Date: March 29, 2010 4:59:43 PM
EDT
Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L]
Abbreviations
If you
are talking about labeling chemicals with abbreviations, you may want to
reference this OSHA interpretation letter.
John
John Crawford
McGregor
Director - Office of
Regulatory Compliance
Northern
Arizona University
Peterson
Hall (Bld. 22) - Room 216
PO Box
4137
Flagstaff, AZ
86011-4137
(928) 523-7258
office
(928)
523-1607 fax
(928)
220-1388 cell
===
Date: March 29, 2010 5:08:23 PM
EDT
Subject: RE: [DCHAS-L]
Abbreviations
We
allow/encourage it.
Here=E2=80=99
s an example from one of our labs:
Common Abbreviation Chemical
Name Primary Hazard
ACN
acetonitrile flammable
DCM
dichloromethane toxic
DMF
dimethylformamide flammable
EtOH
ethanol flammable
THF
tetrahydrofuran flammable
DMSO
dimethylsulfoxide flammable, toxic
CHCL3
chloroform toxic
Et2O
diethyl ether flammable
DIEA
diisopropylethylamine flammable
IPA
isopropyl alcohol flammable
MeOH
methanol flammable
DIC
diisopropylcarbodiimide toxic
Dbu
diazabicycloundecene flammable
HBTU
1-hydroxybenzotriazoltetramethyluronium salt toxic
TRIS tris(hydroxymethyl)methylamine NA - buffer
solution
Tricine
N-tris(hydroxymethyl)methylglycine NA - buffer solution
HEPES 4-2-hydroxyethyl-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid
NA - buffer solution
MOPS
3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid NA - buffer
solution
PIPES
piperazine-N,N=E2=80=B2-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid) NA - buffer
solution
MES
2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid NA - buffer
solution
TAE Tris acetate EDTA buffer
NA - buffer solution
TBE Tris
borate EDTA buffer NA - buffer solution
EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid
toxic
NaCl sodium chloride
NA
KCl potassium chloride
NA
XnHmPO4 phosphate buffer
(x=Na sodium or K potassium) NA - buffer solution
NaOH
sodium hydroxide corrosive
HCl
hydrochloric acid corrosive
H2SO4
sulfuric acid corrosive
KOH
potassium hydroxide corrosive
TFA
trifluoroacetic acid corrosive
Ac2O
Acetic anhydride corrosive
Russell Vernon,
Ph.D.
(951)
827-5119
===
Date: March 29, 2010 5:23:41 PM EDT
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Abbreviations
I see two specific issues here:
1.
First reponders. While some may be able to figure out THF or even
DMF, I doubt many would know what TMSCl means. And in an
emergency, the SOP or decoder sheet may not be accessible or
spotted.
2. Succession. We all know that despite
our best-laid plans in academia, we often come across chemicals left
behind by departed staff members. Many of these may be cryptically
labelled, and a researcher may have his own idea of what a "proper"
designation is. I have witnessed the fallout from this several
times in my career - dangerous/inappropriate disposal of unknown
chemicals and/or huge costs and efforts to identify unknowns. You
can not guarantee that the magic decoder ring suggested in your post
will exist at some future point, or that the chemical will not migrate
to another laboratory where there is no key abbreviation
key.
As far as the legality, 29 CFR 1910.1200, paragraph
(f) "Labels and other forms of warning" requires under (f)(5) that
labels in the workplace be labeled with the "identity of the hazardous
chemicals contained therin", but does allow under (f)(6)
that
"The employer may use signs, placards, process sheets,
batch tickets, operating procedures, or other such written materials in
lieu of affixing labels to individual stationary process containers, as
long as the alternative method identifies the containers to which it is
applicable and conveys the information required by paragraph (f)(5) of
this section to be on a label. The written materials shall be readily
accessible to the employees in their work area throughout each work
shift. "
On a related note, it is allegedly "standard"
abbreviations on MSDS's that confound a wide variety of people across a
huge swath of professions. I've been answering "what does this
term on my MSDS mean" questions for over 10 years and I still get ones I
never heard of. Some of the more useless ones are collected
here: http://www.ilpi.com/msd
s/ref/useless.html This is one of the reasons that our MSDS
HyperGlossary has grown to over 500 terms.
And, even
with the magic of our MS-Demystifier, http://www.ilpi.com/m
sds/ref/demystify.html there are terms and abbreviations that
will have different meanings to different people as Alan already pointed
out. Thinking of a broad audience, an example is "mole" - is that
a spot on your skin, a concentration unit, a rodent, or a spy?
Thus, I tend to encourage and prefer everything being written out
clearly, although I plead absolutely guilty to having labeled with
abbreviations galore in my research career.
Best
regards,
Rob Toreki
===
Date: March 29, 2010 5:26:04 PM EDT