death from bronchial spasm, but causes no 

lasting harm in concentrations small enough to be severely irritating. It is absorbed readily 

through the respiratory tract and is rapidly metabolized so that it ceases to act as ammonia. It is 

particularly dangerous if splashed in the eyes. 

Aniline can be absorbed through the skin and is dangerous to inhale or ingest. Aniline dye 

compounds produce cyanoses and affect the central nervous system and bladder. 

7. Carbon monoxide 

Carbon monoxide is a chemical asphyxiant since it combines with the hemoglobin of the blood to 

form a stable compound. The affinity of carbon monoxide for hemoglobin is about 300 times that 

of oxygen and a preferential absorption always takes place. 

8. Cyanides and nitriles 

Hydrocyanic acid is a highly toxic colorless gas with the odor of bitter almonds. It is readily 

absorbed through the skin at high concentrations. It blocks cellular respiration by poisoning the 

oxidation catalysts. It is not a respiratory irritant. 

Hydrogen cyanide and its simple soluble salts are among the most rapid acting of all poisons. 

The halogenated materials are also highly toxic and possess some of the same properties as HCN. 

However, at low concentrations, these materials behave more like the vesicant gases. 

165

9. Esters 

10. Ethers 

11. Halogens 

Nitriles can cause the same general symptoms as HCN, but the onset is apt to be slower and they 

are more likely to be active as primary irritants on the skin or eye. They are also frequently 

absorbed rapidly and completely through the intact skin in the same manner as the cyanides. The 

halogenated compounds are also highly toxic and possess some of the same properties as HCN. 

However, at low concentrations, these materials behave more like the highly irritating vesicant 

gases such as phosgene and cause severe lachrymatory effect and both acute and delayed 

pulmonary edema and irritation. 

The action of the esters varies widely from the mildly anesthetic and irritant properties of ethyl 

acetate to the very poisonous, irritant and vesicant action of methyl sulfate and the esters of 

formic acid. The formic acid esters are powerful irritants, especially the chlorinated ones. They 

have been used as war gases. With increase in molecular weight, the relative toxicity of the esters 

increases, but because of decrease in volatility, the actual danger decreases. 

The ethers are powerful narcotics acting rapidly on the central nervous system. They are also 

slightly irritant and can be dangerous if inhaled in large quantities. 

Chlorine is a dangerous and strong lung irritant and a concentration of one part per million for 

an 8 hour exposure is the maximum allowed. This is also the lowest concentration offering a 

detectable odor. 

Bromine fumes are highly irritating to the eyes and both the upper and lower sections of the 

respiratory tract. The maximum allowable concentration is one part per million and the least 

detectable odor is in the order of 3.5 parts per million. 

12. Hydrocarbons 

13. Metals 

Saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons are relatively harmless from the toxicological point of view. 

Methane and ethane are simple asphysiants; propane and butane have, in addition, anesthetic 

properties, while hydrocarbons from pentane and up are narcotic, convulsive and irritant. 

Hexane and heptane are the most dangerous. 

Unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons from ethylene to heptylene have simple asphysiant and 

anesthetic properties. Acetylene may also be included in this group. 

Cyclic hydrogenated hydrocarbons are more potent than the open chain hydrocarbons but are 

less toxic than the aromatic hydrocarbons. Cyclohexane has about the same toxicity as hexane 

but has a stronger narcotic action. They have their principal effect on the central nervous 

system. 

Aromatic hydrocarbons are much more poisonous than the aliphatic group. Benzene has a 

destructive influence on blood cells and blood-forming organs following chronic exposure. It also 

has an acute narcotic effect and may cause intoxication, unconsciousness or death in a short time 

if present in high concentration. It may be carcinogenic. 

Halogenated hydrocarbons as a class have the general physiological effect of anesthesia and 

narcosis. Permanent damage may result to the liver and kidneys. The halogenated hydrocarbons 

of the benzene group may be blood poisons. 

166

Lead, mercury, arsenic, chromium, beryllium, antimony, selenium, and manganese are common 

hazardous metals. As a general rule, metals are more hazardous within compounds rather than 

the elemental state, and the more soluble the compound is, the more poisonous it is likely to be. 

The damage produced from inhalation of the metallic dust is greater than by swallowing. 

14. Compounds of sulfur, phosphorus, and nitrogen 

The principal mineral acids (hydrochloric, nitric, sulfuric and phosphoric) and their gases are 

hazardous to inhale. The fumes are very irritating to the respiratory tract. 

Phosphorous halides are very irritating to the respiratory tract. Formation of strong acids on 

contact with water can cause severe tissue burns when inhaled. 

Hydrogen sulfide is nearly as toxic as hydrogen cyanide but is not absorbed through the skin. Its 

characteristic odor is not reliable as a warning signal because higher concentrations, which have 

a sweetish odor, also have a paralyzing effect on the olfactory nerves. The gas paralyzes the 

respiratory center of the brain at toxic levels. 

Dimethyl sulfate is an odorless, powerful lung irritant as well as a lachrymator and vesicant. It 

can be absorbed through the skin and affects all the mucous membranes and the respiratory 

system. It is a suspected carcinogen. 

Nitrogen oxides are extremely dangerous because of their delayed action. Harmful and even fatal 

quantities can be inhaled without immediate noticeable effects. Pulmonary edema usually results 

from extended inhalation. Nitration operations and welding can evolve these oxides. 

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) penetrates the unbroken skin and enters the circulatory system 

extremely rapidly. It can carry with it dissolved materials which would ordinarily not penetrate 

the skin.” 

167

D. Training for Graduate Students, Post-Doctorates, and Research 

Undergraduates 

All new Graduate Students are required to view the American Chemical Society film titled 

Introduction to Laboratory Safety, and to read the Chemical Hygiene Plan for the Chemistry Department 

and abide by all rules and instructions listed therein (black print text only). They are then required to sign 

the “Chemistry Department Certification of Safety Training” form below and give it to the laboratory 

manager. Research undergraduate students will also view the film, sign the “Basic Safety Rules” form, and 

read only the Safety Manual subsections stipulated below. Normally, the training stipulated here will occur 

in August of each year, (and during May or June for summer school research undergraduates). An annual 

Gas Cylinder Safety lecture will occur each January. Everyone will receive specific instruction in handling 

Hazardous chemical Waste. 

