klmama Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Someone gave me a 20-year-old chemistry set. Are there any concerns about using old chemicals? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 Depends what they are. Can you give a list of what's included? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) Hi, Dicentra. Sorry so long in responding. Here's what's in all of the little bottles. They have the H opening at the top for adding drops of distilled water. Thanks for any input on what's likely safe to use, what shouldn't be used, and how I should dispose of it. copper sulfate (2 containers, one has leaked around the lid. The other appears fine.) sodium carbonate (2, one has leaked) sodium silicate magnesium sulfate fehling's solution sodium sulfate cobalt chloride ferrous sulfate calcium nitrate calcium hydroxide citric acid ammonium chloride aluminum ammonium sulfate biuret reagent potassium iodide methylene blue sodium carbonate powder phenolphthalein zinc powder iron filings borax powder universal indicator Edited June 26, 2016 by klmama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) None of them look toxic, but I'd throw them all out except the iron and zinc, as they're almost certainly no longer usable; they should all be easily replaceable. Google for each chemical with the word "dispose" to see if they can just be safely washed down the sink or wrapped up and thrown away, which probably most/all of them can be. Check your city or county chemical disposal rules on their website for any hazardous substance disposal. Sources for small quantities of replacement chemicals: Elemental Scientific elementalscientific.net Home Science Tools homesciencetools.com Science Kit sciencekit.com Edmund Scientific scientificsonline.com Edited June 26, 2016 by Violet Crown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dicentra Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Hi, Dicentra. Sorry so long in responding. Here's what's in all of the little bottles. They have the H opening at the top for adding drops of distilled water. Thanks for any input on what's likely safe to use, what shouldn't be used, and how I should dispose of it. copper sulfate (2 containers, one has leaked around the lid. The other appears fine.) sodium carbonate (2, one has leaked) sodium silicate magnesium sulfate fehling's solution sodium sulfate cobalt chloride ferrous sulfate calcium nitrate calcium hydroxide citric acid ammonium chloride aluminum ammonium sulfate biuret reagent potassium iodide methylene blue sodium carbonate powder phenolphthalein zinc powder iron filings borax powder universal indicator Sorry it's been so long for me to respond, klmama! :) Here are my thoughts... Anything that was a liquid solution is probably dried out by now and can be tossed. That would probably include the Fehling's solution, the biuret reagent, the methylene blue, the phenolphthalein, and the universal indicator. Even if any of them are still liquid, I'd probably still toss them. If the ionic salts (I'm using "salt" in the chemistry sense here - any ionic solid in chemistry that is normally in crystalline or even powder form normally is called a "salt") are still free-flowing (in other words, not solidified into a rock-hard lump), they are still usable. The salts in your list are the chemicals I didn't strike-through: copper sulfate sodium carbonate sodium silicate magnesium sulfate fehling's solution sodium sulfate cobalt chloride ferrous sulfate calcium nitrate calcium hydroxide citric acid ammonium chloride aluminum ammonium sulfate biuret reagent potassium iodide methylene blue sodium carbonate powder phenolphthalein zinc powder iron filings borax powder universal indicator None of those salts are unstable (no chlorates or peroxides, etc.) and they won't have broken down into something else. If they have turned into a solid lump, then toss them. The zinc powder and iron filings are probably fine unless the iron filings have gone rusty. The citric acid may or may not be OK but since it's organic, you're probably better off tossing it. I agree with Violet Crown - if the salts are solid lumps, you can Google how to dispose of each chemical but none of them are toxic or dangerous. If it were me, I'd probably rinse them all down the sink one at a time with lots and lots and lots of running water between each disposal - assuming you don't have a septic system. If you're rural and have your own septic system, then take them in to your local fire department to dispose of - putting all that into a septic system wouldn't be good. :) If you're in a town or city with municipal water, their treatment plant will deal with the little bit of chemical you'd be disposing of. It's actually better than throwing the chemicals in the garbage since garbage isn't treated in any way. If the salts are lumps and you're going to do disposal at home, do the calcium hydroxide first with lots and lots of running water (like 5 or 10 minutes of running water) and then you can do the rest one at a time with running water between. If you're really uncomfortable with home disposal, you can take them all in to your local fire department. If they don't do disposal, they can tell you who does. :) Hope that helps! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted June 28, 2016 Author Share Posted June 28, 2016 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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