Safer Curriculum Chemical Management in Schools

1. 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.

2. 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 Unlabeled “Mystery” Chemicals Heavy Containers on High Shelves Outdated Chemicals Incompatible Storage (corrosives on metal/flammables on wood) Unlocked/Easily Accessible Storage

3. 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

4. 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)

5. Alphabetical Storage – Problems with Incompatibility

6. Incompatible Storage Shelves

7. 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)

8. Material Safety Data Sheets Recommend a binder A copy in the lab A copy in the school office

9. Labeling

10. Stockpiling/Overpurchasing

12. The Dirty Dozen Barium chloride Benzene Carbon disulfide Carbon tetrachloride Cyanide compounds Formaldehyde • Hydrofluoric acid • Mercury & compounds • Picric acid • Potassium metal • Sodium metal • Thermit

13. 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 Code233-7745 inside 317 Area Code

14. Unlocked Storage

17. Longer Term Goals 1. Develop a chemical management system Purchase Storage, including labeling Use, including labeling Disposal Emergency Planning – spills, explosions, accidents

18. 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?)

19. 3. Order “safer” alternatives, packaging, dilutions, kits Green chemistry Microscale approaches (e.g. spot plates instead of test tubes) 4. Centralize inventory/purchasing

20. 5. Regularly budget for removals(Cradle to grave) 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.

21. Resources School Chemistry Laboratory Safety Guide, Consumer Product Safety Commission, www.cpsc.gov, Material Safety Data Sheets www.siri.org/ Flinn Scientifcwww.flinnsci.com/

22. 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 pollutewww.govlink.org/hazwaste/schoolyouth/rehab/

23. EPA’s School Chemical Cleanout Campaignwww.epa.gov/sc3 EPA’s Healthy School Web Portalwww.epa.gov/schools EPA’s Mercury Web Sitewww.epa.gov/mercury Mercury in Schools Projectwww.mercuryinschools.uwex.edu/