Chemical Management PlanScience +Chemicals =A Safer Green Environment

A Guide for Science Teachers within theSchool District of Philadelphia

Introduction• This program is designed to:

• Inform educators about the new Approved Chemical List.• Inform educators how to properly store chemicals and

maintain a chemical inventory. • Replace high hazardous chemicals with lower hazard

chemicals whenever possible.• Strengthen a student’s knowledge of environmental

responsibility.• Ensure all hazardous waste is disposed properly.

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Why is this Needed?

• Chemicals found were:• High hazards• Expired• Stored Incorrectly

• Most schools lacked:• A Chemical Coordinator• A Chemical Management Plan• The appropriate equipment needed to respond to

chemical spills

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Teamwork!• In order to be successful, this Chemical Management

Plan needs the combined effort of all educators and district level administrators to:

• Enforce that only approved chemicals exist inside the schools.• Maintain chemical inventories.• Make sure the MSDS sheets are easily accessible.• Demand all chemicals are properly stored and labeled

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Waste Minimization and Pollution Prevention

• Pollution Prevention• Focuses on not generating waste by reducing it at

the source.

• Waste Minimization• Focuses on reducing accumulated waste that must

be treated or disposed.

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Why is Waste Management Important?

• Reducing the quantity of hazard wastehandled reduces the hazard.

• Helps schools be environmentally responsible and meet legal requirements.

• Saves Money• Reducing the amount of chemicals purchased leads to a

reduction in disposal costs.

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Purchasing Chemicals

• Buying in bulk doesn’t save money.• Excess chemicals leads to disposal charges.• Only buy what is needed for a • single experiment.

• Purchases may only be made from the list of 279 Approved Chemicals.

• A request may be made to purchase a chemical that is not approved if needed.

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Labeling Chemicals

• Labeling chemicals reduces environmental hazards.• Dangerous reactions can occur if labeling is

incorrect or non-existent.• Recommendations

• Identify all chemicals containers.• Adopt a standard chemical labeling procedure.• Use colorfast and permanent labels.• DO NOT use non-laboratory grade containers.

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Image from Purdue Department of Chemistry

What Will You See?___________________________________________________________________

To be posted at the entrance of all Chemical

Prep Areas.

To be posted at the entrance of all

laboratories and Chemical Storage

rooms.

To be posted inside all laboratories.

Managing Chemical Inventories

• A Proper Chemical Inventory:• Has labeled chemicals.• Stores chemicals in a centralized place.• Stores waste properly until it is disposed.

• A Chemical Inventory Prevents:• Unknown chemicals• Excessive inventory stocks• Poor use of materials

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Conducting a Chemical Inventory

• Inventory existing chemicals.• NEVER involve students when doing this!

• DO NOT move any unmarked, bulging, leaking, rusted, cracked, or degraded chemical containers. Develop a disposal list with all important information about the chemicals.

• For a suggested procedure see the handout or manual guide – Chapter 7.

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Tracking Chemicals: From “Cradle to Grave”

• Chemicals must be tracked when they are bought, used, and disposed.

• Designate a centralized storage areas and a chemical coordinator.

• Use the old chemicals before purchasing or using the new.

• Regularly purge chemicals that are not used.

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Storing Waste Prior to Disposal

• All waste should be:• clearly labeled• Segregated by type and compatibility• Tracked• Labeled as “Hazardous” or “Potentially

Hazardous” with the date and type of hazard

• Inspected for leaks and damage regularly• Stored until it is able to be disposed

properly

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Dealing with Unwanted Chemicals

• If possible, dispose of any non-hazardous chemicals you are familiar with in a safe and legal manner.

• Maintain your chemical inventory to avoid future accumulation of excess chemicals.

• Contact the School District’s Office of Environmental Management and Services for additional help.

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School District of PhiladelphiaOffice of Environmental Management & Services

440 North Broad StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19130

215-400-5213 p215-400-4751 f

Proper Chemical Storage

• Designed to:• Protect Flammables from ignition.• Minimize the potential of exposure to poisons.• Segregate incompatible chemicals to prevent

accidental mixing.

