From: Alan Hall <ahalltoxic**At_Symbol_Here**GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Citation for storage separation of acids and bases
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2016 10:12:36 -0500
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: CAHFAP+4GmzGHtMO1NWOBy-OTTtEgDjzMdNSDzeGDbQeuw17vhg**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To <15618041b9c-7c22-6185**At_Symbol_Here**webprd-a50.mail.aol.com>


Melody et al,

How about a little common sense (there's no such thing so rare as common sense). Acids and bases stored together? Who has forgotten Chem 101 where you do the demonstration with baking soda (a bicarbonate-- went down into the mine where it comes from myself once for anissue with CO poisoning) and vinegar (dilute glacial acetic acid) and when it foams all over the place, impresses grade school students. Now whywould you want 50% sodium hydroxide and 95% sulfuric acid in the same cabinet? Found them there once in my daughter's chemistry classroom in Montana and had a hades of a time getting them properly disposed of. Yuck and a half.

Maybe you ought to take the Advanced HAZMAT Life Support Course once. Works out of the University of Arizona in Tucson. I am a Provider and Instructor, last time I looked and wrote a good deal of it. http//www.ahls.org.

Monona's comments are spot on.

Alan
Alan H. Hall, M.D.
Medical Toxicologist



On Sat, Jul 23, 2016 at 8:48 AM, Monona Rossol <0000012821515289-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**listserv.med..cornell.edu> wrote:
I always wince when I hear your question. It usually means some employer has said "show me an OSHA regulation that says I have to do that and I'll do it." OSHA is the "minimum" in safety and a weak fish when it comes to standing on it's hind legs that you follow OSHA at your peril.

I suggest you go to OSHA's web site and search for "storage of reactive chemicals" About 4th or 5th down will be a letter of interpretation from 2001 in which OSHA says that that flammables and corrosives can be stored in the same cabinet if the manufacture's rules for storage on the MSDS for the chemicals says it is OK and the containers are of the right type, etc. Well, not good practice. And it would mean checking each corrosive's data to see if there are any solvents in the cabinet with which it can react.

And will following this corrosive by corrosive policy protect your liability should there be a problem? Not likely. The lawyers will probably bring NFPA and other storage standards to court and ask why you didn't follow accepted practice.

It is such a little thing to just purchase corrosive and flammable cabinets and teach people to use them properly -- problem solved. That is the only option my reports recommend, ever.


Monona Rossol, M.S., M.F.A., Industrial Hygienist
President: Arts, Crafts & Theater Safety, Inc.
Safety Officer: Local USA829, IATSE
181 Thompson St., #23
New York, NY 10012 212-777-0062



-----Original Message-----
From: Melody Russo <melody.russo**At_Symbol_Here**GMAIL.COM>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Sent: Sat, Jul 23, 2016 3:12 am
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Citation for storage separation of acids and bases

Can anyone give me a regulatory citation or safety association/ research institute code for storing acids and bases separately? I know it is a good practice, but want a reference from a recognized entity.

Thanks!

Melody Russo
Environmental Compliance Manager

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