Chemical Safety

Ensuring the safe and compliant use of chemicals on campus.

Safe Storage of Hazardous Chemicals Guide

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2020

The safe storage of hazardous chemicals is an essential part of an environmental, health, and safety program. Chemical storage facilities must meet certain minimum standards to satisfy diverse regulations, such as those of Cal/OSHA, the local sanitary district, and the California Fire Code. This manual provides guidelines to help you meet these standards.

Guidelines for Explosive and Potentially Explosive Chemicals: Safe Storage and Handling

Office of Environment, Health & Safety

Potentially Explosive Chemicals (PECs) include peroxidizable organic chemicals which oxidize, dry out, or otherwise destabilize over time. Examples include isopropyl ether, sodium amide, and picric acid. Old or mismanaged chemicals and can pose a serious threat to the health and safety of laboratory personnel, emergency responders, building occupants, and chemical waste handlers.

For additional information, contact Andrew Fletcher at (510) 643-9254 or andrew.fletcher@berkeley.edu

Corrosives (Acids and Bases)

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2011

Acids and bases are some of the most common hazardous chemicals used in laboratories. They are useful in an array of different experiments, but caution must be used while working with these corrosive compounds. Whether the compound is on the extreme high or low end on the pH scale, proper steps must be taken to ensure your safety. This fact sheet provides information that should be incorporated into – or referenced in – written Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) for laboratory processes that use corrosives.

Carcinogens

Office of Environment, Health & Safety
2012

The Carcinogens Fact Sheet and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) specify minimum requirements for safe storage, use, and handling of carcinogens on the UC Berkeley Campus. This fact sheet has been approved by the Laboratory Operations & Safety Committee and defines carcinogens as chemicals that cause cancer or tumor development, typically after repeated or chronic exposure. Their effects may only become evident after a long latency period and may cause no immediate harmful effects.

Discovery of an Old Container of Potentially Explosive Chemical

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

While working in a UC Berkeley laboratory, a graduate student discovered the presence of an old experimental set-up, which was labeled as containing a small amount of hydrazoic acid, in a shared cold room with no responsible contact person. This material is a potentially explosive chemical under certain circumstances, so the student referred the set-up to the Department Safety Coordinator (DSC). The DSC requested the assistance of EH&S who recommended that the set-up be disposed of by an explosives material contractor because very little was known about the source...

Improperly Vented Experiment Causes Explosion and Burns

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

A graduate student working in a UC Berkeley laboratory was performing a series of evaporation procedures outside of a fume hood using a general-purpose electric pump and a roto-evaporator that had no exhaust equipment. In an effort to make the solvent recovery more efficient, the student applied a vacuum to the condenser tower but quickly turned the pump off because the vacuum was too strong. By that time, the pump exhaust had already formed an explosive mixture of the acetone and ether vapors which ignited when the power shut-off switch was activated, resulting in...

Explosion of Concentrated Hydrofluoric Acid Waste Solution

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

A graduate student in a UC Berkeley laboratory discovered the aftermath of a chemical explosion upon arrival at the laboratory he shares with other graduate students. The extensive contamination was caused by the explosive rupture of a plastic bottle of liquid waste kept inside the hood. According to the container label, one of the components inside the ruptured bottle was hydrofluoric acid. The investigation revealed that an incompatible material may have been poured into the same container causing the reaction and resulting explosion. The hood, floor and walls near...

Exposure to Bromine During a Laboratory Refrigerator Clean-up

June 30, 2008
Office of Environment, Health, and Safety
What Happened?

While performing a chemical inventory inside a laboratory refrigerator, a UC Berkeley graduate student observed the presence of condensate on the inside walls of the refrigerator. This student and two other graduate students proceeded to clean the refrigerator walls, assuming that the condensate was water. When one of the students noticed a bottle of 99% bromine had a small leak, clean-up was immediately stopped, a sign was posted on the door to keep away, and the Department Safety Coordinator (DSC) was notified of the accident. The DSC summoned EH&S clean-up...