• These guidelines are required by the Philadelphia Fire Department.

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Segregation• DO NOT store chemicals alphabetically.• Chemicals should be segregated by hazard

class:• RED: Flammable.• BLUE: Health Hazard. • YELLOW: Reactive and oxidizing reagent. • WHITE: Corrosive. • GRAY, GREEN or ORANGE: Presents no more than moderate

hazard.

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Image from chemistry.about.com

Segregation___________________________________________________________________

The signs below will be posted in every chemical storage room. The signs list each chemical by its hazard category and ranking. Each

chemical should be stored by the hazard it is listed under.

Storage Tips• Store chemicals in a way that will reduce risks of

breakage or spills. (ex: glass in a secondary container)• Do not allow students to have any access to the storage

rooms.• Avoid storing chemicals on top of fume hoods.• Store flammable chemicals in a designated flammable

cabinet.• Label all chemicals properly full name and hazard type

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Spills and Leaks….• What do we do?

• Record any spills or leaks.• Have a response plan ready.• Inspect daily for any spills or leaks.• Have spill and leak protection inside all storage rooms.• Call the building engineer IMMEDIATELY for help.

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Conducting Experiments• Resource-Efficient Procedures

• Limit the use of solvent and hazardous materials.• Monitor experiments closely and add additional

chemicals only when necessary.• Conserve water by reducing rinse times whenever

possible.• Save electricity by turning off equipment when not

in use.

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Conducting Experiments• Think Waste Minimization!

• Pre-weigh chemicals for students.• Pair the students up to cut the use of chemicals in half.• Demonstrate some experiments to avoid having the

entire class do them.

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Encourage students to

research waste minimization!

Substituting Materials• Substitute hazardous chemicals with low or non-

hazardous chemicals whenever possible. • This helps avoid hazardous waste problems.

• See the manual guide for possible subsititutions.• Chapter 12

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Reusing and Recycling Chemicals

• Solvent Recovery• Spent solvents can easily be distilled “in-house” to a high

purity that will allow for multiple reuse.

• Chemical Swap• A system in which schools can obtain chemicals from

another school if given permission.• A system in which schools may be able to swap an

unwanted chemical with a company in exchange for an approved chemical.

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Managing the Waste Streams• It is the responsibility of the science teacher to

determine if a waste is hazardous.• A chemical is considered Hazardous if it has one or

more hazardous characteristics.» Ignitable» Corrosive» Reactive» Toxic

• MSDS sheets should provide all necessary information.

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Segregating of Waste Streams

• Separating lab wastes is important for safety, legal, and pollution prevention reasons.

• Do not mix:• Hazardous with Non-Hazardous materials.• Organic with Inorganic materials.• Halogenated with Non-Halogenated materials.

• Segregating wastes helps cut down on disposal costs.

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Disposal of Hazardous Wastes• DO NOT put hazardous wastes down

the drain.• You must recycle or dispose of them

through licensed hazardous waste management firms.

• The generator of the waste is responsible for the hazardous waste until it is dispose of.

• For additional information or help, contact the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Environmental Management and Services.

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Chemical Disposal• It’s simple Follow these guidelines:

• DO NOT transfer the chemicals off of school property.• DO NOT POUR CHEMICALS DOWN THE DRAINS!!!!• DO NOT use fume hoods to evaporate volatile chemicals.• Dispose of wastes by recycling, reclamation or chemical

deactivation whenever possible.

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In-Laboratory Treatment of Wastes

• For compounds that are non or less- hazardous you can use:

• Neutralization• Separation• Fixation• Precipitation• Degradation• Ion exchange II oxidation

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Additional Information!• For additional information you may contact the School

District of Philadelphia’s Office of Environmental Management and Services.

• Additional information is also available in Chapter 17 of the Chemical Management Guide.

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