Safer Curriculum Chemical
Management in Schools
Karen Teliha
Indiana Dept. of Environmental Management
Office of Pollution Prevention & Technical Assistance
Slides and graphics used with permission from US EPA.
Think your school lab is safe?
• Are You Sure?
– Unlabeled “Mystery”
Chemicals
– Heavy Containers on
High Shelves
– Outdated Chemicals
– Incompatible Storage
(corrosives on
metal/flammables on
wood)
– Unlocked/Easily
Accessible Storage
Why might schools have difficulty
properly managing chemicals?
• Lack of training
• Lack of system
• Lack of “somebody in
charge” (add-on duty)
• Inherited chemicals
• Spend it or lose it monies
• Lack of communication
across Academic,
Administrative, & Facilities
departments
• Facilities often not built for
handling chemicals
(ventilation, storage
problems)
• Lack of funds/planning for
disposal costs
Chemical Storage
• What you may be doing now…
– Storing Chemicals Alphabetically
– Could result in incompatible
chemicals stored next to each
other
• A safer alternative…
– Storing by Chemical Group – All
nitrates together, sulfates
together (can be alphabetical
within their groups)
Alphabetical Storage –
Problems with Incompatibility
Incompatible Storage Shelves
Chemical Inventory
• Having a good inventory system helps to
properly manage/maintain a safer lab.
– By knowing what you have, you can use it more
efficiently
– Helps teachers track what they use each year
versus what can be disposed of
– Helps teachers organize chemicals by their
properties (flammability, reactivity, acids)
Material Safety Data Sheets
• Recommend a binder
• A copy in the lab
• A copy in the school office
Labeling
Stockpiling/Overpurchasing
The Dirty Dozen
•
•
•
•
•
•
Barium chloride
Benzene
Carbon disulfide
Carbon tetrachloride
Cyanide compounds
Formaldehyde
• Hydrofluoric acid
• Mercury &
compounds
• Picric acid
• Potassium metal
• Sodium metal
• Thermit
Mercury
• Remove from your school lab:
– Bulk Mercury
– Mercury Containing Equipment
(thermometers)
• Call Emergency Response if a Mercury Spill is
suspected:
– 1-888-233-7745 outside 317 Area Code
233-7745 inside 317 Area Code
Unlocked Storage
Longer Term Goals
1. Develop a chemical management system
– Purchase
– Storage, including labeling
– Use, including labeling
– Disposal
– Emergency Planning – spills, explosions, accidents
2. Use safer chemicals & less too
– Order min quantities, consistent with use
– Try to keep only 1 year’s worth stock
– Prohibit certain chemicals, period.
(hazard potential outweighs educational
potential?)
3. Order “safer” alternatives, packaging,
dilutions, kits
– Green chemistry
– Microscale approaches (e.g. spot plates
instead of test tubes)
4. Centralize inventory/purchasing
5. Regularly budget for removals
(Cradle to grave)
6. Address chemical issues in context with other
environmental concerns
- As science teachers, it’s important we’re not
only teaching chemistry/biology, but also teaching
about being safe.
Resources
• School Chemistry Laboratory Safety Guide,
Consumer Product Safety Commission,
www.cpsc.gov,
• Material Safety Data Sheets
www.siri.org/
• Flinn Scientifc
www.flinnsci.com/
• Council of State Science Supervisors
– Making the Connection
– Science Safety: It’s Elementary
– www.csss-science.org/safety.htm
• Rehab the Lab, Safe labs that don’t pollute
www.govlink.org/hazwaste/schoolyouth/reha
b/
• EPA’s School Chemical Cleanout Campaign
www.epa.gov/sc3
• EPA’s Healthy School Web Portal
www.epa.gov/schools
• EPA’s Mercury Web Site
www.epa.gov/mercury
• Mercury in Schools Project
www.mercuryinschools.uwex.edu/