168

1. Certification of Safety Training Form for Graduate Students, Post-Graduates, 

and Summer School Undergraduate Research Students 

CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT CERTIFICATION OF SAFETY TRAINING 

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS, POST-DOCTORATES, 

AND SUMMER SCHOOL UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS 

I certify that the following Graduate Student or Post-Doctorate has seen the Safety Film and 

received the instruction to read the Chemical Hygiene Plan and Safety Manual for Salem Hall (with special 

emphasis on the Bowman-Gray School of Medicine‟s “The Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals” 

and “Procedures for Handling Hazardous Chemical Waste”), 

Or 

That the Summer School Research Undergraduate student listed at the bottom of this form has 

seen the Safety Film and received the normal Departmental Safety Handouts (with special emphasis on the 

Bowman-Gray School of Medicine‟s “The Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals” and “Procedures 

for Handling Hazardous Chemical Waste”). 

Print name of Witnessing WFU Chemistry Professor 

Signature Date 

I have seen the Safety Film, received the Departmental Safety Handouts, and read the Chemistry 

Department‟s Chemical Hygiene Plan and Safety Manual, including the “Procedures for Handling 

Hazardous Chemical Waste”, and “The Health Hazards of Some Common Chemicals” and agree to abide 

by the rules and regulations stated therein. 

Print Graduate Student or Post Doc Name 


I have read the Chemistry Department‟s Safety Handouts, read and signed the Basic Safety Rules for All 

Undergraduate Laboratories, seen the Safety Film, and read the “Procedures for Handling Hazardous 

Chemical Waste” and “The Health Hazards of some Common Chemicals”, and agree to abide by the rules 

and regulations stated therein. 

Undergraduate Research Student Name 


169

2. Yearly Announcement of Gas Cylinder Safety and New Graduate Student Safety 

Review 

New Graduate Student Safety Review 

And 

Safe Use of Compressed Gas Cylinders and Regulators 

Presented by National Welders 

And 

Pipe and Swagelok Tube Fittings in Research Laboratories 

Presented by Dr. Robert Swofford 

Tuesday, January 15, 2008 

9:00 AM – 1:00 PM 

Lecture Room # 10, Ground Floor, Salem Hall 

Required Attendance of all Research Graduate Students in the 

Chemistry Department 

Agenda 

“Be There or Be Hexagonal” 

Demos and Audience Participation!! 

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (coffee and donuts served): 

� Safety Review, required of all 1 st -year Graduate Students 

10:00 – 11:00 AM (coffee and donuts served): 

� Gas Cylinders, National Welders, required of all Graduate Students 

11:00 AM – Noon 

� Regulators, National Welders, required of all Graduate Students 

Noon – 1:00 PM - FREE LUNCH and Follow-Up Discussion with Dr. Swofford, open to all Graduate 

Students 

� Thread sizes (CGA numbers; Gas, Tube, and Pipe Fittings) 

� Swagelok fittings and connections 

� Sources for Various Fittings 

170

3. Summer School Safety Training Announcement for Research Undergrads: 

For Undergraduate Research Students, and Safety Review for Graduate Students 

DEPARTMENTAL SAFETY TRAINING 

SESSION 

Thursday, May 31 

2:00-3:00 pm 

Salem 10 

Mike Thompson 

Bruce King 

This session will be held as an orientation for new summer 

researchers in the department as well as first/second year 

graduate students. All are welcome to attend, light 

refreshments provided. 

171

4. New Graduate Student and new Undergraduate Research Student Safety 

Orientation Announcement, in August of each year: 

DEPARTMENTAL SAFETY TRAINING 

SESSION 

Tuesday, August 21 

1:00 – 2:30 pm 

Salem 210 

Mike Thompson 

Bruce King 

This session will be held as a Chemical Safety Orientation 

for new Graduate Students in the Chemistry, Physics, and 

NanoTechnology Departments who work with chemicals. 

Undergraduate Chemical Researchers are also welcome. 

172

V. Chemistry Department Purchase Order Request System 

Chemicals, equipment, and supplies are usually ordered from outside private companies with the use of two 

types of Purchase Order Forms as follows: 

A) The Department‟s new and improved computer generated Purchase Request Form, prepared by 

Ms. Melissa Doub, the Business Manager for the Chemistry Department, is located at: 

http://www.wfu.edu/chemistry/purchase/. Please bookmark this page and remember that you must log on to 

it the same way you log on to the Chemical Inventory system (that is, with your username, minus the 

@wfu.edu, and your password). If you need to see an example of the way to fill out the form, speak to 

Melissa Doub in office # 208, top floor. Purchases for over $1000 cannot be placed this way. 

B) TYPE IN ALL PERTINENT INFORMATION ON THE DEPARTMENTAL ORDER FORM 

� Starting at the top of the form, type in the Date you wish to place the order over the phone. 

� Fill in the “Ship To” field with your Research professor‟s name, or with a combination of your 

professor‟s name and your own. For example: 

1. Dr. Albus Dumbledore, or 

2. Dr. Albus Dumbledore/Harry Potter, or, for that matter, Dr. Albus Dumbledore/Potter is 

fine. But please! Always include your research Professor’s name in the shipping 

address. Do not address Chemistry Department related purchases to your name alone!!! 

Graduate students are sometimes difficult to track down and find in the building! 

� Fill in the “Bill to Account” field. This is the professor's grant number or funding description, 

from which said purchase will be paid. The faculty member authorizing the purchase will know 

this number or abbreviation/acronym. His/her permission is required for obtaining this 

information. If this is a departmental purchase for a teaching lab, you must fill out this field, with, 

say, Dept, and scroll to “yes” in the “Departmental Charge?” field. 

� Fill out the “Purchase Order To” field with the name of the company – its Vendor Address is 

optional. 

� Fill in the “Company’s WFU Account No.” Most firms accepting large volume business from our 

department will have their own particular "account number" for all University‟s that buy from 

them, in order to expedite their invoicing (billing) records. Fisher Scientific Company's account 

number for us is 861448-01, for example. For Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Company it is 49464319 

(unless you have an individual PIN number). SEE THE VENDER’S LIST OF OTHER 

COMPANY ACCOUNT NUMBERS AT THE END OF THIS SECTION. If you know this 

number, please include it, since the company will usually ask for it when you are calling in an 

order. If you don't, the lab manager will add it, if you wish him to place the order. Sometimes the 

company already knows what this number is if you‟re calling from Wake University Chemistry 

Department. Discounts offered to us will be recognized by the company with use of this number. 

� Fill in the company's telephone number (toll-free, if available) 

� You won‟t need to add the Salesperson Name in most cases. 

� Use the Notes field to add any important information to the form regarding the order that you may 

wish to refer to later, such as items on back-order, special shipping instructions, original catalog 

numbers no longer available for items that have received newer catalog numbers, substitute 

descriptions, extra discount pricing information, technical information regarding possible 

instrumental problems, questions regarding purity of chemicals, etc. 

