Proper Management of Chemicals

Proper management of chemicals is mandated in state and federal regulations.  Recent campus inspections give cause for significant clean outs of surplus and waste chemicals, which may be mitigated by implementing systematic chemical management. 

Toward that end, we recommend that an experienced faculty or staff member be assigned to monitor the chemical holdings in your departments.  They should ensure:

• Chemicals are always labeled
• Containers are monitored for leaks or spills
• Surplus chemicals are given reasonable expiration dates after which they should be disposed of properly
• Waste chemicals should be identified in a timely fashion and the Hazardous Waste Officer contacted to arrange pickup of         the chemicals

Access to the chemical area is

• restricted to those with a need to enter
• Annual inspections of the area should be conducted to reassess surplus / waste status of chemicals

Failure to adequately maintain chemicals and chemical storage areas can result in costly fines, accidents for your department and increased disposal costs.  Associated fines and disposal costs will be paid by departments responsible for chemicals or associated area.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Terry Coggins at 325-3294 or compliance@research.msstate.edu.