Incident Sparks a Close Look at Laboratory Chemical Safety

Feb 10, 2015

Source: HazCommpliance LLC

Last Thursday, lack of proper chemical safety led to an incident at a Connecticut school and brought out emergency responders in hazmat suits. News 8 at WTHN.com reported that nitric acid and caustic soda were to blame; a teacher entered the classroom and discovered that chemicals had been spilled and, consequently, mixed. Fortunately, no one was injured.

I would like to take a moment to encourage all science faculty and facility managers of schools to re-visit their chemical laboratories and determine the chemical safety management. Some questions to ask:

Do we have all of the Material Safety Data Sheets?
Is the MSDS book indexed and accessible?
Do we have unnecessary chemicals?
Are chemicals stored properly?
Do we have a Chemical Hygiene Plan/Officer?

The EPA’s School’s Chemical Cleanout Campaign encourages schools to assess their laboratories and implement a successful chemical safety management program. NIOSH and the CDC offer guidelines in their “School Chemical Laboratory Safety Guide” (2006), listing ‘substances with greater hazardous nature than educational utility’ as well as ‘substances with a hazardous nature, but may have potential educational utility’.

At HazCommpliance, we work with schools to generate an accurate chemical inventory of your labs and entire facility. Our inventory specialists will assess your chemical storage and provide recommendations on management. Your school will also be provided with the following:

A fully indexed, alphabetized MSDS book is developed with the most up-to-date MSDS / SDS;
A list of all the chemicals that pose hazards such as corrosives, oxidizers, potentially carcinogenic, and flammables;
Substances in your chemical lab that, according to NIOSH and CDC, are hazardous and hold no or little educational utility will be highlighted;
Online MSDS / SDS management;
Chemical Hygiene Plans;
Hazard Communication Training.

Our costs are low compared to the potential costs incurred from employee/student injury, emergency response, public relations damage control, and increased insurance premiums. For as little as $2.30/ chemical, your chemical inventory can be effectively and safely managed. With proper chemical safety, unnecessary incidents such as these can be avoided.

For more information on safety training or what trainings HazCommpliance can offer your organization please email us at

Helpful Links

Globally Harmonized System The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) is a system for standardizing and harmonizing the classification and labelling of chemicals.
Hazcomm Standard An update to the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) which provides a common and coherent approach to classifying chemicals and communicating hazard information on labels and safety data sheets.
Mass.Gov Right-To-Know Establishes minimum standards and reasonable requirements to protect the health and safety of employees through the communication of information regarding toxix or hazardous substances.
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)* to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance