Chemical containment laboratory

The NIEHS has two high hazard containment laboratories one for chemical research ( ) and the other for biological research involving hazardous chemicals ( ). Programs are currently being developed for monitoring these rooms. The Chemical Containment Laboratory is designed for three purposes ... 

Although the book on reagent chemicals contains many tests for the determination of trace impurities in reagents, it is not intended to be a text on the techniques of trace analysis but rather to provide tests that are reproducible in various laboratories, and which are accurate, economic, and feasible (see... 

A chloroform solution of toxic tributyltin fluoride was placed in a round-bottomed flask equipped with a reflux condenser, and bromine (3 equiv per Bu3SnF) was added all at once. After the mixture was stirred for 2-3 days at room temperature, aqueous sodium thiosulfate was added until the brown color of bromine disappeared. The aqueous layer containing inorganic tin compounds.was disposed of in accordance with Prudent Practices for Disposal of Chemicals from Laboratories" National Academic Press Washington, DC, 1983. 

Hexanc is a very volatile aliphatic hydrocarbon. It is a constituent in the paraffin fraction of crude oil and natural gas and is also used as an industrial chemical and laboratory reagent. Laboratory grade -hexane contains approximately 99% w-hexane. "Hexane" or "hexanes" is a commercial and industrial product consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons with six carbon atoms and includes -hexane and its isomers 2-methylpentane and 3-methylpentane as well as small amounts of other hydrocarbons (Brugnone et al. 1991). Laboratory and industrial solvents such as "hexane" and petroleum ether contain -hexane from <0.1% to as much as 33% (Creaser et al. 1983). Information regarding the chemical identity of -hexane is located in Table 3-1. 

All toxic materials were disposed of in accordance with "Prudent Practices for Disposal of Chemicals from Laboratories" National Academic Press Washington, DC, 1983. Particular care must be taken in the disposal of waste materials containing lead and chromium compounds. 

Research at Colorado State University (FEDRIP 1994) will investigate toxicity and bioaccumulation potential of chloroform and other organic and inorganic chemicals. The laboratory studies will use a simple food chain containing larval invertebrates and fish. The results would be applicable to many natural systems with fish foraging on insect larvae in contaminated sediments. 

Human activities are associated with the use and disposal of a variety of chemicals and chemical products. This is the situation for a householder, a laboratory student, and also the industry worker. Many materials have properties that make them hazardous. They can create physical (fire, explosion) or health hazards (toxicity, chemical bums). However, there are many ways to work with chemicals which can both reduce the probability of an accident and reduce the consequences should an accident occur. Risk minimization depends on safe practices, appropriate engineering controls for chemical containment, the proper use of personnel protective equipment, use of the least amount of material necessary, and substitution of a less-hazardous chemical for a more hazardous one. Before beginning any chemical processing or operation, ask What would happen if. .. The answer to this question requires understanding of the hazards associated with chemicals, the equipment, and the procedure involved. The hazardous properties of the material and its intended use will dictate the precautions to be taken. 

The OPCW Central Analytical Database (OCAD) is compiled and maintained by the OPCW Laboratory and contains analytical data of the chemicals that fall under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) (1). States Parties (SPs) of the CWC and the OPCW (Organization for Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons) Laboratory submit analytical data for inclusion to the OCAD. These analytical data are peer reviewed by experts. Before the analytical data are included into the OCAD, they undergo a technical and political approval process. 

Database, which contains as much data on CWC-related chemicals as possible. Since on-site analysis in particular by MS is planned for future verification activities, library of mass spectra is mandatory. Retention times of chemicals are collected for chromatography analyses. Although NMR spectroscopy is not suitable for on-site analysis, it is nevertheless considered an essential technique (as may be also IR) for laboratories specialized in the detection and identification of CW agents and related chemicals. Qualified laboratories from all parts of the world were therefore asked to submit their mass, NMR, and IR spectra and retention time data to be included in the OCAD. 

In order to avoid biological activity, samples are occasionally poisoned by adding chemicals containing ions that will not be measured in the laboratory. Mercury iodide is a convenient preservation substance. It is available as small orange crystals a single small crystal added to a bottle of water is adequate. Addition of a preservative to a sample should be clearly marked on the bottle. Normally, each laboratory advocates a specific preservative. 

In some cases, the effects of complex environmental mixtures could be accounted for in terms of concentration-additive effects of a few chemicals. In sediments of the German river Spittelwasser, which were contaminated by chemical industries in its vicinity, around 10 chemicals of a cocktail of several hundred compounds were found to explain the toxicity of the complex mixture to different aquatic organisms (Brack et al. 1999). The complex mixture of chemicals contained in motorway runoff proved toxic to a crustacean species (Gammarus pulex). Boxall and Maltby (1997) identified 3 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as the cause of this toxicity. Subsequent laboratory experiments with reconstituted mixtures revealed that the toxicity of motorway runoff could indeed be traced to the combined concentration-additive effects of the 3 PAHs. Svenson et al. (2000) identified 4 fatty acids and 2 monoterpenes to be responsible for the inhibitory effects on the nitrification activity of the bacteria Nitrobacter in wastewater from a plant for drying wood-derived fuel. The toxicity of the synthetic mixture composed of 6 dominant toxicants agreed well with the toxicity of the original sample. 

Occupational exposures to pesticides are believed to increase SAB rates. In a study on laboratory mice, the animals were exposed to a low dose mixture of herbicides, insecticides, a desiccant, and a fertilizer, a combination commonly used in upper Midwestern United States. The chemicals contained in the mixture were... 

The afore-mentioned books have all been concerned primarily with fatty oils or with the sources of fatty oils, but there are also several recent valuable books which are concerned primarily with foods and which include excellent chapters on edible oils. One of the more recent is Outlines of Food Technology by Harry W. von Loeseke 35). A much more ambitious work which appears in three volumes is The Chemistry and Technology of Food and Food Products edited by Morris B. Jacobs 16). Analytical methods are described in Chemical Analysis of Food and Food Products also by Jacobs 15), and in The Analysis of Foods by Andrew L. Winton and Kate Barber Winton 39). And -one hppk designed for home economics students and containing laboratory experiment instructions is Foods, Chemistry and Cooking by Evelyn G. Halliday and Isabel T. Noble (if3). 

Walters, D.B. J.D. McKinney, A. Norstrom and D. DeWitt, Control of Potential Carcinogenic, Mutagenic and Toxic Chemicals via a Protocol Review Concept and Chemistry Containment Laboratory, In Safe Handling of Chemical Carcinogens, Mutagens, Teratogens... 

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