Uranyl nitrate (CAS 36478-76-9): storage and disposal
Uranyl nitrate is a radioactive, oxidising uranium salt, found as yellow-green crystals in old school and college stock and in some university stores. It is fatal if swallowed or inhaled and may damage organs through repeated exposure. A bottle is often discovered during a prep room clear out, sometimes decades after anyone last used it. Radioactive status decides the outcome, with the Radiation Protection Adviser taking the lead.
- CAS number
- 36478-76-9
- Form
- Solid
- Storage class
- Toxic
- Signal word
- Danger
Acute toxicity
Serious health hazard
Hazardous to the environment
This chemical is a manual enquiry
This is radioactive. Radioactive sources need their own permits and a specialist route, so we look at each one individually.
Uranium compound, radioactive.
It cannot be priced through a form. Please do not open or move it. Call us or send an enquiry and we will talk through the safe next step, which is often a store assessment.
What to do this week
- Leave it where it is. If it looks old, crystalline or damaged, do not open or move it and keep people away from the shelf.
- Write down the label wording, the rough age and where it is stored, from a safe distance.
- Send us those details, and a photo if you can take one without touching it.
Safe storage in a school or lab
Radioactive status decides where it goes, so it stays in the place it was found, labelled, with the record of holding kept up to date. If no record exists, that is the first thing to tell your Radiation Protection Adviser. Oxidising crystals make paper, cardboard, wood shelving and organic solvents unwelcome neighbours, which matters in old stores where a bottle may be sitting on a crumbling carton. Keep it locked away, apart from food and drink. Do not rehouse it in a clean jar, even if the old cap looks poor, because the dust is fatal if inhaled and handling is where the risk lies. Wait for advice before anyone tidies the surrounding shelf.
How to tell it has deteriorated
Age does not reduce its radioactive status, and the salt can change in appearance as it gains or loses water. Expect crystals that have caked, slumped or turned crusty, and sometimes a damp look around the base of the bottle, as nitrate salts of this kind respond to the humidity of a store. The colour is normally yellow-green. Yellow staining on a shelf or label suggests leakage or dust escaping past a poor cap. Old bottles may carry early labels with the name uranium nitrate, so watch for that wording too. Any corroded cap or stained paper around it is a reason to stop. Do not open the bottle or scrape anything away to read the label.
How it must be disposed of
This does not go through our standard collection route. It is arranged by manual enquiry, and never goes down the drain or into general waste.
It goes out through your Radiation Protection Adviser, as radioactive material and not as a chemical waste. Schools and colleges often have an adviser through their employer or a shared service, and that is the first person to call. If you are not sure who holds the role, ask your employer's health and safety lead. An enquiry to us can help you describe what is there, and a store assessment is recommended, but this item is not quoted online and a chemical collection cannot take it. Report the amount as best you can read it, the label wording and the state of the bottle. Keep it where it is meanwhile, and do not try to make it safe.
| Hazardous waste | Yes |
|---|
No List of Waste code is given here. The waste is outside the chemical collection stream and is assessed by manual enquiry.
The code depends on where the waste came from and what it is mixed with. Use the waste code finder to see why.
Common quantities we collect
Usually held as: hexahydrate, legacy stock.
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.
Where it is commonly held
Hazard statements
- H300 Fatal if swallowed.
- H330 Fatal if inhaled.
- H373 May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure.
- H411 Toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.
Substance as classified, dilutions may differ.
Questions
We have found uranyl nitrate but do not know who our Radiation Protection Adviser is. Who do we ask?
Start with your employer, whether that is the local authority, trust or college, and its health and safety lead. They should know who has been appointed, or be able to arrange someone. Keep the bottle where it is in the meantime and record the date you found it.
The label says uranium nitrate. Is that the same substance?
Old labels often use that name for the same yellow-green salt, though an exact match cannot be confirmed by reading alone. Report it just as it is written, with any supplier name, and let your adviser decide. Do not open the bottle to compare it with other stock.
Should old crystals stored next to cardboard be moved now that we have noticed them?
Do not move the bottle. Move other things away from it only if you can do so without disturbing it, and tell your adviser about the arrangement. The salt is an oxidiser and fatal if inhaled, so any rehousing needs advice from someone competent.