� You can only order up to 20 different catalog items per order. Start out with item # 1. Supply the 

Cat. No. (catalog Number) for the item. Write in the QTY (for quantity of items – That is, the 

number of bottles, or the number of packs, or the number of cases of the item). Lastly, type in the 

Description of the item. If it is a chemical, type in the amount, unit, and chemical name. For 

example, type in 100 grams of 4-Nitroaniline, or one case of 6 X 500 grams of Sodium hydroxide, 

etc. If you are ordering anything other than chemicals, type in its description and how much of it 

you want. For example, type in “3 cases of test tubes”, or “5 packs of nitrile gloves”, etc. 

173

� When you have listed everything you wish to order, call the company, tell them you wish to place 

an order, give them the Company’s WFU Account No. if they ask for it, tell them to whose 

attention the order should be shipped, and make sure they have this exact shipping address: 

� 

Dr. Albus Dumbledore /Harry Potter or better, simply Dr. Albus Dumbledore 



Winston-Salem, NC 27109-7486 

Fill in the Total Cost field, including tax. At some point during this call to the company 

you will be asked to supply the Purchase Order Number for this order. Inform them that with this 

new ordering system, you cannot give them that number until you know how much everything 

costs. Now, Click the Submit PO Request box at the bottom of the page. (The Reset Form field 

merely sets everything back to a blank form if you make mistakes and wish to start over.) After 

you click Submit PO Request while you still have the company on the phone, the page you have 

so patiently filled out will magically disappear and be replaced with your Chemistry Purchase 

Order Detail page, which repeats all the relevant information you‟ve typed in, as well as finally 

giving you your Purchase Order Number for this particular order. Now repeat the Purchase 

Order number to the individual on the phone taking your order. You would be well advised at this 

point to print the Detail Page out as a hardcopy [Or you can store it as a PDF file on your 

computer - Press “file”, click on “Print”, and choose “Adobe PDF” on the printer scroll down list 

and store it under My Documents in a file for all such Purchase Order copies.] The words 

“PLEASE PRINT FOR YOUR RECORDS” will appear at the bottom of the Detail Page 

anyway, so you may as well keep a copy. If you receive the wrong items from the company, the 

Lab Manager will not be able to return them without seeing the information on this page. Lastly, 

after placing an order with you, the company will usually give you yet another number which you 

need to handwrite on this hardcopy, preferably in the section marked “Comments:” at the bottom 

of the Chemistry Purchase Order Detail page - This is the Confirmation or Reference number. 

This is a number which is particularly useful to the company and the lab manager in keeping track 

of the shipment of this order. Returns almost invariably require use of this number. If you store 

the Chemistry Purchase Order Detail page as a PDF file, you must somehow type in this number 

on the PDF file when you‟re finished with everything. 

C) Fisher Scientific Company orders 

Certain companies are given "blanket purchase order numbers", meaning one P.O. # for 

all orders placed with that company, due to large volume Chemistry Department purchases from 

them. 

In particular, Fisher Scientific company's blanket P.O.# is C-23837. There is no need to 

use the above mentioned standard Departmental Purchase Order Form, as the P.O.# C-23837 was 

used long ago. The only record necessary for a particular Fisher order is your completed 

REQUEST TO ORDER FROM FISHER SCIENTIFIC form, copies of which are kept in the 

Chemistry Department office in room 110A or with the Lab Manager. Call in Fisher orders 

yourself or request that the laboratory manager place the call. In any case, make sure that the 

completed handwritten REQUEST TO ORDER FROM FISHER SCIENTIFIC form ends up 

with the laboratory manager, on his desk or in his mailbox. If the order is over $1000 you must 

give the ordering information to Ms. Melissa Doub in the form of a faxed quote from Fisher, who 

will issue the quote to the University‟s Purchasing Department in Reynolda Hall. They will call in 

the order to and assign their own Purchase Order number to it. 

One order is distinguished from another with descriptor numbers added to C-23837, as 

follows: 

C23837MW-STARTUP-0922 

C23837DK-512030-0922 

C23837ST-698020-0922 

List the Fisher P.O.# (C-23837), the initials of the professor's name (i.e., MW for Dr. 

Mark Welker, DK for Dr. Dilip Kondepudi, ST for Dr. Susan Tobey), the last six digits of the 

174

faculty members personal "Professor‟s Billing Account #", or a brief description of the account if 

it has no number (i.e., STARTUP funds, NSF account, NIH grant, etc.), and the date (0922). 

Fisher offers a larger discount rate than most other companies. Catalog numbers for items 

made by Kontes, Corning, Brinkman, Buchi, etc., are cross-referenced to Fisher catalog numbers by 

secretaries taking your call. Items made by other companies and purchased through Fisher are usually less 

expensive. Also, there is no transportation charge for Fisher deliveries, but there is a $19 hazardous 

chemical fee for hazardous chemical shipments. Acros is a part of Fisher Scientific Co. (prefix all Acros 

chemical catalog #s on a Fisher order with “AC”). Acros competes well with Sigma-Aldrich cost-wise, and 

their selection of chemicals is just as extensive. 

When any shipment arrives, it will be on the receiving table in the loading dock area next to the full 

compressed gas cylinders. The laboratory manager will normally deliver packages to each professor. Have 

an area within your lab designated as the "Receiving Area" bench-top space or desk or floor, if need be. 

You may take your shipments up to your lab yourself, if you wish, but you must remove the packing slips 

and place them in the packing slip wire basket, next to the receiving table. These are used as shipment 

verification receipts. You can keep them in a separate place or drawer within your lab, if you wish. If your 

Purchase Order Form information was correct, there will be no discrepancies in shipping addresses or 

invoicing (billing). 

D) National Welders, Inc., a local company which supplies most of the Chemistry Department's 

compressed gases, has been given a “blanket” purchase order # C23934. 

All purchases from this company are given the same number. You don‟t need a Purchase 

Order form, as all orders with this local company are verbal. There is no need to distinguish one 

purchase from another, as all invoices are well maintained and sent to us by the company. Call 

them at 744-0010 and include Salem Hall in the shipping address. They know the rest. Just make 

sure they send the cylinders to Wake Forest University, Chemistry Department, Salem Hall, 

Reynolda campus. 

