Chemical storage

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BACKGROUND

• Fire and explosion are only two of the

many hazards.
• Over 500 chemical-storage incidents were
over the past 5 years.
• These incidents occurred due to unsafe
chemical storage practices.

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Storage-related incidents
• Principal causes:
• 1. Improper or non-existent labeling of
chemicals in storage.
• 2. Storage of chemicals beyond the
recommended shelf-life.
• 3. Degradation of chemical storage
containers. ("Polyethylene Bottles Containing
Corrosive Chemicals May Deteriorate With
Prolonged Use,"

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IMPROPER LABELING
• Small amounts of "left-over" chemicals had accumulated
over several years.
• The chemicals were prepared for recycling or disposal by
removing the chemicals from their individual containers and
putting them into a plastic bucket.
• Powder that was thought to be a base material was poured
from an unlabeled jar into the bucket, resulting in
spontaneous ignition.
• The building then had to be evacuated, and the fire
department was summoned to put out the fire.
• Analysis performed by the laboratory later revealed that the
powder was maleic anhydride,

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EXTENDED TIME IN STORAGE
• Unrefrigerated ether cannot be stored safely for
over 6 months because peroxides, which are shock-
sensitive, can form and cause an explosion.
• The building that housed the 18 ether containers
had to be evacuated, and barricades had to be
assembled to protect flammable inventory.
• The peroxides were then neutralized with ferrous
sulphate, and all 21 containers were removed.
• Periodic inspection and removal of outdated
chemicals in storage would have prevented the
incident.

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Storage rules
1. Label all chemicals. The name and address of the
manufacturer or other responsible party must be
listed on the label. Chemicals with a shelf life
should be labeled with the date received.
2. Store chemicals in the locations recommended
(i.e., where the temperature range, vibration, or
the amount of light does not exceed the
manufacturer's recommendations). Make sure
that chemicals that are stored together are
compatible.

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Storage rules
3. Inspect annually all chemicals in stock and
storage.
4. Hazardous chemicals should be inspected
every 6 months.
5. Some hazardous chemicals may require
more frequent inspections.
6. Any outdated materials should be properly
disposed of or replaced if necessary

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Rules

7. Keep only enough inventory necessary for

uninterrupted operation.
8. Chemical inventory should be maintained
at a minimum to reduce fire, exposure,
and disposal hazards
9. Rotate new shipments of chemicals with
existing stock so that the oldest stock is
available first.
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Storing Acids

• Store large bottles of acids on low shelf or in acid

cabinets.
• Segregate oxidizing acids from organic acids,
flammables and combustible materials.
• Segregate acids from bases and active metals such
as sodium, potassium, etc.
• Use bottle carrier for transporting acid bottles.
• Have spill control pillows or acid neutralizers
available in case of spill.

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Strong Oxidizing Acids

• Chromic Acid
• Nitric Acid
• Hydrobromic Acid
• Perchloric Acid
• Iodic Acid
• Sulfuric Acid

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Organic Acids

• Acetic Acid
• Phenol
• Benzoic Acid
• Trichloracetic Acid

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Storing Bases

• Segregate bases from acids

• Store solutions of inorganic hydroxides in
polyethylene containers.
• Have spill control pillows or caustic
neutralizers available for spills.

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Bases

• Ammonium Hydroxide
• Calcium Hydroxide
• Bicarbonates
• Potassium Hydroxide
• Carbonates
• Sodium Hydroxide

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Flammable
• Store in approved safety cans or cabinets
• Segregate from oxidizing acids and oxidizers.
• Keep away from any source of ignition: flames,
heat or sparks.
• Know where fire fighting equipment is stored and
how to use.
• If volatile flammable liquids are stored in a
refrigerator it must be in an explosion-proof (lab-
safe) refrigerator.

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Flammable Solids

• Benzoyl peroxide
• Phosphorous, yellow
• Calcium Carbide
• Picric Acids

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Flammable Gases
•Hydrogen Sulfide
• Acetylene •Ethane
• Ethylene Oxide •Methane
•Ethyl Chloride
• Ammonia
•Propane
• Formaldehyde •Ethylene
• Butane •Propylene
• Hydrogen
• Carbon Monoxide
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Storage of Oxidizers

• Store in a cool, dry place.

• Keep away from flammable and
combustible materials, such as paper or
wood.
• Keep away from reducing agents such as
zinc, alkaline metals, formic acid.

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Oxidizers - Solids
•Permanganic Acid
• Ammonium Dichromate
•Periodic Acid
• Nitrates
•Potassium Dichromate
• Ammonium Perchlorate
•Potassium Ferricyanide
• Ammonium Persulfate
•Potassium Permanganate
• Benzoyl Peroxide
• Bromates •Potassium Persulfate
• Calcium Hypochlorite •Peroxides, Salts of
• Chlorates
•Sodium Chlorite,
• Chromium Trioxide
• Ferric Trioxide •Sodium DichromateIodates
• Ferric Chloride •Sodium Nitrate
• Hypochlorite •Sodium Perborate
• Iodine

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Pyrophoric Substances:
• These ignite spontaneously on contact with air. Store in a cool, dry
place.

