Elizabeth Braun, PhD and Christina McKeon
Across North America, many school laboratories contain legacy chemicals that have accumulated over generations of teachers, curriculum changes, and limited disposal resources. These materials often remain in stockrooms not designed forlong-term chemical storage and are managed by educators with little training in hazardous materials management.
Through laboratory inspections and safety consultations nationwide, the Laboratory Safety Institute frequently encountersaging oxidizers, peroxide-forming solvents, mercury compounds, reactive metals, and unknown chemicals in school stockrooms. This webinar will explore the systemic factors that allow legacy chemicals to accumulate in schools, and the role hazardous waste professionals can play in addressing the issue.
What If the Next School Chemical Incident Comes from a Bottle Left Behind Decades Ago?
What if the next chemical incident at a school is not caused by a student mistake, but by a bottle someone left behind in 1997? That is not a hypothetical. It is a reality being uncovered in school laboratories across the country.
During inspections and consultations with schools, the Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI) regularly encounters agingchemical stockrooms containing materials purchased decades ago and handed down through generations of teachers. In one school, carts of chemicals included perchlorates, cyanides, and large quantities of potassium dichromate. In another,dusty bottles labeled simply âUNKâ sat forgotten in the back of a cabinet.
These legacy chemicals are not the result of negligence by todayâs educators. Most teachers inherit these materials whenthey take over classrooms. Many are asked to manage hundreds of chemicals without formal training in hazardous materials management or hazardous waste regulations.
At the same time, the laboratories themselves were never designed to function as chemical storage facilities. Many school stockrooms lack ventilation, environmental controls, or the infrastructure required to safely manage aging hazardous materials.
When schools finally recognize the problem, another barrier quickly appears: cost. Hazardous waste disposal isexpensive, and many school districts have no dedicated funding for chemical disposal. As a result, stockrooms may go decades without a proper cleanout.
Some chemicals also become more hazardous as they age. Peroxide-forming solvents can develop shock-sensitivecrystals. Picric acid can become explosive if allowed to dry. Mercury compounds, chromium oxidizers, and reactive metals may remain stored long after safer alternatives replaced them in classroom instruction. The result is a widespreadbut largely hidden issue: legacy chemicals quietly accumulating in school laboratories across North America.
This is where the hazardous materials management community can make an enormous difference.
Members of the North American Hazardous Materials Management Association (NAHMMA)âincluding hazardous waste professionals, consultants, facility managers, and environmental program leadersâhave the expertise needed tohelp schools safely address these materials and prevent the problem from recurring.
Organizations like LSI can help schools recognize hazards and develop safer chemical management systems. Butremoving legacy chemicals and building sustainable solutions requires collaboration across the hazardous materials management community.
Instead of treating school chemical cleanouts as isolated events, we have an opportunity to approach this challengetogetherâsharing knowledge, developing best practices, and helping schools build systems that prevent hazardous chemicals from accumulating again.
To begin that conversation, NAHMMA will host a webinar on April 16 from 11amMDT to 12pmMDT, discussing hazardous materials in schools, featuring Christina McKeon and Elizabeth Braun, PhD. and presented by the Laboratory Safety Institute and NAHMMA. Register at .
Join an in-depth conversation with these two experts as they share insights and practical guidance on this important topic. Registration is free for members and $50 for non-members. We hope to see you there!
Elizabeth Braun, PhD, is Director of Educational Content and Learning at the Laboratory Safety Institute. She leads educational programs at the Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI), working with schools nationwide through laboratory inspections and safety consultations to improve chemical management and laboratory safety in Kâ14 education. A former high school chemistry teacher, she focuses on helping educators build safer and more sustainable science programs. Ìý
Christina McKeon is Interim Executive Director at the Laboratory Safety Institute. A former EH&S Manager at the Museum of Science, Boston, and an LSI veteran (2004â2017), she returned in 2025 and brings over 20 years of experience advancing safer science in education and laboratories.
North American Hazardous Materials Management Association (NAHMMA) is a non-profit, membership-basedassociation of individuals, businesses, government officials, academia, and non-profit organizations dedicated topollution prevention, product stewardship, the safe and cost-effective handling of household hazardous waste. NAHMMA is a diverse network of professionals working together to promote education, guide good policy, protect our environment, and advance hazardous waste management practices throughout North America.Ìý
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