Commonly ordered large compressed gases are described with cubic-foot (cf) sizes rather 

than catalog numbers as follows. Use these descriptions when ordering over the phone: 

� Argon, size 336 

� Argon, High Purity 336 

� 10% Hydrogen in Argon 

� Air (Industrial grade), size 300 

� Helium, size 219 

� Hydrogen, size 191 

� Nitrogen, size 304 

� Oxygen, size 282 

� Acetylene, size 140 

� Carbon dioxide, size 50 

� Carbon monoxide size 200 

� Liquid Nitrogen LS 160 liter size (for general departmental use, located in the loading dock, 

usually cast iron “magnetic” or sometimes stainless steel “non-magnetic” tank 

You can also get several of the gases above as “Ultra High Purity” (usually Helium) or 

“oxygen-Free” (usually Nitrogen) grades. 

Returnable, large-size cylinders of common gases are normally charged to the 

departmental account. Specialized equipment (regulators, lecture bottles, unusual special gas 

mixtures etc.) will be charged to individual research accounts. This company will also repair all 

types of regulators. I think it‟s better to get regulators for common gases from Fisher (get catalog 

series # 10-572). They are less expensive and already have the needle valves attached. 

You should have a Specialty Gases and Equipment catalog from National Welders kept in your 

laboratory. Also, keep a copy of the Matheson Gas Products Catalog, which lists lecture bottles of 

175

specialty gases sold by Sunox, a local company, 996-3832. If lecture bottles are purchased 

from National Welders, they can be returned when empty to them rather than taken out 

with garbage to a landfill. Lecture bottles of unusual gases can be purchase from National 

Welders, care of Mr. David Young, phone # 1-800-866-4422, ext. 3602, cell phone # 336-817- 

5070. I prefer that you purchase lecture bottles from National Welders. 

The following liquid gases are usually purchased by Dr. Marcus Wright for use in the NMR room, 

from National welders, unless otherwise noted: 

� Liquid Helium 100 liters (for the NMR room, room # 12A) 

� Liquid Nitrogen LNS 160, PGS45, or XL50, all High Pressure Stainless Steel “non-magnetic” 

tanks for the Mass Spectrometer in the NMR room. 

� Liquid Nitrogen LNS 160, PGS45, or XL50, all Low Pressure Stainless Steel “non-magnetic” 

tanks for the NMR. 

The following liquid Argon gas tank is purchased by Dr. Brad Jones, for use in Lab room # 118, 

from National welders, perhaps once every 2 months: 

� Liquid Argon LARS50 

The following liquid gas is purchased from Magnetic Resources company maybe once a year as a 

backup supplier, in case National Welders runs out of current amount needed: 

� Liquid Helium size 100, Stainless Steel “non-magnetic”, from Magnetic Resources, phone 

800-443-5486, for the NMR room 

Lecture bottles bought from Sigma-Aldrich Chemical Co. can be returned to them via ROADWAY 

CO. shipment. Sigma-Aldrich has a standard form to attach to the package. Follow the procedure 

they will mail you when you call them at 1-800-558-9160. 

Matheson lecture bottle gases can also be purchased by calling Matheson directly in Georgia at 

770-961-7891. Returning these empty lecture bottles is relatively easy. See the appropriate 

section in the chapter entitled “Procedure For Handling Hazardous Chemical Waste”, #7, “Spent 

Lecture Bottle Compressed Gas Cylinders”. 

Please note that a good local source for copper, stainless steel and aluminum tubing of various 

sizes is as follows: Ferguson Enterprises, Inc., 7905 North Point Blvd., Winston-Salem, NC phone 

# 759-0253. 

In particular, standard size copper tubing (l/8 in. outside diameter, 0.028 in. inside diameter), 

standard size stainless steel tubing (again, 1/8 in. O.D. and 0.028 in.I.D.) and aluminum tubing can 

be ordered here with prompt delivery. We have an account with them (WFU Acct. # 2350). 

Fisher also sells copper tubing and Swagelok fittings. The only other source for Swagelok fittings 

is Charlotte Valve and Fitting Co., 704-598-7040, WFU Acct. # WFU001. 

Process and Control Equipment company in Charlotte, NC, phone # 704-334-0881, is a good 

source for Imperial Eastman polyethylene tubing (Poly-Flow tubing, catalog # 22-P, for 1/8th inch O.D., 

and 44-P, for 1/4th inch O.D., of various colors). This tubing will withstand a maximum working pressure 

of 125 psi for 1/8th inch tubing and 100 psi for 1/4th inch tubing. 

