Australia's Science Forum

Hi there,
Hoping for some valuable opinions on the use of chromates in senior chemistry. I have been ask to buy Sodium Chromate for IB chemistry but am reluctant because of its classification. Am interested in what the the new CSIS says. I'm from an independent school and don't have access to latest info. Thanks
Annie

There's a new CSIS?

Hi Annie
I would check the SDS!
Are they using the solid or in solution?

They are using the solid. yes, I checked the SDS. It's a S6 poison, toxic, etc
Excuse my ignorance regarding the CSIS. I thought the online version which you need a department 'log in' might have been the 'new ' version? But am gathering its the OLD one just uploaded? Such confusion.

I don't know, that's why I was asking. I've got 2 big folders labelled CSIS and assumed it was current. I work in an independent school too but I don't know where to get a new version or how to check if a new version even exists

Which prac is it? We do IB chem here and I have never used solid sodium chromate. If it is a prescribed IB prac I may be able to offer an alternative.

Hi guys,
Linotos. Thanks for your reply. The IB students are starting their Internal Assessment and the teacher at this point has given me a list of chemicals needed, not the actual prac, thus the query regarding Sodium chromate and the use of chromates in general.
Regarding the CSIS Samantham....Thankyou too.. We too have the big yellow folders but printed back to 1999. I have heard that a 'new' version was in the making and made an assumption that the online version was a newer one.

If it is for an IA I would not be giving them any until they provide a risk assessment on the prac. I would then offer an alternative. If the teacher insisted (mine wouldn't as they are overly cautious in some ways) I would tell them that they would need to handle the chemical whenever the student needed it. I would want to know what the products of reaction were and they would have to potentially deal with that as well. It is classified as Teacher only according the riskassess (who uses the CSIS codes)

We are independent school and use the risk assess system and yes the CSIS info is over 20 years old so we take the higher of the recommended ... which is usually risk assess ... in this instance it is recommended for Teacher Use only ... It has a pretty long list of warnings :
May cause cancer
May cause genetic defects
May damage fertility. May damage the unborn child
Fatal if inhaled
Toxic if swallowed
Causes damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure
Harmful in contact with skin
Causes severe skin burns and eye damage
May cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled
May cause an allergic skin reaction
Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects

Ummm if it is fatal to inhale I would not be getting it for my school

CSIS is currently STILL being updated, it's a looooong process apparently since it still isn't finished. The online version is pretty much still the same old one. The new one has been promised for early next year last I heard. I won't be holding my breath...

I've copied the entry for sodium chromate from the online CSIS below. The formatting didn't stay, but hopefully you can work it out...

Note: An asterisk(*) flags the name by which the chemical is listed on the Chem Watch MSDS database
Search result for: sodium chromate*

Table showing details for sodium chromate*
Chemical
Category & User Codes
DG Class
DG PG
UN CAS No
Guidance notes
sodium chromate*

11-12
1
2
-
-
5
-
-
6.1

DHS

CW

Hazardous Chemical III 2811
7775-11-3 Highly toxic if ingested; carcinogenic; skin irritant. Use eye and skin protection where splashes can occur.
42

See also sodium dichromate, heavy metal compounds and oxidants.

I rely on Riskassess these days as the CSIS is so out of date.