Chromatography Forum

We recently had a safety audit where we were told that our solvent storage bottles (1 lt) need to be stored in the flammables cabinet. I could see this for extra mobile not in use, but for the ones hooked up to the lc? What is the industry standard?

Don't think there is one. Wherever your Lab is located it will be subject to the local regulations.

However, I have yet to come across a H & S inspector who told me that I had to store my active mobile phase reservoirs in a flammable cabinet.

Your inspector sounds like he's incapable of seeing shades of grey rather than just black or white.

Alternatively, you could say OK then ask him what he wants to do about the "trip hazard" created by the tubing leading from the reservoirs (in the flam cabinet) to the HPLC.

Storage of flammables must be in a cabinet designed for that purpose, however I would argue that any bottles attached to your HPLC are in use, not in storage, therefore that rule is not applicable.

So, he asked about the solvent reservoirs, but not the waste bottle? If you were running nomal phase, I'd bet your mixed waste is just as big a hazard as the reservoirs up top...

In the US, there are maximum allowable amounts of flammable chemicals allowed to be stored outside a safety cabinet...

http://www.labsafety.com/refinfo/ezfacts/ezf179.htm

"29 CFR 1910.106 also limits the total amount of a liquid kept outside of a safety cabinet or storage room. The quantity of liquid that may be stored outside of an inside storage room or flammable liquid storage cabinets in any one fire area of a building cannot exceed:

25 gallons of Class IA liquids in containers
120 gallons of Class IB, IC, II or III liquids in containers
660 gallons of Class IB, IC, II or III liquids in a single portable tank
The amount of liquid storage and location of cabinets is regulated. 1910.106 (d)(3) states, "Not more than 60 gallons of Class I or Class II liquids, nor more than 120 gallons of Class III liquids may be stored in a storage cabinet." Also, according to NFPA 304.3.2, not more than three (3) such cabinets may be located in a single fire area."

I have to believe there is a similar caveat in your regulations, and you can probably appeal the decision to the regulatory agency.