Iron*
Boron
Lead*
Cadmium
Manganese*
Calcium
Nickel*
Chromium*
Cobalt*
Cobalt*
Phosphorous,
DiboraneTitanium*
Sodium
Dichloroborane
Yellow*
2-Furaldehyde
Zinc*

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Light Sensitive Chemicals
• Avoid exposure to light & Store in amber bottles in a cool,
dry place.
Bromine Oleic Acid

Ethyl Ether Potassium Ferricyanide

Ferric Ammonium Citrate Silver salts

Hydrobromic Acid Sodium Iodide

Mercuric Salts Mercurous Nitrate

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Carcinogens

• Label all containers as Cancer Suspect

Agents.
• Store according to hazardous nature of
chemicals, e.g., flammable, corrosive.
• When necessary, store securely.

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Carcinogens
• Antimony compounds •Cadmium compounds
• Acrylonitrile •Dioxane
• Arsenic compounds •Chromates,Salts of
• Benzene •Ethylene Dibromide
• Benzidine •Beta-Naphthylamine
• Chloroform •Hydrazine
• Beryllium •Vinyl Chloride
• Dimethyl Sulfate •Nickel Carbonyl
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Chemical Segregation and Storage
Groups
• Stanford Storage Group Classification
System
• used to segregate chemicals stored in the
laboratory.
• It is based on physical and chemical
reactivity information found in the MSDS or
other references.

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Storage Groups

• Storage Groups are groups of chemicals

that will not react violently if mixed
together.
• Stanford has about 10,000 unique
chemicals classified according this system
in the SCIMS Database.
• The Stanford Storage Group system was
developed for laboratory scale storage
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STANFORD COMPATIBLE
STORAGE GROUP CODES
• A letter designation is given to each compatible group of
materials.
• For example, "A" represents "compatible organic bases,
flammables and poisons".
• "G" is "not intrinsically reactive, flammable or combustible".
• A chemical that is incompatible with other chemicals in all
of the other Storage Groups must be placed in Storage
Group "X". Storage Group "X" chemicals must be
segregated from all other chemicals.
• If the information is not available, then Storage Group "U"
will be assigned.

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SEGREGATE CHEMICALS BY
COMPATIBLE STORAGE GROUPS

• Segregate chemicals in a compatible fashion

according to the compatible Storage Groups.
• If a particular item does not yet have a
storage group designated, the researcher
must use his best judgement on how best to
store the material.
• Keep the different storage groups in
separate cabinets, if possible.

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SEGREGATE CHEMICALS BY
COMPATIBLE STORAGE GROUPS

• In areas that contain items from more

than one storage group, there is no need
to store them alphabetically by storage
group (i.e. A then B then C). The letters
are just an arbitrary convention.

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SEGREGATE CHEMICALS BY
COMPATIBLE STORAGE GROUPS

• If you must store items from more than one

storage group on the same shelf, they must have
separate secondary containment for each group.
• For example:
– Acetic acid (Storage group "D", organic acid)
– Hydrochloric acid (Storage group "F", inorganic acid)
– Nitric acid (Storage group "E", oxidizing)
• These all acids but they are incompatible and must
be stored in separate secondary containment and
on separate shelves within the same cabinet.

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SEGREGATE CHEMICALS BY COMPATIBLE
STORAGE GROUPS

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SEGREGATE CHEMICALS BY
COMPATIBLE STORAGE GROUPS

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Store in same cabinet

• If you must store items from many

storage groups in the same cabinet with
more than one shelf,
• put storage group "B" and "X" on the top
shelf.
• This will prevent other chemicals from
dripping on them.

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Flammable liquid storage

• If the total quantity of flammable liquids

exceeds 5 Lt, they must be stored in a
flammable liquid storage cabinet except
when in active use.

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OTHER STORAGE
CONSIDERATIONS:
• Long-term storage on bench tops or in fume
hoods is discouraged.
• All containers MUST remain closed except when
actively adding or removing materials. Do not
store funnels in open containers.
• Never store hazardous materials next to or
above sinks. This includes dark rooms with
waste fixer stored adjacent to open floor drains.

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OTHER STORAGE
CONSIDERATIONS:
• Store solids above liquids.
• Avoid exposing stored chemicals to
building heat or to direct sunlight.
• All chemical storage shelving must have
lips and seismic restraints.
• Use explosion-proof refrigerators when
storing flammables in a refrigerator.

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