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So, I saw this online:

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150041/?GT1=6305
<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7150041/?GT1=6305> 

 

On the one hand, the tone of this article makes me think this is typical
media-alarmism. The story is that schools lack the resources to dispose of
useless, and yes, dangerous, old chemicals. But it sounds sexier to say
"There's explosives in our schools! Our kids are going to blow us up!"
[Ammonia and bleach create a toxic gas if mixed - so don't do that - but you
don't hear supermarkets described as 'retailers of chemical warfare'.]

 

Ahem. On the other hand, yeah, this is definitely a serious safety issue. I
don't recall if the topic came up on the ASTC listserve before, but let me
share our center's experience:

 

We once discovered several bottles of chemicals in a cupboard, some dating
to the 60's. Getting a professional company to cart this stuff away fror
safe disposal is indeed wicked expensive. We called a local university's
chemistry department for advice. When I told them we had about 3 dozen
bottles, they said that wasn't a lot, and that they have a chemical disposal
company take away some of their stuff every few months. They were kindly
willing to let us add in our (relatively tiny) stock to their disposal load.


 

So if you encounter this problem and don't have a ton of stuff you want to
get rid of, your local college may be able to help.

 

Jonah Cohen

Outreach & Public Programs Manager

Science Center of Connecticut

 

"I'm thinking with sand, here!"

            -JFK, Bubba Ho-Tep


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