Pat et al,
This throws open questions about chemical security and exactl
y what chemicals and in what concentrations/volumes are stored in th
e chemical stockroom. The issue of hazardous reactivity I mention b
ut leave to others with more expertise. When does container "A" + C
ontainer "B" + on ad infinitum become a serious hazard when mixed?
In the throws of idiocy, when I approached one of the major chemical supp
ly houses to obtain some 0.1 M HCl and NaOH for neutralization demonstratio
ns, they asked me to spend hours upon hours filing out ridiculous registr
ation forms. When I rebelled and simply went to the local auto part
s and hardware stores, I bought off-the-shelf 6-13% HF, 8% phosphoric a
cid, and up to 20+% sodium hydroxide as chrome wheel cleaners and drain c
leaners. Curriouser and curriouser. They worked just fine i
n the neutralization demonstrations and I could even travel, buy locally
, and do them without being subjected to nonsense by the TSA.
To buy a simple week's dose of a decongestant containing pseudoephedrine in
my state, it is now necessary to register and fill out various forms so
that Big Brother can decide if you are really using it to make methamphetam
ine rather than desiring relief from cold symptoms. A recent public
ation suggests strongly that such programs are a decided failure.
When my daughter was teaching science in a school in rural Montana in the r
ecent past, there were enough reagents stored in an open classroom in anc
ient, poorly-locked glass cabinets that her students showed her how to un
lock with a bent paper clip to be a serious problem. I think I got
a state agency to dispose of them properly. At least I tried. 
; Things that were stored together in containers (many leaking) left over
from before I was born had a great potential for flammable/explosive react
ions. I did segregate what I could based on Bretheric
k's and general knowledge.
So I don't really have an answer to your question other than that common se
nse and concerns for safety should prevail. As the founder of my sp
ecialty noted some centuries past, "All Substances are Poisons. T
here is None which is Not. The Difference Between a Poison and a Re
medy is the Dose." Paracelsus
Alan
Alan H. Hall, M.D.
Medical Toxicologist
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