Hello-- While it may be very difficult to compile a list of chemicals that should be in a high school storeroom, it is much easier to create a list of chemicals to exclude of minimize. In my opinion, all of the chemicals on OSHA's Subpart Z list should be minimized or excluded. The Subpart Z list consists of the chemicals that OSHA considers to be confirmed as a cause of human health problems (mostly cancer). These conclusions have been created based upon the human epidemiological studies rather than just animal studies. Most of them have specific requirements for workers involved in the production, handling & use of these materials. The specific regulations can be accessed through the website shown below (29CFR Part 1910.1000-1096: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owastand.display_standard_group?p_toc_level=1&p_part_number=1910 All of the chemicals listed in Subpart Z require air monitoring to quantify the exposure levels, most of them require medical monitoring, & some of the chemicals require dedicated areas & systems with warning signs posted to segregate these areas. While OSHA's regulations do not cover students, I would think they would cover the instructors. But, regardless of the applicability of these regulations to a school setting, I believe there is no reason to expose the student, instructors, & other school employees to the potential health risk these materials can cause, especially if there is a less hazardous alternative available. 1910.1003 13 carcinogens including 4-nitrobiphenyl 1910.1004 alpha-Naphthylamine. 1910.1006 Methyl chloromethyl ether 1910.1007 3,3'-Dichlorobenzidine (& its salts) 1910.1008 bis-Chloromethyl ether 1910.1009 beta-Naphthylamine 1910.1010 Benzidine 1910.1011 4-Aminodiphenyl 1910.1012 Ethyleneimine 1910.1013 beta-Propiolactone 1910.1014 2-Acetylaminofluorene 1910.1015 4-Dimethylaminoazobenzene 1910.1016 N-Nitrosodimethylamine 1910.1017 Vinyl chloride 1910.1018 Inorganic arsenic (compounds) 1910.1025 Lead 1910.1026 Chromium(VI) (compounds) 1910.1027 Cadmium (& compounds) 1910.1028 Benzene 1910.1044 1,2-Dibromo-2-chloropropane 1910.1045 Acrylonitrile 1910.1047 Ethylene oxide 1910.1048 Formaldehyde 1910.1050 Methylenedianiline 1910.1051 1,3-Butadiene 1910.1052 Methylene chloride In my opinion, other chemicals to be wary of include those that form peroxides relatively quickly, are explosive or can be easily converted to explosives, are highly toxic, are named within the DEA regulation or are on the DEA Chemicals of Concern list. Some of these categories are due to lab safety issues, others are due to security/liability issues (how to keep the chemicals from being misappropriated for illegal uses). Beth Shepard Technical Specialist, Regulatory Compliance Sigma-Aldrich, Milwaukee Phone: (internal) 6-414-5471 Phone: (external) 414-438-3850 ext 5471 FAX: 414-438-4235 or 6-414-5432
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post