A delivery truck is backing up to the loading dock of an empty warehouse. You are about to receive the first ever delivery from your supplier, and soon this new lab will be up and running. Are you going to unload the truck and stash the new chemicals in the corner? I hope not. Getting started with chemical management can be a little overwhelming, but it certainly can be done. Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” It is best to start with a plan, preferably a chemical hygiene plan (CHP). So, let’s take a dip into a few important sections of the CHP.
The creation of a great CHP begins by listing the chemicals you have onsite and their associated hazards, and this will be your chemical inventory. Categorizing your chemicals by hazard type helps you to determine where and how they should be stored and handled once in the lab. It’s important to determine the compatibility of your chemicals before you place them on the shelves. Storing your inventory in alphabetical order may make it easier for staff to locate a particular item, but not all chemicals play nice with each other when they are neighbors. A bottle of chloric acid stored next to calcium hydroxide could be an accident waiting to happen. Make sure incompatible chemicals are kept apart, stored on separate shelves, or kept in separate bins. Do you store ethanol onsite? What about xylene? Both are flammable chemicals, so you may be able to store them in the same flammable safety cabinet. Separate corrosive storage cabinets may also be needed for your strong acids and bases.
Now that we have the chemicals separated, what do you do when it is time to use them? Your CHP should outline training and personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements for the different hazards as well as any engineering controls required to ensure work can be performed safely. Do you have a biological safety cabinet (BSC) in your lab? Be careful, not all BSCs can or should be used as a chemical fume hood (CFH). A CFH is designed with specialized filters and/or ducting to eliminate hazardous vapors that BSCs lack. Only a few classes of BSCs can provide protection from volatile chemical fumes. Check with the manufacturer to determine if it is safe to handle volatile chemicals in your BSC.
Next, you decide how you are going to dispose of the chemical waste you may generate in the lab. Never assume that liquid chemical waste is allowed to be poured down the drain. Some acids and bases that are poured down the drain will alter the pH of your wastewater. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the local wastewater authority will not be fans of that practice. Hazardous waste disposal requirements vary from state-to-state, so be sure to know the laws in your area for your place of business (see website: EPA Hazardous Waste Programs).
So now your chemicals stored properly, you know how to use them safely, but what is the plan when something unexpected happens? The accidental release of chemicals can be quite dangerous, and so can a poor response. A well written spill response procedure and periodic training can make clean-up a much less risky operation. The first and most important step is to correctly identify the chemical that spilled. Make sure staff know the location of your Safety Data Sheets (SDS), know how to access them, and that they are up to date. You may use an online database to access the SDS, and some services will even automatically update the SDSs to ensure you are viewing the most current version.
Make sure there is a spill kit in the lab that can effectively handle the accidental release of the different types of hazardous materials in your area. The kit should include the materials for a biohazardous spill as well. Ensure you have a well written procedure that describes the steps to safely and effectively clean up the spill. Your procedure should outline actions such as securing and surveying the site, donning the required PPE, laying down barriers to prevent spreading, and applying absorbents. Also include information about extraction of the clean-up material and proper disposal. Remember, the waste created from a chemical spill is considered a hazardous waste and must be treated as such. Absorbed chemical waste should be placed in a bag specially designated for hazardous waste (and segregated for offsite removal by your waste vendor.
The drafting of a CHP does take time and attention, but you cannot stop there. Your CHP is a living document that requires attention, and once it is created, you never want to let it go stale. It is important to keep your CHP fresh by updating it often. In fact, OSHA and most accrediting agencies require laboratories to review their CHP annually and assess its effectiveness. Keep staff knowledge about your CHP crisp. When staff know how to locate and use their CHP, they are more prepared to work safely with hazardous materials.
-Jason P. Nagy, PhD, MLS(ASCP)CM is a Lab Safety Coordinator for Sentara Healthcare, a hospital system with laboratories throughout Virginia and North Carolina. He is an experienced Technical Specialist with a background in biotechnology, molecular biology, clinical labs, and most recently, a focus in laboratory safety.
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