Australia's Science Forum

Worksafe do not recognise SDSs from a third party. The Safety Data Sheet needs to be in correct GHS format (which stipulates a particular layout) for all hazardous chemicals, to be compliant. If you have the mini SDS you will still need to have the full SDS available to all staff who use the chemica...

Yes, it was an expensive exercise, that's for sure. Our head office had the kits from one school tested before disposal and on that assumed that all kits were contaminated. We were then instructed to have the kits removed and destroyed - at the school's expense. Fortunately, I had the funds set asid...

Not in a DET school. What we were sent has a "dubious" feel to it, although it does seem to have the same information that was distributed to the government schools. All up, it has been an expensive exercise for something that wasn't properly tested for asbestos - just assumed that the tal...

I'm curious about this "Hazard Alert" that everyone seems to have received. We did get this last year and it cost the school a small fortune to have the "affected" kits removed and cost Science another whack to replace the kits. I've been searching and cannot find the origin of t...

I got told at TAFE to use metho.

I transferred our register to a spreadsheet from Chemwatch. I just found it much easier to produce what I felt was simple to understand. If you are in a hurry, probably getting the Chemwatch one up and running will be easier in the short term. You can convert the Chemwatch version to an Excel versio...

We bought some Ohaus Scout Pro from Serrata. Weighs up to 600g. Bought them a year ago and had no problems. They were about $350 each.

Do Serrata stock this size? I've bought some Gratnells trays from them but not the size you're after.

I think Science Assist recommends a hospital grade disinfectant for this. Metho and water works well but the risks are increased.

What type of disinfectant are you using? Do you have the Safety Data Sheet for it - the one produced by the manufacturer? That would be your best source of information before you start panicking. If after checking the SDS and you are still concerned for safety of the product, you need to do a risk a...

I agree, Sunray, but it certainly sounds like these people know what they are doing. It's up to them to determine if they are suitable qualified. For the rest of us who are more comfortable with making agar or diluting acids, best leave this stuff alone.

Time for training of all staff in the office. Maybe a sign near the counter as a reminder to not accept damaged packaging without contacting you first. You probably are "up the creek" on this one as signing for the goods usually is an acknowledgement that they are received in good conditio...

How strong do you use, Rock? 1M?
I have a teacher who insists on ordering spray bottles, even though I've told her we don't have them. It would be good to provide something that was going to work without the little dears killing themselves!

Hey Bigmack - I agree with you on the counting opened containers. This is consistent with my, many, years of pesticide handling prior to working in the school system. As for Chemwatch and their manifests - I got so sick of trying to work with it that last year I was given approval to convert the reg...

For our chemical register, opened containers are counted as if they were full. A record needs to be kept of the maximum quantity you have on site. Say if you always buy your HCl in 2.5L bottles, when you do the audit there is only a drizzle left in the bottle, but the assumption is you will soon pur...

We use 50mL amber glass bottles. Yes, there is a risk of cross contamination, but I usually find that when this happens it has been a deliberate act, so the Stuhl bottles won't stop them. The glass bottles are durable in the long term.

I've been the last two years as well. Definitely found the glass workshop really valuable. I find the ASET conference a little quieter than the DET one in November - so many people at that that it gets a bit overwhelming! I'm not sure if I'll go this year, happy to stick around at work as I've been ...

I had a really helpful email from Victor at Haines who suggested that the wire we have here is not heavy enough and the best thing was to go to Jaycar and buy more. I going to give that a try and will let you know how I go.

What he meant was the old style kitty litter that was clay based. NOT the newer organic ones available now made from reccycled paper and such and not the type made from polymer crystal, often sold as "clumping". If you ask in the pet shop for the old fashioned stuff and tell them what you ...

I've been looking at Haines. I bought banana plugs from them and they fitted the equipment really well. Just been looking in their catalogue, I'm sure they've got cheaper as the banana plugs were 90c each and the leads are only 55c (for a 60cm lead). The leads are from IEC so I hope they are good. A...