Iodoform (CAS 75-47-8): storage and disposal

A quick shelf check is whether the jar is in a dark glass container with a tight lid, because light and air are what damage iodoform and the smell escapes through poor seals. It sits in a dry, labelled, well organised store, away from food items. Dental surgeries tend to keep it as a paste or in tubes in the cupboard with root canal materials, and pharmacies as old impregnated dressings in tins, so each kind of stock should stay in its own container with the label facing out. Date any item that lacks a date of receipt.

Light is the main enemy of iodoform, and old stock usually shows it. The bright yellow crystals darken towards brown, a sharp iodine-like smell builds up in the cupboard, and the cap or lid may stain brown. Tins of old dressing can corrode and leave rust or brown marks on the shelf, and dental paste tubes may split or dry to a crust. Faded labels and missing dates are common with pharmacy stock. A jar that has stained its surroundings brown should be left in place on a tray and recorded rather than opened to look inside.

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 We do not publish a drain or general waste route for any chemical.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.

Whether it is a jar of crystals, a tin of dressing or a dental paste tube, iodoform goes the same way: by specialist collection, packed with compatible organic solids. Do not put old dressing in ordinary clinical waste without a waste assessment, and do not wash paste or crystals down a sink. Say on the list which form each item takes and what its label states. School and university stock fits 16 05 06*, a loose discarded organic chemical not sent in a pack can use 16 05 08*, and a pharmacy or dental practice can use 18 01 06*.

Usually held as: legacy dressing, dental paste.

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.