176

Vendor’s List for Wake Forest University Chemistry Department 

COMPANY NAME WFU ACCOUNT # TELEPHONE # DISCOUNT 

AAPER ALCOHOL & CHEMICAL CO. 020253 800-456-1017 

ACE GLASS 36230231 800-626-5381 YES 

ACE HARDWARE 768-3886 

ACROS ORGANICS (C/O FISHER) 861448-01 800-766-7000 YES 

Advanced Appliance Service 767-1435 

AETC 362140 201-347-7111 

AIR PRODUCTS 71702 299-1361 

ALFA AESAR (JOHNSON MATTHEY) 56046733 800-343-0660 

AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY 361266 800-227-5558 

American Environmental Services, Inc 704-588-1070 

Amersham Pharmacia Biotech 41904 800-526-3593 

ANDATACO 113200 619-453-9191 

ANDERS SERV CENTER (VCR REPAIR) 869-1292 

Agilent Technologies 47157 800-227-9770 yes 

ANIXTER 829155 FAX: 919-292-2694 

APPLIED SPECTROSCOPY, SOCIETY FOR 913-843-1235 

APPLIED WEIGHT TECHNOLOGY 336-260-2988 

ATLANTIC MICROLAB 404-242-0084 

BARNSTEAD/LABORATORY DEVICES 43707000 800-447-6722 

BIORAD 036423-002 800-424-6723 

BODMAN 309-300 800-241-8774 YES 

BRINKMAN 755265-3 800-645-3050 

Brucker-AXS 800-234-XRAY 

CALBIOCHEM 113032 619-450-9600 

Brucker NMR 978-667-9580 

CALICO INDUSTRIES, INC. 511370 800-638-0828 

Calumet Photo 888-367-2781 

CAMBRIDGE ISOTOPE 271090 800-322-1174 

CAMERA CORNER WAK480 800-868-2462 

CAPITOL VACUUM 800-237-3933 

CARGO-PACK 919-554-3844 

CAROLABS 203-393-3029 

CAROLINA BALANCE WAK2 996-3631 YES 

CAROLINA BIOLOGICAL SUPPLY CO. 4440700 800-632-1231 

CENTRAL SCIENTIFIC CO 800-262-3626 

CERAMPTEC 759-4656 

Charles Supper Company 800-323-9645 

CHARLOTTE VALVE & FITTING CO. WFU001 704-598-7040 

CHEM CENTRAL (ACETONE DRUMS) 800-755-8879 YES 

CHEMGLASS WAK001 800-843-1794 YES 

COLE-PARMER 381234-01 800-323-4340 

CONSOLIDATED PLASTICS (RUBBER MAID) 97744-893650 800-362-1000 

CORPORATE EXPRESS (HINKLES) 770-1500 

CPI 3810 800-878-7654 

CRESENT CHEMICAL CO. 800-645-3412 

177

CURTIN MATHESON SCI. CO. 23-008-409-40 800-241-7670 YES 

Cynmar Corporation 22805 800-223-3517 yes 

DEGUSSA 001947 908-561-1100 

DILLON SUPPLY CO. WS70528 723-2961 

Eagle Instrument Services, Inc., Repair of Vacuum Pumps 1-888-433-0890 

EASTMAN KODAK (OWNED BY FISHER) 1119502 800-766-7000 

EDMUND SCIENTIFIC CO. 325522 609-573-6250 YES 

E G Forrest 723-9151 

EG&G PARK 2WAKFORE1 609-530-1000 

ESA, Inc, 22 Alpha Road, Chelmsford, MA Zip 01824-4171 978-250-7090 

EXCELLINK WAKE 408-295-9000 

FARALLON COMPUTING 1232900 510-596-9359 

FARCHAN LABORATORIES, INC. 2310001 904-378-5864 

FERGUSON ENTERPRISES, INC. 2350 704-598-7040 

Fishel Steel Co., Inc. Winston-Salem 788-2880 

FISHER SAFETY 861448-01 800-772-6733 

FISHER SCIENTIFIC 861448-01 800-766-7000 YES 

FISHER, ED MATERIALS DIV. (EMD) 420356-001 800-955-1177 

FLINN SCIENTIFIC INC 2710902 800-452-1261 

FLUKA (C/O SIGMA-ALDRICH) 49464319 800-558-9160 

EG FORREST, 1023 N Chestnut St none 723-9151 

FREY 1578608 800-225-3739 

Frontier Scientific, Inc 1328 435-753-1901 

GALBRAITH LABS 615-546-1335 

GATEWAY WAKEFOR1/000 605-232-2000 

GENICOM 703-949-1000 

G. J. CHEMICAL CO., INC. Cell 910-540-4588 973-968-3348 

GFS CHEMICALS 800-858-9682 

GLOBAL COMPUTER SUPPLIES 49219708226 800-845-6225 

GOLDEN SOFTWARE 303-279-1021 

GOW-MAC INSTRUMENT CO. 610-954-9000 

GRAINGER(Login chemdept, password 7486) 837412493 759-2000 

GRAPHIC CONTROLS 60227656 800-669-1535 

GRAYBAR ELECTRIC CO 

GRAY SUPPLY CO. 206492 800-238-2244 

HALOCARBON PRODUCTS CORP. 1278 201-262-8899 

HEWLETT PACKARD 311129252 1-800-888-9909 

Hankison International 724-745-1555 

HOLOX (FOR DRY ICE) J7134 996-3832 

ICN CHEMICALS (INCLUDES K&K LABS) 122143 800-854-0530 

INGOLD ELECTRODES INC. (MEC-TRIC) 10704-376 704-376-8555 

INMAC (DAVE BARKIN OUR REP 2006) 912028 800-547-5444 

INSTS FOR RES AND INDUSTRY (I R) 215-379-3333 

International Crystal Labs 1-973-478-8944 

JANSEN CHIMICA (SPECTRUM CHEM) WAK030 800-772-8786 

JENSON 800-426-1194 

JOYCE BROTHERS 6307 765-6927 

KEWAUNEE SCIENTIFIC CORP 1-704-873-7202 

178

KODAK LABORATORY CHEMICALS BUY FR FISHER 

KONTES 66001 800-223-7150 

LABELMASTER key Code GA1100 0157623 800-621-5808 

LAB GLASS 250150 800-522-7123 YES 

LAB SAFETY SUPPLY, INC. 731096 800-356-0783 

LAB TECH, INC 11940 770-422-3305 

LANCASTER SYNTHESIS, INC. WFU1 800-238-2324 

LEEMAN LABS 508-454-4442 

LIEBERT CORPORATION 800-543-2378 

LONG COMMUNICATIONS 725-2306 

MACHINE & WELDING SUPPLY CO. 723-9651 

MATHESON GASES 215-648-4007 

MAC WAREHOUSE 3813396 OR 

9299215 (DK) 

MCARTHY SCIENTIFIC CO. 760-731-6570 

MELLES GRIOT 11899 800-835-2626 

METTLER 19330 800-638-8537 

MIDWEST CENTER FOR MASS SPEC. 402-472-3507 

MILLIPORE CORP/WATERS 5140 97437 800-645-5476 

MISCO 1080104 800-876-4726 

MONOMER POLYMER (DAJAC LABS) 215-364-6111 

NATIONAL CABINET LOCK 864-297-6655 

NATIONAL WELDERS SUPPLY CO. 1491355 744-0010 YES 

NEWARK ELECTRONICS (NITA MOORE) 82590 292-7240 YES 

New England Biolabs C8495 899-632-5227 

NORELL, INC. NC WFU 800-222-0036 

OCEAN OPTICS 415 813-733-2447 

OMEGA ENGINEERING, INC. 397970 1-800-826-6342 

OMNI INSTRUMENTS (CHRIS DEATON) 228-388-9211 

ONYX ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES 1-800-626-1461 

OTIS ELEVATOR 996-5030 

PARR INSTRUMENT CO. 13018 309-762-7716 

Pharmacia Biotech, Amersham 41904 800-526-3593 

Picometrics, France,701Chemin,d’Embeoune 31450-Montlaur 33(0)5.61.28.56.88 

PINE INSTRUMENT COMPANY WAFU 412-458-6391 

PCR, INC. 393076 800-331-6313 

PERKIN ELMER 100020571 800-762-4002, opt 1, 2 

PFALTZ AND BAUER UW0001 800-225-5172 

Physician Sales and service (PSS) 393075 800-874-2240, ext.3905 

PROCESS CONTROL EQUIPMENT 38400 704-334-0881 

POLYMICRO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. WAK-0002 602-375-4100 

