Australia's Science Forum

ELIZABETH wrote:See you later Chemwatch!!!!

Me too couldn't be happier.

RiskAssess GHS labelling much easier to use than Chemwatch; just enter chemical name, choose label size (choice of 4), choose solid or solution; if the latter, enter molarity then download and print.

It is time to celebrate! The labels look good with the right amount of information. Now I have to start re-labelling.

Unfortunately I do not have access to Riskassess atm. I'm feeling very frustrated and wasting so much time trying to do labels.
di-SODIUM HYDROGEN ORTHOPHOSPHATE on Chemwatch this is described as hazardous with a signal word of Warning.
On the Chemsupply site it is described as non hazardous and no signal word required.
I have found this so often with Chemwatch that they go over the top with there warnings. What do you suggest for labelling both for the original container and for dropper bottles of 0.1M?
Kathryn

I can't seem to upload the risk assess file for the label but here it is (minus formatting) :

Sodium hydrogen phosphate
Na2HPO4(aq)
0.1 mol/L
Not classified as a hazardous chemical according to GHS

Well worth trying to get your school to pay for it for the labels alone. It is very cheap. I'm pretty sure we pay $250 a year.

Xenon wrote:RiskAssess GHS labelling much easier to use than Chemwatch; just enter chemical name, choose label size (choice of 4), choose solid or solution; if the latter, enter molarity then download and print.

Sounds great xenon.

Would love to see some samples of the new labels.
Curious though about not being prompted for manufacturer info ...I thought that was a GHS requirement

Would love to see some samples of the new labels.
Curious though about not being prompted for manufacturer info ...I thought that was a GHS requirement

Manufacturers info is not a minimum requirement on aliquot labels, only on the original containers for the chemicals

Thanks linotas.

Kathryn wrote:Unfortunately I do not have access to Riskassess atm. I'm feeling very frustrated and wasting so much time trying to do labels.
di-SODIUM HYDROGEN ORTHOPHOSPHATE on Chemwatch this is described as hazardous with a signal word of Warning.
On the Chemsupply site it is described as non hazardous and no signal word required.
I have found this so often with Chemwatch that they go over the top with there warnings. What do you suggest for labelling both for the original container and for dropper bottles of 0.1M?
Kathryn

Hi Kathryn
When in doubt, refer to the manufacturer's safety data sheet, not the Chemwatch produced one. The legislation requires us to have, and use, a copy of the manufacturer's SDS, not one from a third party. If the manufacturer no longer exists, you can substitute with a similar product from another supplier if you are sure the ingredients are the same - not a problem for pure chemicals but can be a problem for, say, a cleaning product.

Definitely ask about signing up for Riskassess. We paid $160 last year for 12 months. It is going up a bit, but not much considering what they are now providing.

linotas wrote:Manufacturers info is not a minimum requirement on aliquot labels, only on the original containers for the chemicals

Cheers for that linotas. ...and thanks for showing the Label . Curious if the real label has subscripts in Chem formula

Yes they do. I can email you a PDF if you want. Chamtalk keeps giving me an error if I try and upload. Large labels also have risk phrases. I have just spent the last couple of hours printing (and saving) out labels (mostly small size for dropper bottles). I am really liking them.

So happy about these labels. I now can get started on re-labelling knowing that what I am doing has the right information. If you are planning on copying the label design, you must be really careful about your source information. You might get the layout right, but you could have the wrong information. It was why I gave up on Chemwatch (which I'm sure is a great resource for industries and big corporations, but not designed for schools) as there was too many conflicting listings. To have a headache-free process is worth the subscription to Riskassess on it's own.

All we need now is Philip to set it up with a Chemical register and we'll be set. Might be worth mentioning.

Thanks for the copy of the labels Linotas ....they sure are nice looking .....bold , simple and easy to read .

So just to clarify , these labels are fine for the classroom .

