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K-State Today

July 28, 2016

Environmental Health and Safety collecting high-hazard chemicals for disposal

Submitted by Kelly Greene

Environmental Health and Safety has scheduled a high-hazard disposal team to come to campus in mid-August to dispose of chemicals that have strict transport and disposal procedures. Since it is expensive to bring this team on campus, we'd like to get as many other high-hazard chemicals as we can for disposal.

Please inspect your chemical inventory to look for any peroxide formers that may be past their expiration date, that may have become unstable, or any other chemicals that may be dangerous to open or handle. Submit a pickup request to Environmental Health and Safety for these chemicals by Aug. 8.

A common restricted-for-transport chemical is sodium azide. The only visual indication of potential contamination is lumpiness of the powder in the bottle, which could also be caused by moisture. This is a great opportunity to dispose of any lumpy sodium azide you may have in your labs.

Please remind anyone working with sodium azide in your lab to use plastic spatulas and funnels for handling to prevent contamination, keep the lid on the bottle whenever possible to prevent adsorption of moisture, and never put any sodium azide down the drain. Also, buy only as much as you can use within 12 months.  

View a PDF document listing the more common peroxide formers to look for in your lab. This list isn't all inclusive but it will give you a good idea as to the types of chemicals with short shelf lives.

If you have any questions please contact Justin Millette, hazardous waste technician, at 785-313-2149 or call the Environmental Health and Safety main office at 785-532-5856.