POLY SOFTWARE NITERNAT'L 801-485-0466 

PUBLIC SCIENTIFIC GLASS 924-2183 

Qiagen 42840 800-426-8157 

QUARK ENTERPRISES, INC. WAKEF 800-955-0376 

RADIO SHACK (PINE RIDGE PLAZA) C00003223061424 722-0903 

REAGENTS INC. (ACETONE DRUMS) 504826 800-732-8484 YES 

RELIANCE GLASS WAKE FOREST U 800-323-3334 

179

RESEARCH INFORMATION SYSTEMS 619-438-5526 

RESEARCH SYSTEMS, INC. (RSI) 303-786-8900 

ROADWAY EXPRESS 993-4811 

SAFE LAB/NOW BH SCIENTIFIC GLASS 233014 800-932-7120 

SAFETY SUPPLY AMERICA 861448-01 800-772-6733 

SCHWEIZERHALL 963479 800-243-6564 

SCIENTIFIC PRODUCTS (BAXTER) 327607519002 800-234-5227 

SIGMA-ALDRICH 20385 800-558-9160 

Silicycle 877-745-4292 

SMALL PARTS INC. 27109WAF 800-423-9009 

SOUTHEASTERN LAB APPARATUS, INC. 100740 803-279-7668 

SPECTRUM CHEM (JANSSEN CHIMICA) WAK030 800-772-8786 

STN 0896924A 800-753-4CAS 

Stratagene 1174 800-424-5444 

STREM CHEMICALS, INC. 4-00905 800-647-8736 

Sunnyside Ice(dry Ice, if Iinde Gas quits selling 

it) 

723-5161 

SUPELCO 49464319 800-247-6628 

TCI AMERICA WAK22 800-423-8616 

TECH DATA 964225 800-237-8931 

TEKTRONIX, INC. 34111014 800-835-9433 

Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments Corp 800-642-6538 

THOMAS SCIENTIFIC 337952000 800-345-2100 YES 

Thomasville City Ice (picnic Ice in bulk) 472-7426 

TopBulb 430635 800-238-2244 

Topogen 800-867-6436 

TRIMETRIX WFU02 206-527-1801 

UNITED CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGIES WAWNB2 800-541-0559 

VAN WATERS AND ROGERS (VWR) 2038462 800-932-5000 

VESUVIUS MCDANIEL 2574 412-843-8300 

VIKING OFFICE PRODUCTS 377193 800-421-1222 

WATERS 5140 97437 800-252-4752 

WELCH VACUUM TECHNOLOGIES 847-676-8819 or 847-676-8800, ext. 8819 

WILMAD GLASS CO., INC. 250150 800-220-5171 

180

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION 

Acros is a part of Fisher Scientific Co. (prefix all Acros chemical catalog #s on a Fisher order with “AC”) 

Spectrum Chemical Mfg. Corp. is now part of Jansen Chimica. 

K & K Laboratories is now a part of ICN Chemicals. 

Schweizerhall and Chemalog now sell chemicals only in bulk quantities. 

Mallinckrodt and J. T. Baker sells their chemicals through Scientific Products until recently called Baxter or 

VWR (Van Waters and Rogers). VWR has merged with Scientific Products and is now called VWR 

Scientific Products. 

Baxter Chemicals is now Scientific Products. 

Kodak Laboratory Chemicals was bought out by Fisher Scientific Co. Buy Kodak Chemicals, using the 

Kodak catalog number from Fisher at 1-800-766-7000, through the ARCOS Organics catalog. ACROS 

sells addition chemicals as well, and all are sold at a 10% discount. 

Kimble Glassware is sold through its retail dealers, such as Fisher, Scientific Products (Baxter), etc. 

Curtin Matheson Sci. Co. has been bought out by Fisher. 

181

VI. Purchasing Procedure for DEA Controlled Substances 

Chemical purchases by faculty will occasionally result in chemical manufacture mailings warning 

of Drug Enforcement Administration (or DEA) regulations which apply to the purchase of certain "drug 

precursors" or "essential chemicals" involved in criminal preparation of illicit drugs. The pertinent section 

of the Code of Federal Regulations is as follows: 21 CFR 1310.05 and 1310.06. The listing of such 

chemicals occurs in section 21 CFR 1310.02, which can be accessed at: 

http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_00/21cfr1310_00.html 

According to Mike Callan and Brian Reese of the Greensboro branch of the DEA, the university, 

and the chemistry department in particular, do not "manufacture, distribute, export, or import" the chemicals 

listed above in 21 CFR 1310.02. Therefore, we are not subject to reporting requirements. We should, 

however, report any suspicious activity regarding these chemicals to the Greensboro DEA office (phone # 

547-4219) and keep them in a secure research, teaching lab, or storage room. 

Aldrich Chemical Co. requires annual signature updates from the Chemical Department for their 

DEA records. Since all chemicals in Salem Hall are purchased only via Faculty signatures on Purchase 

Order Forms, chemicals cannot possibly be bought by anyone else. 

The list of present authorized buyers of chemicals in Salem Hall is listed here: 

Alexander, Rebecca 

Bierbach, Ulrich, Prof. 

Brown, Bernard, Prof. 

Buchmueller, Karen, Prof. 

Colyer, Christa, Prof. 

Day, Cynthia, Prof. 

Doub, Melissa, Chemistry Department Administrative Assistant 

Glisen-King, Angela, Prof. 

Hinze, Willie L., Prof. 

Jones, Bradley, Prof. 

Jones, Paul, Prof. 

King, Bruce, Prof. 

Kondepudi, Dilip, Prof. 

Lachgar, Abdessadek, Prof. 

Noftle, Ronald, Prof. 

Swofford, Robert, Prof. 

Tobey, Suzanne, Prof. 

Thompson, Michael, Laboratory Manager 

Welker, Mark, Prof. 

Welder, Cathy, Prof. 

Wright, Marcus, Prof. 

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VII. Alcohol Dispensing Procedure 

Pure Ethyl alcohol is stored in two sealed and locked areas in Salem Hall. The dispensing area is 

the solvent room, #20. When you need pint size bottles of 200 proof or 5 gallon containers of 190 proof 

(95%) ethyl alcohol for your research or teaching laboratory, please obtain them from that room. 

A. Alcohol Use Logbook 

When removing ethyl alcohol, please enter the proper information in the “Alcohol Use Logbook”, 

which is kept permanently in that room on a shelf just above the alcohol. You must indicate the Date the 

alcohol was taken, the amount (in pints of 200 proof or gallons of 190 proof), the alcohol purity (200 

proof /100% or 190 proof / 95%), and the professor name under whose authority you are dispensing alcohol 

or the teaching lab course number which requires the alcohol. 