There is a draft copy of a chemical register in the Learning Resources section on Riskassess. It is in a spreadsheet format. I ditched the "other" on-line register as I found it just too difficult to use and moved over to a spreadsheet. I can add whatever I want to it, I can make it look however I want it to look AND I can call items by what I want to call them, not what a data base wants to call them.

Merilyn1 wrote: Hi Kathryn
When in doubt, refer to the manufacturer's safety data sheet, not the Chemwatch produced one. The legislation requires us to have, and use, a copy of the manufacturer's SDS, not one from a third party. If the manufacturer no longer exists, you can substitute with a similar product from another supplier if you are sure the ingredients are the same - not a problem for pure chemicals but can be a problem for, say, a cleaning product.

Definitely ask about signing up for Riskassess. We paid $160 last year for 12 months. It is going up a bit, but not much considering what they are now providing.

I wonder what to do with dilutions though. Chemwatch says that 2M HCl is hazardous and should have the GHS signal word "WARNING". But on Riskassess it is non hazardous. As we make the solution ourselves there is no manufacturers SDS to check. How do we know which to go with?

We subscribe to Riskassess, so I rely on their information over Chemwatch's. I've found adopting this approach has given me the less number of headaches! If you were someone who didn't have access to Riskassess, I guess you would have to use what your school has paid for or find a SDS with equivalent concentration. In the long run, it is better to go overboard with the hazard rating than being too low.
Anyone have any other suggestions?

I love, love, love the new Risk Assess labels!!! I'm starting on my dropper bottles today. I had a couple of questions and Phillip Crisp got back to me straight away with the answer.
If your school doesn't subscribe, I highly recommend that you push for it. Well worth the money IMHO.
When it comes to dilutions I have been checking CSIS and Risk Assess and so far they agree with each other. If in doubt, I would go with the higher risk just in case...

Mel

I'm pretty sure Philip said at the PD I attended that all their data on solutions is taken from the gold standard document from here:

European Chemicals Agency "Classification and Labelling Inventory"
http://echa.europa.eu/information-on-ch ... y-database

It's basically a database of all hazardous chemicals and at what concentration their hazards kick in and to what degree. RA has tabulated all the data so that when you put a certain concentration in, it extracts the correct risk...unlike Chemwatch which relies on extracting the data from the pure chemicals sds or data entry from a user.

At the same time as relabelling solutions I have been trying to relabel some of the original bottles. I have managed to get a trial of Riskassess so I can see what you are all raving about. However, look at the difference between the labels for Silver nitrate (they both had the pictograms):

Chemwatch label

DANGER
SILVER NITRATE
May intensify fire
oxidiser.
Causes severe skin burns and eye damage.
Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
Hazard Codes: H272; H314; H410
GHS Codes

Keep away from heat/sparks/open flames/hot surfaces. - No smoking.; Take any precaution to avoid mixing with combustibles/organic material.; Do not breathe dust/fume/gas/mist/vapours/spray.; Wear protective gloves/protective clothing/eye protection/face protection.; Avoid release to the environment.; IF SWALLOWED: Rinse mouth. Do NOT induce vomiting.; IF ON SKIN (or hair): Remove/Take off immediately all contaminated clothing. Rinse skin with water/shower.; IF IN EYES: Rinse cautiously with water for several minutes. Remove contact lenses, if present and easy to do. Continue rinsing.; Immediately call a POISON CENTER or doctor/physician.; Specific treatment (see advice on this label).; In case of fire: Use alcohol resistant foam or fine spray/water fog for extinction.; Store locked up.; Dispose of contents/container in accordance with local regulations.; See SDS for full list of P phrases


Risk Assess Label

DANGER
Silver nitrate
AgNO3
May intensify fire; oxidiser
Causes severe skin burns and eye damage
Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting
Effects

That is a huge difference in the amount of information. I have already done most of our solutions and have included as much info as I can while still being able to read it. I am especially surprised that according to Riskassess that even on original containers we don't have to include H codes and safety advice.

Kathryn (even more confused)