Hazardous Substance Storage There are so many pieces of Laboratory Equipment out there; it is difficult to know what kind

of equipment you may need, or where to get it from. With too many different types of Lab, the equipment depends on the types of research and processed carried out. If you are in a chemistry lab you will need different equipment to a biology lab. However, the majority of Lab either store or use hazardous liquids. These substances have to be stored very safety to ensure compliance with the governments health and safety standards. The materials are split into various categories: 1. Explosives 2. Gases 3. Flammable Liquids 4. Flammable Solids 5. Oxidizing Substances 6. Toxic & Infectious Substances 7. Radioactive Material 8. Corrosives 9. Miscellaneous Dangerous Goods

Each of these substances need to be treated differently in the Lab environment. Explosives - these are liable to combust when exposed to certain conditions after a chemical reaction. You should store each material appropriately according to the stimuli. Explosive compounds include, TNT or RDX compositions. Here are the six divisions: 1.1 - Substances and articles which have a mass explosion hazard 1.2 - Substances and articles which have a projection hazard but not a mass explosion hazard

1.3 - Substances and articles which have a fire hazard and either a minor blast hazard or a minor projection hazard or both 1.4 - Substances and articles which present no significant hazard; only a small hazard in the event of ignition or initiation during transport with any effects largely confined to the package 1.5 - Very insensitive substances which have a mass explosion hazard 1.6 - Extremely insensitive articles which do not have a mass explosion hazard Gases - These are particularly common in the lab equipment providing heat for experiments. There are different types of gases including; asphyxiants, oxidising, toxic or corrosive. Ethane, Butane and Dimethyl Ether are examples of hazardous gases. Gases have three divisions: 2.1 - Flammable Gases 2.2 - Non-Flammable, Non-toxic gases 2.3 - Toxic Gases Flammable Liquids - flammable liquids are volatile and potentially combustible, which is what, makes them so dangerous. Here are some examples of flammable Liquids: Kerosene, Methanol and Benzene. Flammable Liquids have no subsections. Flammable Solids - These are substances that may spontaneously combust, or emit flammable gases when in contact with water. This includes Phosphorous, Sulphur and Naphthalene. There are four divisions: 4.1 - Flammable solids 4.2 - Liable to spontaneously combust 4.3 - Flammable gases are emitted when in contact with water Oxidising Substances - when exposed to oxygen these substances are very volatile. Examples are; Magnesium Peroxide and Potassium Nitrate. They are split into two categories: 5.1 - Oxidising Substances 5.2 - Peroxides (Organic)

Toxic/Infectious Substances - These cause harm or death to living organisms. This includes medical biohazard waste and cyanides. This has two divisions: 6.1 - Toxic Substances 6.2 - Infectious Substances Radioactive Material - Radioactive matter is a substance where the nucleus is unstable and prone to radioactive decay. Uranium radionuclides isotopes and medical isotopes are examples of radioactive materials. There are no subdivisions. Corrosives - materials like Bromine, Formaldehyde and Nitric Acid corrode tissues that they come into contact with. Miscellaneous Goods - Blue asbestos, Lithium ion Batteries and magnetized material are all included in this category. http://labtex.co.uk/