You Have Safety Questions? We Have Safety Answers!

««« By the STAO Safety Committee
The STAO Safety Committee welcomes enquiries, with respect to safety issues, from STAO members. Please send your questions to the Safety Committee Chair (refer to page 4 ‘Committee Chairs’). Your questions and the STAO Safety Committee responses may be published in Crucible, particularly if the information is deemed of general interest to other STAO members. Anonymity, however, will be guaranteed

QUESTION # 30: Our local fire inspector, subsequent to a recent visit to our school, requested that a written protocol for the transport of flammables from one classroom to another be developed. Do you have any suggestions as to what would be an appropriate protocol?

RESPONSE: The use of flammable materials in the science classroom creates several problems for the teacher, including safe storage, handling, and disposal in addition to transportation.

Bottles of flammable liquids should be stored in an approved, fire-resistant ‘Flammables Cabinet’. The supplier should have properly labeled these purchased stock chemicals, identifying the relevant hazard information as per WHMIS requirements.

Any container used for storing or transporting flammable liquids should have a tight-fitting lid or cap to prevent evaporation or spillage of the flammable material. Ideally only enough of the material to meet the needs of the class activity should be taken out of storage for the class. Flammables safety cans are recommended as transfer containers. These cans are made of steel. The cap¬opening handle is spring-loaded and closes shut upon release. They also feature automatic relief valves and flame arrestors in both pour and fill outlets.

If flammable liquids are removed from the original container and transferred to another container in a laboratory, the transfer container must have a laboratory label which clearly identifies the contents. If taken out of the laboratory, transfer containers must carry a workplace label. This form of label has three components:
• The chemical identifier.
• Instructions for safe use
(combination of risk phrase and
precautionary statement).
• A reference to the MSDS.

When carrying flammable liquids between the storeroom and your laboratory or between laboratories, secondary containment should always be used. A rubber or plastic safety carrier, such as that described in the STAO publication Stay Safe! on page 11*, is the best option for bottles.

If using a laboratory cart to transport heavier containers of liquid flammables from one laboratory to another, secondary containment should still be used. Again, the bottle carriers identified above, or a plastic bucket, should be used unless the cart has

shelves designed to contain spilled liquid and prevent it from splashing onto the floor during transport. Regardless, the cart should have either a guard rail or molding on all sides of each shelf to prevent containers from falling off.

It is prudent practice NOT to transport hazardous materials from one laboratory to another between periods. The large number of students present in a congested school corridor greatly increases the risk of harm if a spill should occur.

There must also be a written protocol in place to deal with spilled material. This could include the use of spill pillows or similar equipment to contain liquid flammables. There should also be instructions on how to dispose of the spilled material and contaminated containment/cleanup equipment.

* The STAO publication Stay Safe! was produced by the STAO Safety Committee and is available from the STAO e-Store at http://www.stao.ca