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Chemical

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Chemical Inventory

A chemical inventory documenting the exact products, quantities, and hazard characteristics of chemicals in a laboratory is needed in order to comply with NYS fire code. Please see the presentation on chemical code compliance for an overview of this topic.

Chemical Code Compliance 5-13-22

Safety Data Sheets, Chemical Container Labels & Other Chemical Safety Information

Safety Data Sheets and Chemical Container Labels

Cornell EHS provides campus wide access to Chemwatch, an online Globally Harmonized System chemical container label and Safety Data Sheet (SDS) database consisting of over 250,000 Chemwatch authored documents, and 13 million vendor supplied documents.

A Cornell NetID is required to access the Chemwatch Database. Using this database, you can:
  • Search for SDSs

Chemical Bulk Storage

The Environment, Health and Safety Office administers the University's Chemical Bulk Storage Program.  Cornell University currently has bulk hazardous substances stationary storage tanks registered with the NYS DEC.  Regulated Chemical Bulk Storage tanks are defined as (6NYCRR Part 596):

Hazard Communications

Cornell University employees have a right to know about the health and physical hazards presented by chemicals they work with or could be exposed to in their work location, and what they can do to avoid injury or illness when working with these chemicals. Environment, Health and Safety provides information and training in order to reduce the possibility of accidental exposure and to comply with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard.

Pyrophoric Chemicals

Pyrophoric chemicals are used in research to catalyze certain reactions and often are incorporated into final products. However, they pose significant physical hazards. They are liquids and solids that will ignite spontaneously in the presence of oxygen and water. They must have limited to no exposure to the atmosphere. Exposure of these reagents to air could result in spontaneous ignition that could cause burns or other injuries to the person handling the reagent or others in the immediate area.

Specific Chemical Hazards

Specific Chemical Hazards:

Chemicals and toxic substances pose a wide range of hazards to our health, environment, and the society in which you work and live. This page provides information about specific chemical hazards that may require additional training and EHS involvement in the process development. Please reach out to askEHS@cornell.edu for questions about specific chemical hazards or any other chemical safety questions.

Regulated Chemicals & Chemical Security

Regulated Chemicals and Chemical Security:

Local, state, and federal agencies are required to monitor the usage, purchasing, and security of specific chemicals used within our campus research laboratories. These specific chemicals may be used as precursors to the development of illegal drugs or used for the development of weapons.

Chemical Hygiene Plan

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulation 29 CFR 1910.1450, "Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories” mandates the development of a Chemical Hygiene Plan which is capable of protecting employees from health hazards associated with hazardous chemicals in the laboratory and capable of keeping exposures below OSHA Permissible Exposure Limits.

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