Much of Alrich's stock is "reviewed before shipment". Unless it's totally harmless (ie: isopropyl), they require approval for shipping. I beleieve
this is a result of the "recent" (2006ish) DEA policy requiring chemical distributors to "know their customers" and maintain lists for submission to
the DEA of the 40 listed watched chems. Aldrich also has a policy where dangerous chems (watched or not), ie: highly explosive or very toxic, may be
followed up on with the customer to ensure they can handle this chem (probably a liability thing). Of all the chem companies out there, Alrich is by
far the most difficult to deal with.
We have accounts with Fisher and a number of other chem supply companies, and we only go to Alrich as a last resourt (were a small company, chem is
not our claim to fame, but still necessary sometimes). Mostly because even to order something you are required to open an account (this includes
distilled water!!), during which time they do a backtround check and may contact you directly requesting details about your chemical needs and nature
of your buisiness, etc.
We just went through the same process for n-butyl-lithium 2M Hexane. I believe they are concerned because of how powerful a base it is. Maybe
someone else can shed some more light on it, but technically its not a posted, "watched" chem. However, this doesn't mean that the govnt doesn't keep
an eye on it. Seriously, what kind of mundane stuff do you need something like Lithium sec-butyl hydride (really nasty stuff, bee careful with that
stuff, and keep way AWAY from H2O). You need a truly anhydrous atmosphere for that stuff. One of our research partners said that people working with
butyl lithium either have had fires or will have fires (pretty good source, but who know).
Do you currently have an Alrich account?
[Edited on 9-11-2007 by RxnJackson]
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