Hazmat

Note to self: avoid doing things that remind older women that they're...older.

This week our lab was trying to get some old reagents cleared out, and I was in charge. SS was showing me a box of small bottles with variously ominous labels.

"These are probably too old to work properly, aren't they?" I said.

"Oh yeah, look at this one, it's twenty-four years old."

I looked at the label and giggled. "It's older than me!"

SS stared. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three in July."

Then it occurred to me that the stock date written on that bottle was probably in her handwriting. So, hazardous materials can be hazardous in more ways than the chemical >_<

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The ancient bottle turned out to be ammonium sulfate. Trying to figure out what to do with it was a bit of a headache because UW's Chemical Safety and Disposal Guide says you can flush it down the sink. Several MSDS's that I found online (example), however, say it has to be disposed of by a hazardous waste contractor...hmm.

So I decided to be lazy and wash it down the sink. Started with the smallest bottle. Stopped when I saw white fumes coming from it. o_O

Also, the chemical sounded really familiar, so when I got home I whipped out my box of Revlon Custom Effects and looked at the ingredients.

Highlighting Powder contains: Potassium persulfate, sodium persulfate, sodium metasilicate, ammonium persulfate...
Developer contains: Aqua ((water) eau)), hydrogen peroxide...

Under the "Incompatibilities" section of various MSDS's for this chemical are listed "hydrogen peroxide", "sodium peroxide", and "other oxidizers [pdf]".

Hmm...the stuff's been on for the better part of an hour and my head hasn't gone terbaboom yet.

Going to shampoo.