Destruction of Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratory

Lunn, G., and Sansone, E.B. (1994) Destruction of Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratory, Wiley, Chichester. 

See also P. Patnaik, A Comprehensive Guide to the Hazardous Properties of Chemical Substances, 2nd ed. (New York Wiley, 1999) G. Lunn and E. B. Sansone, Destruction of Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratory (New York Wiley, 1994) and M. A. Armour, Hazardous Laboratory Chemical Disposal Guide (Boca Raton, FL CRC Press, 1991). 

Excess sodium azide in the filtrate was destroyed by treatment with ammonium cerium(IV) nitrate solution according to the procedure described by Lunn, G. Sansone, E. B., In "Destruction of Hazardous Chemicals In the Laboratory" Wiley New York, 1990 p. 44. 

Lunn, G. Sansone, E. B. Destruction of Hazardous Chemicals in the Laboratory, 2nd ed., John Wiley Sons, New York, 1994. A handbook providing procedures for decomposition of materials or classes of materials commonly used in the laboratory. 

The U.S. Army s chemical agent disposal facilities, like many industrial facilities, produce wastes in the course of plant operations. For the purposes of this report, secondary waste is defined as any waste associated with the storage or destruction of chemical agent. Like other industrial waste, these wastes are either hazardous or nonhazardous. A particular waste is classified into one or the other of these categories by either laboratory analysis or generator knowledge of material source, use, and exposure (Box 1-1). The wastes discussed in this report are called secondary wastes to distinguish them from the chemical munitions that are... 

The normal and preferred means for destroying an explosive azide is to explode it. In a laboratory where small quantities are used, it is strongly recommended that samples, as they outlive their usefulness, be exploded in small quantities in an appropriate laboratory area. Nonexplosive azides, of course, may be decomposed thermally, if they do not present any flame or flash hazard. However, for such materials, the preferred method is chemical destruction. 

Hazardous aldehydes are burned in a chemical incinerator equipped with an afterburner and scrubber. Current ongoing research suggests that other methods may be applicable. Mention will be made throughout the book of various disposal methods. Some are described under ketones (see Chapter 29), which may as well be applicable as well to aldehydes. A laboratory method based on potassium permanganate oxidation is described under the disposal/destruction of acetaldehyde (see Section 5.3). 

AR 50-6 also defines requirements for management of RCWM. The regulation specifies that emergency on-site destruction of chemical munitions may be considered an option to reduce risk and that non-emergency on-site destruction is subject to CERCLA or RCRA. Also, AR 50-6 indicates that soil suspected of contamination by chemical agents or industrial chemicals is presumed hazardous until confirmed otherwise by laboratory analysis and is required to be managed in accordance with environmental laws and regulations. 

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