Because I'm in "Captain Obvious" mode today ...

I would treat a spill of this material like I would treat any other spill of a strong, concentrated acid - nitric, sulfuric, etc. Use a non-combustible spill absorbent - vermiculite or similar (an engineered spill control material - Super Fine is one I've used - rather than off the shelf diatomaceous earth) and package it for hazardous waste pick up. I'm not sure why a non-metallic dust pan is important. The perchloric acid/acetic acid material would be at room temperature so the extreme oxidizer hazard from hot perchloric acid is mitigated. And if you use a good spill control material, it shouldn't be oozing out to contaminate brooms and dustpans. And as Ralph points out, neutralization may be useful for a small spill (less than 50 ml, perhaps) but not for larger spills.

My $0.02 today.

Debbie

Debbie M. Decker, CCHO, ACS Fellow
Past Chair, Division of Chemical Health and Safety
Councilor and Programming Co-Chair
University of California, Davis
(530)754-7964
(530)304-6728
dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu

Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction
that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,
can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."



-----Original Message-----
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Stuart, Ralph
Sent: Wednesday, May 8, 2019 10:24 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Perchloric acid spill neutralization and absorption

> Neutralization first, yes,

I'm not sure that "Neutralization first" is the best approach.. My experiences with trying to neutralize spills of concentrated acids is that it takes much more neutralizer than one expects, leading to a major mess, and that the heat and splashes produced during the neutralization are a significant hazard unto themselves. I suspect that your idea of simply absorbing the spill into an inert solid to assist in packaging and disposal is a more practical approach.

Good luck.

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Environmental Safety Manager
Keene State College
603 358-2859

ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu

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