Calcium gluconate (CAS 299-28-5): storage and disposal

Lab stock and pharmacy stock are kept apart. In a university lab where hydrofluoric acid is used, tubes of gel sit in the first aid kit and should be checked against their expiry date, with the powder, if held, on a general shelf in a dry, labelled store. In a pharmacy cupboard, infusion strength preparations stay with other medicines and follow the pharmacy's own stock control. Date solids on arrival and keep them away from food grade supplies. A gel tube that has been squeezed, split or left in a warm cupboard should be labelled as such and kept in its original packaging.

The solid gives few visible signs of ageing, so the container tells the story: caking from damp, a faded label or no date of receipt. Gel is different, and the first thing to check is the packaging. Look for split or leaking tubes, crust around the cap, a tube that has been squeezed flat, an expiry date that has passed and a label that cannot be read. Infusion strength preparations are checked against their printed expiry. If a product is past its date, or the packaging is damaged, put it aside with the record of what it was and when it arrived.

We arrange this by specialist collection. We do not publish a drain or general waste route for any chemical. It is normally packed in a non-regulated or low hazard laboratory pack with compatible chemicals.

It leaves the site through specialist collection, not through a sink, a drain or the general waste bin, and nobody should try to treat it first. The waste code 16 05 09 usually fits the laboratory solid, while a healthcare holder would normally use 18 01 09 for a medicine, though the producer classifies the waste. Hospital pharmacies should check with the responsible pharmacist whether their own medicines arrangements apply before a product goes into a collection. Describe the form of each item as powder, gel or ready-made preparation, keep original packaging on, and note the expiry date where there is one, because medicinal products that are out of date are listed differently from loose chemical.

Usually held as: infusion strength preparations, gel.

Tell us the container size and how many you hold. An estimate is enough to start with, and some items cannot be priced until someone has looked at them.