VIII. OSHA/EPA Inspection Procedure for Salem Hall 

The following procedure, provided by the Bowman Gray School of Medicine Environmental 

Health Office, will serve as our temporary policy for Chemistry Department OSHA/EPA inspections. A 

more detailed listing of recommendations is kept on the next page of the hardcopy of this manual kept in the 

stockroom, room # 110. 

Call Mr. Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Director] (phone # 

4329 or 4224) and alert him to the need for attending the inspection. Ask him to: 

a) Bring a loaded camera and tape recorder, if available. 

b) Take the inspector only where he/she wishes to go, until further notice from the Chemistry 

Department laboratory manager or Faculty member. 

c) Call Ms. Donna Hamilton of the Reynolda Campus Legal Dept. (phone # 5967) or the legal 

Dept. itself (phone # 6100). 

d) Note the location of your Chemical Hygiene Plan, in your lab or on your computer. 

e) Follow the Procedure listed on the next page. 

f) Recognize that OSHA records for Salem Hall are kept in the chemistry stockroom file cabinet, 

top file drawer. Keys to this cabinet are kept in the chemistry office #208 with Mrs. Melissa Doub 

(Administrative Assistant, phone # 5325), with Mr. Scott Frazier [WFU Assistant Environmental 

Health and Safety (EHS) Director], phone # 4329 or 4224) and with Michael Thompson ( lab 

manager of Salem Hall, work phone # 5324, home phone # 896-8615). 

A good source of information in the event Mr. Frazier is not available is Michelle Adkins (WFU 

Director of Environmental Health and Safety), phone # 5385 (cell 480-8480), or Mr. Frazier‟s equivalent on 

the Hawthorne BGSM campus, Mr. Dave Brown, BGSM Director of Environmental Health and Safety, 

phone # 716-9375, pager # 806-7921. (Here is more specific contact information for Michelle Adkins, 

CHMM, Director of Environmental Health and Safety, adkinsmm@wfu.edu, phone: 336-758-5385, 

cell: 336-480-8480, fax: 336-758-3088). 

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IX. Chemical Inventories 

A. Inventory of All Chemicals and MSDS Sheets in the Chemistry 

Department 

All incoming MSDS sheets for each and every chemical purchased for the Chemistry Department 

are kept in a central area of the building in a set of orange-red binder notebooks. They are mailed from the 

manufacturer of the chemical to Salem Hall. 

As chemicals are unpacked in the Dockyard area, the packing slips are placed in a basket on the 

wall next to the receiving table. The chemicals are dated in ink on the bottle label and taken to the 

particular lab in the building where it is to be used, after entering the chemical and its MSDS sheet into the 

on-line chemical inventory. The MSDS sheets are alphabetically arranged in the online inventory system 

and a hardcopy of the MSDS inventory is kept in a black notebook near the actual the actual MSDS sheets. 

These MSDS sheets are accessible 24 hours a day. The inventory web site is: 

http://www.wfu.edu/chem/cheminventory/index.html 

Presently, designated storage areas are assigned in each laboratory for storage of carcinogens and 

teratogens/mutagens. Chemicals with a high degree of acute toxicity will be given an HMIS/NFPA acute 

toxicity rating of 3 or 4 on the MSDS sheet by the chemical‟s manufacturer. Also “Select carcinogens” are 

identified from manufacturer‟s MSDS data. There is at present only one universally acknowledged list of 

known human teratogens. It is contained on page XXV of Shepard, Thomas H.,Catalog of Teratogenic 

Agents, 8th edition, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD: 1995. See 

http://depts.washington.edu/~terisweb/teris/ 

They are listed below. Most of them are hormones or drugs: 

CHEMICAL NAME CAS # CHEMICAL NAME CAS # 

Aminopterin 54-62-6 Methimazole 60-56-0 

Androgenic hormones Methylaminopterin 

Busulfan 55-98-1 Methylene blue 

Captopril 62571-86-2 Organic mercury 7439-97-6 

Carbamazepine 298-46-4 Penicillamine 52-67-5 

Chlorobiphenyls Primidone 125-33-7 

Cocaine 50-36-2 Quinine 130-95-0 

Colchicine 64-86-8 1,3-cis-retinoic acid 4759-48-2 

Coumarin anticoagulants Streptomycin 57-92-1 

Cyclophosphamide 50-18-0 Tetracycline 60-54-8 

Diethylstilbestrol 56-53-1 Tetracycline-7-H3 36051-40-8 

Diphenylhydantoin Tetracycline Hydrochloride 64-75-5 

Disulfiram 97-77-8 Tetracycline Phosphate 13930-32-0 

Enalapril 75847-73-3 Thalidomide 50-35-1 

Ergotamine 113-15-5 Toluene abuse 108-88-3 

Etretinate Trimethadione 

Iodides Valproic acid 99-66-1 

Lead 7439-92-1 High Vitamin A 68-26-8 

Lithium 7439-93-2 

Additional sources of possible teratogens or mutagens are listed on page 46 of Prudent Practices. 

Until a definite, all-inclusive list of teratogens or mutagens is published, it shall be the practice of the 

Chemistry Department to designate such substances in the MSDS inventory based on information contained 

in the MSDS sheet and so rated in HMIS/NFPA format as defined previously. 

184

B. Instructions for the Use of the Online Inventory System 

(prepared by Amanda Price and Mike Thompson) 

1. Go to: http://www.wfu.edu/chem/cheminventory/index.html 

2. Enter the inventory system by clicking on “Online Chemical Inventory Database”. 

3. The Home Page format allows the user to choose from several inventory options. 

These include: 

a) Entering new chemicals into the inventory of a specific 

Faculty Group or Undergraduate Lab Class [“Add Inventory” button] 

b) Viewing a specific Faculty Group’s entire current inventory, or 

Searching for a particular chemical in all departmental inventories (including 

your own) by chemical name (partially or fully named), CAS number, or the 

date it was entered [“Search/Update Inventory” button]. You can also view 

the entire inventory of the various storerooms (“room 19” for departmental 

storage, “general” for inorganic chemicals in room 103, “Organic” for organic 

chemicals in room 103, “Inorganic” for Advanced Inorganic course # 361 in 

room 19, “Indicator” for indicators and dyes in a cabinet in room 103, “room 

7” for the Physical Chemistry lab, “Solvent” for large solvent and ethanol 

containers in departmental storage room # 20), all of which are included in 

the category of Individual Faculty Group Inventory. 

