Copper(II) chloride (CAS 7447-39-4): storage and disposal

On a school shelf it often sits between copper sulfate and copper nitrate in a row of blue-green jars, and the labels matter more than the colours because the three have different classifications. It is general class stock, so a dry, labelled, well organised store suits it, dated on arrival and kept away from food grade supplies. Close the cap firmly each time: the salt takes up moisture, and a loose lid lets it become wet and then attack the cap. Because of the serious eye damage classification, handle any jar with a cracked neck as an eye risk.

The dihydrate should be blue-green crystals that run freely. In a humid store they take up moisture, clump and may become a damp green mass, and the liquid then reacts with metal, so a green crust on the cap and a corroded or seized lid are typical. Green staining on the shelf under the jar shows that liquid has escaped. A label attacked by seepage, a cracked jar and an unknown date of receipt are further signs. A wet jar is still copper chloride, so describe it as it is and do not move the contents into another container.

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 We do not publish a drain or general waste route for any chemical.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 general laboratory pack with compatible chemicals.

It is classified as very toxic to aquatic life, so it must not go down a sink or drain, into general waste or into a skip, and nobody should try to treat it first. Collection is by the specialist route as hazardous waste, normally using 16 05 06* in a lab pack or 16 05 07* outside one, though the producer classifies the waste. Damp stock is the awkward item: a jar with green liquid or a corroded cap needs describing as such and should travel upright, ideally inside a second container. Record the form, which is normally the dihydrate, and the approximate amount, and tell the collection team about any seepage.

Usually held as: dihydrate.

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.