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Hi, Does anyone know where you can obtain materials such as hydrogen or various acids or bases? Also I have old materials like acids and bases that i don't think can be used. Does anyone know where you can safely dispose such items? Thank you!

Hi Lauren, States have very strict regulations who can dispose of your unwanted lab chemicals. I suggest calling the hazardous waste department of your local county. You will need to identify yourself and they can tell you what your state's guidelines are. Many agencies will dispose of unwanted lab chemicals at a reduced rate for schools, but it depends. It is important that you have compiled a list of the chemicals before you call the agency because they will want to know what you have. In the case of unknowns, they will also want to know whether the unknown chemical is an acid or a base.

Hi Lauren,
I keep a copy of the FLINN ScientificReference Manual in my classroom. It is filled with outstanding teacher helps. The company will send you one for free! For example, it has an alphabetical listing of all the chemicals that can be purchased, any safety precautions that need to be taken while using and storing them, any safety hazards associated with them, and how to safely dispose of them. The FLINN website contains several 'safe science' features for teachers. There is a Discussion thread that I started a few months ago that has a lot of great information already posted. Please feel free to check some of the previous posts there, too. It is at General Science and Teaching Discussion Forum: Safety First in Science.

Lauren asked, "Does anyone know where you can obtain materials such as hydrogen or various acids or bases?" At the FLINN website they have lecture bottles of hydrogen available for purchase (as well as most any chemical safe enough to use in a classroom). Plus, as I said in my previous post, all of the safety information is included. We need to remember that safety is the most important consideration when determining what activities to include in lessons. Why would any chemicals be purchased for elementary or secondary school use if they posed a health or safety risk for students and teachers?

Hi Lauran, We had some problems disposing of chemicals as well - especially as our school is old and had a really old inventory from when they taught high school classes here. We were able to give some away to the high school and university but the rest, we have been forced to store (until recently when they decided to renovate our building). We are still storing but supposedly our school system's hazards waste disposal department at the state level will take care of it. We shall see. It's not a problem if on Oahu but if an outer island like I am, we have discovered, when they realize how much more it will cost to dispose of some of these chemicals since transportation has to be factored in, they kind of ignore us. But fortunately, we know what we are doing, collaborated with various professionals and always make sure everything is stored properly and documented. Our fire department is very appreciative of this and they do go over our store room with a fine tooth comb. But definitely talk with your school district to find out the process and protocols first, followed by the local, county and state regulations and reputable folks who can help out. In the meantime, be sure everything is stored properly while awaiting proper disposal. Whatever you do - know the rules before you get rid of anything and document it along the way. Best of luck!

Some states and districts have published guidelines. Here is one from Nebraska http://www.deq.state.ne.us/Publica.nsf/0/d9583aaae76ad49c8625690b007378a3?OpenDocument and Maryland http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/science/safety/chemicals.html Florida http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/hazardous/pages/schoolchemicals.htm Missouri http://www.dnr.mo.gov/env/schoolcleanout.htm Tennessee http://www.tn.gov/environment/sc3/ New Hampshire

New Hampshire http://des.nh.gov/organization/commissioner/p2au/pps/ppsp/faq_disposal.htm