Strychnine (CAS 57-24-9): storage and disposal
Very toxic and long out of everyday use, strychnine is a plant alkaloid found mainly as legacy stock in the poison cupboards of older school and college prep rooms and in university teaching collections. It is a solid, fatal if swallowed or in contact with skin, and very toxic to aquatic life. Secure keeping and a careful, exact description decide how it is handled.
- CAS number
- 57-24-9
- Form
- Solid
- Storage class
- Toxic
- Signal word
- Danger
- Usual EWC code, laboratory stock
- 16 05 06*
Acute toxicity
Hazardous to the environment
What to do this week
- Without moving anything that looks damaged, check the label is readable and write down the opened date if it is not already there.
- Check it is stored as toxic stock, and apart from anything listed under "Do not store with" on this page. If nothing is listed, that does not prove it is safe with everything.
- If you no longer need it, add it to your disposal list so it can be included in a collection.
Safe storage in a school or lab
Acids and oxidisers should never share a shelf with it. Toxic stock is kept apart from both as a rule, and strychnine has its own reason: the free base dissolves only sparingly in water, but acids turn it into far more soluble salts, so a leak from an acid bottle could carry it across a cupboard. The right place is a locked cabinet with a stock record, well away from food and drink areas. In a school that usually means the prep room poison cupboard, with the key held by named staff only. Because skin contact can be fatal, a jar with dust on its outside or around the stopper should stay where it is until someone competent has advised you.
How to tell it has deteriorated
You would expect to see colourless crystals or a white crystalline powder, and strychnine is chemically stable, so an old jar can look much as it did when new. Appearance is therefore a poor guide to its age or purity. Yellowing, caking or a damp look are not normal and should be reported when you describe the jar. Powder in the cap threads or on the shoulder of the bottle matters more, because it means the closure has failed. Corks and old waxed stoppers are common on stock of this age, and they perish. A faded handwritten label or a lost stock record is often the real problem. Check all of this from outside the jar and never open it to look.
How it is disposed of
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 We do not publish a drain or general waste route for any chemical.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 toxic laboratory pack with compatible chemicals.
Packing puts it in a lab pack with compatible toxic solids, in UN approved packaging, apart from acids and oxidisers. It normally goes under list of waste code 16 05 06*, or 16 05 08* where it is a discarded organic chemical outside a lab pack. Declaring it with care is the main job for the holder: give the exact label wording, any salt named, the approximate quantity and the state of the closure. A hazardous waste consignment note applies in England and Wales, and a special waste consignment note in Scotland, and your copy stays on file. Being very toxic to aquatic life, it must never reach a sink, a drain, a general waste bin or a skip, and nobody should try to treat it first.
| Usual EWC code, laboratory stock | 16 05 06* |
|---|---|
| Discarded organic chemical, not a laboratory pack | 16 05 08* |
| Usually classed as hazardous waste | Yes |
The code depends on where the waste came from and what it contains, and classifying it is the producer's duty. Use the waste code finder to see why.
Do not store with
- OxidiserToxic and oxidising stock are stored apart. A reaction could release toxic vapours.
- AcidToxic stock is stored apart from acids. Several toxic salts release toxic gas in contact with acid.
Named chemicals to keep apart
- Acetic acidToxic stock is stored apart from acids. Several toxic salts release toxic gas in contact with acid.
- Calcium hypochloriteToxic and oxidising stock are stored apart. A reaction could release toxic vapours.
- Hydrochloric acidToxic stock is stored apart from acids. Several toxic salts release toxic gas in contact with acid.
- Hydrogen peroxideToxic and oxidising stock are stored apart. A reaction could release toxic vapours.
- Nitric acidToxic stock is stored apart from acids. Several toxic salts release toxic gas in contact with acid.
- Potassium nitrateToxic and oxidising stock are stored apart. A reaction could release toxic vapours.
- Potassium permanganateToxic and oxidising stock are stored apart. A reaction could release toxic vapours.
- Sulfuric acidToxic stock is stored apart from acids. Several toxic salts release toxic gas in contact with acid.
Common quantities
Usually held as: legacy stock.
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.
Where it is commonly held
Hazard statements
- H300 Fatal if swallowed.
- H310 Fatal in contact with skin.
- H410 Very toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
Precautionary statements
- P262 Do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clothing.
- P264 Wash hands and exposed skin thoroughly after handling.
- P270 Do not eat, drink or smoke when using this product.
- P273 Avoid release to the environment.
- P280 Wear protective gloves, protective clothing, eye protection and face protection.
- P301+P316 IF SWALLOWED: Get emergency medical help immediately.
- P302+P352 IF ON SKIN: Wash with plenty of water.
- P316 Get emergency medical help immediately.
- P321 Specific treatment (see supplemental first aid instruction on this label).
- P330 Rinse mouth.
- P361+P364 Take off immediately all contaminated clothing. And wash it before reuse.
- P391 Collect spillage.
- P405 Store locked up.
- P501 Dispose of contents and container in accordance with local, regional, national and international regulations.
Substance as classified, dilutions may differ.
Questions
We have found a jar of strychnine in an old poison cupboard. Should we bring it to the main store?
There is usually no need to carry it anywhere. Lock the cupboard, restrict the key and add the jar to your stock record. Read the label without opening the jar and note the approximate quantity. Handling should be kept to a minimum, because contact with skin can be fatal.
The label says strychnine sulfate, not strychnine. Does that matter for collection?
Yes. A salt is a different material from the free base, and waste has to be described accurately. Copy the label wording exactly into your request, including old spellings or abbreviations. If you cannot read it, say so and do not guess, because an uncertain label is something the collection can plan for.
Does strychnine become more dangerous as it gets older?
It is not known for turning unstable with age, and years on a shelf do not make it any less toxic. The risks that grow are practical ones: closures perish, labels fade and records get lost. Those are the things worth checking from outside the jar and reporting when you arrange collection.
Can it stay in the same locked cupboard as our other poisons?
A locked toxic cabinet is the right kind of home, but look at what shares it. Acids and oxidisers belong elsewhere, even when they are also restricted items. Keep the stock record current so anyone who takes over the cupboard knows the jar is there and that it is waiting for disposal.