You can also search for a list of all lecture bottles under the chemical 

search option in the location field. 

c) Searching for safety information from MSDS sheets, listed by chemical name 

or CAS number [“Search MSDS” button] 

d) Adding MSDS sheets to the MSDS Inventory [“Add MSDS” button] 

It is best to search for an individual chemical by CAS number (Chemical Abstract Service 

number), which is completely specific for a particular chemical, since searching by name will 

result in multiple listings of any chemical name which contains your chemical as part of its 

name. 

4. Once an option has been chosen, the required information must 

be entered (username and which inventory) and then submitted [Click the “Submit” 

button]. This allows the user to view the requested inventory, specific chemical listing, or 

new chemical entry form. 

5. Adding a chemical to the inventory: 

a) Again, the user must enter a username and choose which Faculty Group or 

Undergrad Lab inventory or storage room one wishes to work with. 

b) Once this is done and has been submitted, a new screen will appear with an 

entry form indicating several empty information fields. These include: 

1) Chemical name (don’t list “HPLC Grade”, or 98%, etc., unless you 

really need to) 

2) CAS number (DO NOT USE HYPHENS between numbers) 

3) Catalog number 

4) Supplier 

5) Quantity (how many bottles, containers, etc.?) 

6) Size (numerical amount, 25, 500, 1, etc.) and Unit (grams, mL, Kg, 

etc.) 

7) Location (shelf number, cabinet label, which hood, etc.?) 

c) The user must completely fill all fields before submitting 

new information into the inventory. 

185

d) After submitting a new entry, the user can continue to add chemicals to the 

same inventory or go back to the Main Menu and select another option. Your 

new chemicals will be automatically alphabetized when you have finished 

entering them into your inventory and exit the inventory. 

6. A hard copy of an individual inventory can be obtained by listing an individual Faculty 

Group (or individual teaching lab/storeroom) inventory and printing directly from the File 

menu. 

7. The Lab Manager can obtain a hard copy of the MSDS inventory by selecting “Search 

MSDS” (of a particular Department) on the main page of the inventory website and, then, 

selecting “Chem” from the drop-down menu on the Search MSDS page. Once the computer 

has finished searching for all chemicals in that inventory, it will indicate “Total matches 

found: xxxx (or a certain number over 1000, at least) - Too many to display here. Click here 

to download the file so you can open it in Excel.” Click there to download the file into Excel. 

Click on this link and save the file in the Excel folder under Userdata. Replace old/existing 

files with the same name when asked to do so while downloading the updated inventory file. 

Now the full MSDS inventory can be viewed in Excel format, and printed if necessary. The 

Lab Manager can also get hardcopies of any shorter Faculty Group chemical inventory the 

same way, when listing any such inventory which happens to be over 1000 entries in size. The 

database system apparently cannot list overly large inventories, and they must be downloaded 

into an Excel file. 

186

C. General Information for Users 

(Written by Yue-Ling Wong, Academic Computing Specialist, March 5, 2001) 

URL of the Online Chemical Inventory Database 

http://www.wfu.edu/chem/cheminventory 

/db/ 

Use of the Databases 

1. Any WFU user who has a valid username and password can search both the inventory and 

MSDS databases. Therefore, when you access the web pages of the database, it will first prompt 

you for username and password. Enter YOUR valid WFU username and password. 

If it does not prompt you, or the username on the form shows another person's username, then exit 

all Netscape application (close all Netscape browser windows, Netscape e-mail, calendar, etc.) and 

start Netscape again and go to the database's URL again. 

2. Only designated users can add and update the databases. Mike Thompson is the one who can 

assign user permission to add or update the databases. The user permission categories are by 

departments, by databases (inventory and msds), by privileges (adding and updating). For 

example, a user can be allowed to add chemical to an inventory in the chemistry department only, 

but cannot update the inventory. 

3. Searching for a particular chemical is limited to 1000 matches. It will not display the search 

result on the web page if it is over 1000 matches. If this happens, it will save the results in an 

Excel spreadsheet and you can download it. You can also try to limit the search. 

Note: The Excel spreadsheet will list the username of the person doing the search, the date and 

time of the search, and the criteria of the search. Therefore, if you are going to keep the Excel 

spreadsheet, this should provide you enough information about “who, when and what”. If someone 

is doing a search of over 1000 matches at about the same time you are or before you download the 

Excel spreadsheet, you may encounter problems getting the correct Excel spreadsheet. But, always 

check the information of “who, when, what” at the top of the spreadsheet to make sure you are 

getting the matches you are expecting. If it is not your search result, try re-submit the search again 

and download the Excel spreadsheet ASAP. 

4. You can Update your inventories but there is no direct "Delete" on the web. It's because it is 

too easy to delete items unintentionally on the web. If you want to delete an item, try use Update, 

and add the word "delete" (all small cases) in front of the item's chemical name. We will remove 

those items that are labeled "delete" from the databases on a regular basis. But, you can at least 

change your mind and "undelete" the items (by removing the “delete” word in the chemical name) 

as long as we have not removed those items yet. 

187

D. Individual Chemical Inventories of the Chemistry Department, Salem 

Hall: 

listed in the Order they appear in the scroll-down list in the Oracle-based 

online Chemical Inventory: 

Faculty Inventories: 

Dr. Alexander (listed as Alexanr in online inventory), room # 108, Salem Hall 

Dr. Bierbach (bierbach), room # 107 

Dr. Brown (brownba), room # 14 

Dr. Buchmueller (Buchmueller), room # 1 

Dr. Colyer (colyer), room # 114 

Dr. Hinze (hinze), room # 109 

Dr. Jones (jones), room # 118 

Dr. Paul Jones (jonespb), room # 113 

Dr. Bruce King (King), room # 17 

Dr. Kondepudi (Kondepudi), room # 5 

Dr. Lachgar (lachgar), room # 6 

Dr. Noftle (noftle), room # 117 

Dr. Swofford (Swofford), room # 7 

Dr. Tobey (Tobey), room # 2 

Dr. Welker (welker), room # 13 

Undergraduate Lab and Departmental overflow Inventories: 

General Chemistry Labs 111L, 230L, and 260L (general), room # 103 

Departmental Dyes and Indicators cabinet (indicator), room # 103 

Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Lab 361L (inorganic), room # 19 

Everyday Chemistry Lab 108L (nonmajors), room # 103 

Organic Chemistry Labs 122L and 223L (organic), room # 103 and 19 

Loading Dock Departmental Overflow Chemicals (room19), room # 19 

Physical Chemistry Lab 341L (room7), room # 7 

Loading Dock Solvent Room (solvent), room # 20 

188

Guidelines for care & Use of Dry Solvent Stills [Example]

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