Benzalkonium chloride (CAS 8001-54-5): storage and disposal

Keep it low down, on a resistant tray in a ventilated corrosive store. Because it is classed as causing severe burns, a bottle of concentrate stored above head height is the wrong place. Keep the concentrate in compatible, resistant secondary containment, separate from incompatible chemicals, including oxidising chemicals. Storage arrangements should follow the product safety data sheet. A pharmacy that keeps it near alcohol-based antiseptics should move one or the other. Stock arrives as concentrate and as ready-made solution, so label each container with its strength and date, and do not store decanted dilutions in unlabelled bottles beside the concentrate.

Bottles of concentrate in a store show the general corrosive signs: crust at the neck, a cap that has become brittle or stuck, a cracked container, damaged shelving under a leaking bottle and fumes on opening. Do not open a bottle to check for fumes. No characteristic colour change marks its age, so the container is what to check. Look for leaks onto the tray, a faded strength on the label, a bottle with no date, and damaged secondary containment. A bottle that has leaked should be left where it stands and reported, not wiped up and put back.

By specialist collection only. It never goes down the drain or into general waste. It is normally packed in a corrosive other laboratory pack with compatible chemicals.

Begin by recording each container's strength and volume: concentrate and solution are not the same item. The burns classification means the concentrate is handled with care, and nobody should decant or consolidate it on the way out. Because it is very toxic to aquatic life, it never goes to a drain, and a pharmacy or clinic washing remainders away is exactly what to avoid. A veterinary practice uses 18 02 05*, a human healthcare setting 18 01 06*, and a university 16 05 06*. The collection supplier determines compatible packing groups from the products and their classifications, and a registered carrier collects them.

Usually held as: solution, concentrate.

Part-used bottles and full containers are both fine. Tell us the size and how many, and an estimate is enough for a first price.