How closely does Environmental, Health, and Safety (EH&S) monitor chemicals with the potential to form peroxides within the laboratories of your company? How well aware are your researchers of which chemicals these are and how to handle and dispose of them? Proper management of potential peroxide-forming solvents is vital to the safety of your researchers and facility staff, the compliance of your institution, the maintenance of your laboratory peroxide-forming chemical equipment and research materials, and the cost of your waste disposal. Take a look to find out everything you need to know about the hazards and handling of advanced peroxide forming chemicals.

1. Advanced Peroxide Forming Webinar:
Hazards and Handling
Presented by:
Ted Dubiel, Quality Manager

2. About Ted Dubiel
• Over 16 years
peroxide former and
high haz management
experience
• Head of New England
Technical Lab
Services Division and
company reactives
program

3. Managing Your Program
• Overview
• Regulations
• Program Implementation
• Program Management

4. Overview
• Chemicals may form explosive peroxides for a variety of
reasons becoming shock sensitive
• Can pose a threat to the health and safety
• In most cases not currently managed under a structured
program

5. Overview
• Energetic materials do
not age well
• Routine use can expose
can accelerate the
chemical breakdown
• Changes in the material’s
form, color, or state
require investigation

6. The Chemicals
Common Peroxide Formers:
• Ethyl Ether
• Tetrahydrofuran
• Isopropyl Ether
• 1,4 Dioxane
• Sodium Amide

7. Overview
• Five types of stimuli to which an
explosive will react:
 Electrostatic discharge
 Friction
 Impact
 Heat
 Shock
• Safety needs to be increased as
energetic materials age

11. Regulation/Guidelines
• OSHA- General Duty Clause
• NFPA- Peroxide former storage, Fire
Department enforcement
• State Department of Environmental Protection -
Treatment permits (if necessary)

12. Regulation/Guidelines
• Perform the work off-hours
• Have a secure location to move to
• Isolate areas that you will pass through with the
material

13. Stabilization of High
Hazard Material
• Information is the key:
 Commercial products are relatively easy to stabilize
because of 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 appropriate solvent.

14. How Do You Avoid
All This?

15. 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

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

17. High Hazard SOP’s
• Find easy ways to collect
information.
• Work with Researchers
• Make tracking/labeling easy
• Give staff a reason why these
things must be done (Ex. Fire
dept. requires inventory).

18. Management of High
Hazard Chemicals
• Create management
systems that cover the
use, maintenance, and
purchasing of those
materials that could
become unstable.
• This will prevent and
prohibit activities that
create problems.

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

20. 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 authorized
procedures.

21. Management of High
Hazard Chemicals
• Labs should be inspected
routinely by lab personnel
specifically for peroxide
forming chemicals.
• Periodic inspections by
EH&S

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

23. High Hazard SOP’s
• 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.

24. • Large University in Boston Area
 Biannual lab evaluations
• Entire campus walk through
 Report created
 Material evaluated for disposal

25. • Large Biotech in Boston Area
 Entered received date upon receipt into
Chemical inventory
 Report created showing material at or over
1 year
 Annual walk through
 Material removed for disposal

26. QUESTIONS?
Ted Dubiel
tdubiel@triumvirate.com
617-839-4033

27. Thank You!
1-888-TEI-WOWS www.triumvirate.com