Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Storing solid chemicals in plastic, wood, paper or metal box?

TmNhRhMgBrSe - 25-7-2019 at 06:38

Some of my chemicals absorb water but some don't. Some emit smell/volatile but some don't. Some react with water/oxygen/CO2 but some don't. All of the above are solid. Should I just put them in a room or store in storage boxes? What material should the box be? I have paper and plastic boxes.

MrHomeScientist - 25-7-2019 at 07:18

Consider the worst case: if all your bottles break open simultaneously. Make sure your secondary containment is big enough to hold all the spilled solids (and doesn't have holes in it), and the box is made of a material that won't react with anything from those bottles. Also make sure you keep incompatable items separate: store acids, bases, flammables, and oxidizers in their own individual boxes. Ideally also placed in appropriate flammables / corrosives storage lockers.