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Chemicals that should never be in a high school lab Many schools and districts specify various reagents that are absolutely NOT allowed within schools. If your school or system does not provide such guidance, check out ACS' Restricted-Use Chemicals, a set of general guidelines developed by the Committee on Chemical Safety. The ACS list, included in the broader publication "Reducing Risks to Students and Educators from Hazardous Chemicals in a Secondary School Chemical Inventory," is extensive but not all-inclusive. Chemicals included are identified by whether or not they are explosives, toxic, irritants, carcinogens, corrosives, oxidizers, poisons, allergens,flammables, or capable of creating violent reactions. The intent of this list is not to prohibit the use of these chemicals, but to ensure that the classroom teacher is aware of their specific hazards. In my lab, I found a few "offenders," including ammonium nitrate, lead (VI) chromate, sodium ,peroxide, and tin (IV) chloride, each are not recommended for use in the high school lab. Chemicals that can go into the trash Certain chemicals can be thrown away in the trash or dumpster at school. It is recommended that only small amounts be disposed of at any one time (no more than 5 or 10 lbs.), and only in tightly sealed containers. When I throw away chemicals in my lab trashcan, I always alert our maintenance staff, so that they can avoid any accidents in handling them. How do you know which chemicals are appropriate for trash disposal? Grab the Safety Data Sheet(SDS). If you don't have these readily available, it is important to take the time to find them for each chemical in your laboratory. Chemical companies are excellent sources for these; I receive a disc containing SDS information with each chemical order I place, or you can search their websites. To be safely disposed of in regular trash, an item must be: 1. Nonradioactive 2. Nonbiological hazard 3. Neither flammable, reactive, corrosive, nor listed as hazardous waste per the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) 4. Not a substance that may negatively affect human or environmental health 5. Not a carcinogen SDSs have sections for each of these concerns, so the information is not difficult to find. However, this is a time-consuming process, and you will likely find some chemicals that cannot go into the trash. What do you do with these? I suggest setting them aside in boxes for hazmat pickup, but be careful: compatibility is an issue, even in disposal. Incompatible chemicals -----=-- -