Scope of “Chemical” Safety

University and College chemical safety guidelines apply to lab/research grade chemicals; hazardous reagent kits such as those with corrosive, irritant, or flammable components; hazardous consumer products such as resin and spray paint; chemical stains such as crystal violet and phalloidin; biological samples stored in hazardous fixatives such as formalin or alcohols; environmental samples that are known or suspected to be hazardous; and lab-synthesized chemicals. Contact the College Safety Team if you have questions about specific materials. Common clarifications from the SJSU Chemical Hygiene Plan are addressed here. 

Non-hazardous, Neutral Chemicals

Chemical safety guidelines do not generally apply to non-hazardous, neutral chemicals because reporting to regulatory authorities is not usually required, harm to emergency first responders is unlikely, and impacts to hazardous chemical waste streams are rare. "Hazard" is identifiable through Globally Harmonized System (GHS) labeling such as flammable, corrosive, irritant, toxic, and oxidizer. Personnel are responsible for careful review of Safety Data Sheets to confirm whether the chemicals they procure are hazardous. Examples of products that are generally exempted from chemical safety rules are:

• non-hazardous, neutral salt buffers -- common examples are saline and tris buffer
• non-hazardous, neutral media -- common examples are cell culture media, synthetic body fluids, and agarose 

Hazardous Household Consumer Products

Hazardous household consumer products must be managed safely because they are a common source of lab/shop injuries and spills at SJSU. In general, lab/shop supervisors have discretion to procure and manage hazardous household consumer products. These items need to be included in the chemical inventories for labs/shops that are authorized to work with hazardous materials to ensure that emergency first responders are aware of their presence. These items do NOT need to be inventoried if small amounts are present in other non-hazardous spaces (such as a single cleaning spray bottle in a break room). The campus has a robust Safety Data Sheet library which includes most common hazardous household consumer products. Environmental Health & Safety exempts these products from New Chemical Procurement Form requirements. The college exempts these products from the Main Campus requirement to deliver directly to the safety office. Hazardous household consumer products must be disposed of through hazardous chemical waste streams.

• 3D printer filament and solder must always be accounted for in the lab/shop chemical inventory to ensure that required safety data sheets for this specialized material is available to personnel and emergency first responders.

Biological Materials

See the Biological Material Management page for detailed guidance. Most biological materials are managed based on biohazard level without substantial chemical safety considerations. Chemical safety regulations apply to biological materials that are stored in hazardous chemicals such as toxic aldehyde fixatives or flammable alcohol fixatives. For example, an accurate estimate of the quantity of fixative and container sizes must be represented in the chemical inventory. For example, containers with flammable liquids over 1 L in size must be stored in a flammable storage cabinet.  

Environmental Samples

Chemical safety rules do not generally apply to non-hazardous and neutral environmental samples such as minerals, soils, rocks, or salts. These environmental samples are not considered chemical hazards as long as their composition is not hazardous and they are not contaminated with hazardous materials. The professional judgement of field researchers and lab/shop supervisors is critical to identify potentially hazardous field sites and environmental samples. If lab/shop supervisors pursue projects involving potentially hazardous environmental samples, they must work with the College Safety Team to set up safe operating procedures and must also maintain compliance with relevant SJSU safety and compliance programs/policies. Additionally, lab/shop supervisors must work with the College Safety Team to address processes involving environmental samples that could release hazardous chemicals – such as silica dust generation from grinding rocks or toxic organic vapor emission from heating contaminated materials. Examples of hazardous environmental samples include:

• Samples with known hazardous composition such as substantial arsenic or mercury content (contact ehs@sjsu.edu for help)
• Samples collected from a location with high likelihood of chemical contamination such as water collected from a Superfund site, from a volcanic area releasing sulfur dioxide, or near an industrial chemical facility (contact ehs@sjsu.edu for help)
• Radioactive contamination or composition (contact ehs@sjsu.edu for help)
• Regulated or quarantine soils that contain plant/agriculture threats (contact biosafety@sjsu.edu for help)
  Samples collected from locations with high likelihood of biohazard contamination like at a sewage spill or by a concentrated animal feeding operation (contact biosafety@sjsu.edu for help)

Lab-Synthesized Chemicals

Lab-synthesized chemicals must be managed with extra precautions and are presumed to be toxic until their identity is confirmed and matched to an established Safety Data Sheet. Lab-synthesis is only acceptable in SJSU laboratories designed and equipped for this purpose. Lab/Shop Supervisors are responsible for careful review of chemical synthesis in their lab. Experimental samples should be collected into a designated storage area that is prominently labeled "Experimental samples: Not tested for hazardous properties". Within the designated storage area, compatible experimental samples should be in a secondary container with a label that provides any known information about composition and hazards. If personnel leave experimental samples out unattended (such as during overnight reactions), the best practice is to label the reaction vessel or adjacent location with contact information, chemical composition, the intended reaction plan, and the schedule for check-ins on the experiment. Careful labeling of lab-synthesized chemicals helps to keep other personnel and emergency first-responders safe. Once the identity of a lab-synthesized chemical is known, it must be managed according to the general chemical safety rules for lab/research grade chemicals including addition to the chemical inventory.