Australia's Science Forum

NOn dangerous chemical storage Help!

Some of the teacher want to keep sugar,oil. detergents.salt,borax and other things that we normally use at home in a box in the pre-lab easy to a get when needed for some experiment without a risk assement that they provide with every other chemical when they place a requition form but the H teacher says the they are chemicals and they should be locked up .
I am still learning and i do not provide anything without her sign for it .
what is your exp.advice on it how do you store your chemicals and experiment


Celia

Apart from detergents/cleaning agents, if it's got an MSDS to that affect, keep it in the chem store. Others like sugars etc do not need to be locked up, just kept in a dry storeroom.

I have these sorts of food stuffs in a separate cupboard in the back of the preproom - not in the chemical store - tea bags, sugar salt, food colouring etc anything bought at the supermarket - anything purchased through a chemical supplier is in the chem store - sucrose, sodium chloride etc

These are all listed in my chemical stocktake/chemical register

I've got a "foodstuff" cupboard in my Prep Room. It has Bi-carb, Citric Acid, Cream of Tartar, Flour etc etc. Everything that I have bought from a supermarket. Up here my sugar, icing sug lives in the fridge, since we share the rainforest with 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 ants (to the power of 1,000), and they share my prep room on a quid pro quo basis.

But seriously, yes I can be serious, food things can be in a cupboard, not the chem store.

Blimey Smiley! You wouldn't want to sit still too long up there, you'd be carried off!

If I can get away with a lunatic goat for company, I think it would be more than reasonable for you to request a Spiney Ant-Eater. I'm sure Q-Stores stock them. Here's one from their catalogue - product number 1483331 on page 261 under Insect Repellent and also page 335 Abrasives/Bootcleaners. They start at $149 excl GST and they come in 3 sizes.

I wonder if they could be trained as a back scratcher? Ask your schools purchasing clerk to get you one.

I also keep what I class as cooking materials separate in my storage room, and products with material safety data sheets, are stored in their correct areas. I find it all easy to obtain for staff and ourselves, if we all know our storage areas and we have labelled.

Laurena

Thanks Richard, for the funny side of science. You and Kristin make my day.
lada

Richard - Hell yeah! Can have one? CanIcanIcanIpleeeze?

Actually if I get my daughter to go on a "traditional hunting for food" excursion with her uncles, then SHE could get one, and loan to to me. Although, I'm not sure where Echidnas fit into a traditional Torres Strait diet, but we'll swing it somehow.

please please please can I have one toooo... they are so cute!
well - not cuddly as such ..but...

Thanks for the feed back .

celia and also like the humorous participation

Only too happy to help with other labbies ant problems (oh, and non dangerous chemical storage issues)