An Introduction to Peroxide Formers & Sodium Azide i Young, Southeast Higher Education Program Manager Presented By Nikki Young, Southeast Higher Education Program Manager

Meet Your Presenter Southeast Higher Education Program Manager, Nikki began as a field chemist in 1999 for a hazardous waste corporation in Chicago and has continued to develop her career over the previous 17 years. Currently, Nikki provides environmental services to a majority of the colleges and universities throughout Florida and has an excellent grasp of the federal, state and local regulations.

Overview  Chemicals may form explosive peroxides for a variety of reasons becoming shock sensitive  Can pose a threat to health and safety  Removal is expensive  In most cases, not managed under a structured program  Program management  Introduction to sodium azide  Handling, storage and disposal of sodium azide

Overview Of Peroxide Forming Chemicals  Energetic materials do not age well  Routine use can accelerate the chemical breakdown  Changes in the materials color, form or state require investigation

The Chemicals Common Peroxide Formers  Ethyl Ether  Tetrahydrofuran  1,4-Dioxane  Isopropyl Ether  Sodium Amide  Cumene  Styrene  Butadiene

Five Types of Stimuli  Electrostatic discharge  Friction  Impact  Heat  Shock Safety needs to be increased as the materials age.

Tetrahydrofuran with 150 ppm

Oxidized Sodium Amide

Regulations and Guidelines  OSHA – General Duty Clause  NFPA – Peroxide former storage, Fire department enforcement  State Department of Environmental Protection – Treatment permits (if necessary)

Regulations and Guidelines  Perform the stabilizations off-hours  Have a secure location that you can move the materials to  Isolate the areas that you will pass through with the materials

Stabilization of High Hazard Materials  Information is the key  Commercial products are relatively easy to stabilize due to the availability of information  MSDS’s usually (but not always) have solubility information on them  Chemical intermediates are more difficult  Must use trade journals or “recipes” with general chemistry knowledge to determine the appropriate solvent

How Do You Avoid All This?

Management of High Hazard Chemicals  95% of all remote openings can be avoided  They usually result from three things:  Improper storage  No preventative maintenance  Bulk purchasing

Management of High Hazard Chemicals  The Challenge: Develop a standard operating procedure (SOP) that collects information you want and prevents small bottles from becoming budget shattering events.

Management of High Hazard Chemicals  Create a management system that covers the use, maintenance and purchasing of those materials that could become unstable  This will prevent and prohibit activities that create problems

Management of High Hazard Chemicals  Management systems can include:  Who can purchase such materials  The largest amount that can be purchased  Inventory tracking of the materials  How and where these materials will be stored  After what time the chemicals will be disposed  Who will enforce the system and what the penalty will be

Management of Peroxide Forming Chemicals  Many of the goals of the system can be accomplished with the existing staff  Use people at key points in the process of ordering and receiving chemicals  Purchasing and Receiving – This covers who is using the material and how much  Chemical Hygiene Plan – This will cover the procedures

Management of High Hazard Chemicals  Labs should be inspected routinely by lab personnel specifically for peroxide forming chemicals  Labs should be inspected periodically by Environmental Health & Safety

High Hazard SOP’s  Find easy ways to collect information.  Work with researchers.  Make tracking and labeling easy.  Educate the staff as to why these things must be done (i.e. Fire department requires an inventory).

High Hazard SOP’s  Get them to document their high hazard materials on an format or a web-based form.  Create a similar inspection form for high hazardous materials that must be submitted on some schedule  Look at the forms and give feedback

High Hazard Communication and Education  You can never provide too much information to the lab  All lab staff know of peroxides in ether. Not many know what causes this to happen (conditions and use).  Attempt to get into lab meetings at least monthly with this type of information  Let them know the potential safety issues to the individual

What is Sodium Azide?  Chemical formula of NaN 3  An inorganic, colorless, odorless salt  Very acutely toxic  Can be explosive

Health Effects  Ingestion of even small amounts can be fatal  Mixing with water or acid creates toxic hydoazoic gas  Contact with transition metals can lead to the formation of explosive, shock sensitive metal azides

Where is Sodium Azide Used?  Air bags  Preservatives  Pesticides  Mutagens  Probe reagents  Hematology equipment

Sodium Azide Warnings Warning from the FDA:  Sodium Azide Solutions: Potential Hazards for Explosions from Improper Handling and Disposal, August 5, 2015

Sodium Azide Handling  Proper personal protective equipment  Avoid contact with acids or heavy metals  Avoid disturbing corroded materials if the corrosion may be due to sodium azide  Avoid exposure of potentially concentrated sodium azide due to friction or shock

Sodium Azide Storage  Do not store tubing or other materials that may have been in contact with solutions containing sodium azide  Collect sodium azide waste into a plastic reservoir and label the container with the proper name  Clearly label all medical devices, collection containers and waste disposal fixtures that use products containing sodium azide

Sodium Azide Disposal  Follow local, state and federal regulations regarding handling and disposal of hazardous wastes  Dispose of solutions per instrument and analyzer instructions  Contain waste in plastic receptacles intended for hazardous material as per Safety Data Sheet (SDS) guidelines  The Clean Water Act allows for disposal in sanitary sewer systems if the concentration is less than 1% of total annual wastewater from a facility  Flush sodium azide solutions with at least 100-fold excess of water

Questions?

Thank You! Nikki Young (813)