Potentially explosive peroxides can form if some chemicals which are kept beyond their expiration date. A special team must remotely open every expired peroxide former individually. This "High Hazard Team" work is dangerous and costly.
Dispose of your peroxide forming chemicals (PFC) before the expiration date. It is important for you, the user, to keep a record of when these PFC will expire. There is a $100 recharge for each PFC that is disposed of beyond the expiration date.
Principal Investigators and lab managers should be aware of the storage and handling requirements of all peroxide forming chemicals and reactive chemicals. Make sure staff members are properly trained.
Peroxide forming chemicals, or PFCs, include a number of substances that can react to shock or spark or heat or friction, react with air, moisture or product impurities, and undergo a change in their chemical composition during prolonged storage.
Peroxides are not particularly volatile and thus tend to precipitate out of liquid solutions. It is particularly dangerous to allow a container of these materials to evaporate to
dryness, leaving the crystals of peroxide on the surfaces of the container.
- Label each container with date received and the date first opened
- dispose of container prior to expiration date
Do Not handle PFC containers if:
- greater than two years past the expiration date
- date of the container is unknown
- If crystallization is present in or on the exterior of a container
Secure it and contact the EH&S Hotline at 310-825-9797 for pick-up and disposal.
Disposal of expired peroxide-forming chemicals may incur a charge of $100 per container (irrespective of the size of the PFC container). When disposing of these chemicals, the laboratory must submit a completed P39 Recharge Form.
