Hi!
I'm working with a Harm Reduction ONG that is doing drug testing in europe. They ask me to organise the "lab" (only a ventilated room with some tables
and shelves), where they store the reagents for the colorimetric tests and some solvents for the TLC system!
They store the bottles and the flasks in the shelves. What do you think about that? Maybe a cabinet is safer, right? What kind of cabinet? Wood is
enough?
What do you think about this division? What can i merge here? Do you recommend a freezer? Can you give some tips? Would be very grateful!
Thanks!
[Edited on 24-11-2010 by uber]blogfast25 - 24-11-2010 at 09:28
Cabinets are better because they avoid your products gathering dust. And dust is a potential contaminant and can lead to false positives. A curtain or
similar covering the shelves can also achieve that.
Wood’s OK but bear in mind that it stains easily. Unattended tears dripping down your liquid bottles will be irreversibly absorbed by naked wood. A
sturdy PE cover (backed with adhesive) is cheap and offers decent protection. It also makes occasional wiping down, even cleaning up minor spills
(liquids or powders), so much easier to do. A good quality white gloss coat of paint would do the same.
I would recommend to have some spill absorbing material available and at hand (even dry sand will do) because it makes cleaning up of accidental
larger spills (breakage for instance) so much easier: you’ll thank me when it befalls to you to mop up a litre of conc. H2SO4! mr.crow - 24-11-2010 at 10:22
The idea is to store incompatible materials separately. JT Baker has a set of color codes for their products to help out with this. Link
A ventilated storage room sounds fine. You can put the bottles in plastic trays to contain spills.DDTea - 24-11-2010 at 22:18
I've had to do this a couple times, so here is a bit of advice from my own experience:
-Start off with five general categories: acids, bases, oxidizers, reducers, organics, in that order of priority. These are the ones that must be kept
away from one another. So for example, it would be a good idea to keep the 25% ammonia separate from your selenous acid! From these categories, you
have something to work with and can address specific storage needs later.
-Regarding storage: don't use wooden cabinets. If you must use wood, find a suitable, chemical-resistant coating. Look into proper laboratory
storage cabinets though.
-If you are working with concentrated acids or ammonia, you definitely want a fume hood. It's a safety measure, but it also increases comfort. It's
nice when your eyes aren't burning and you don't have to hold your breath in the lab.
-For your acids, you want secondary containers, i.e.: store them in heavy plastic trays to contain any potential spills.
-Look into something called Pig Mats. I don't remember the company that makes them, but they are adsorbent laboratory mats that are resistant to
acids, bases, oils, and other things. You might find them useful.
Also, what volume of chemicals are you storing at any given time??
-Look into something called Pig Mats. I don't remember the company that makes them, but they are adsorbent laboratory mats that are resistant to
acids, bases, oils, and other things. You might find them useful.
