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

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