Piranha Handling and Disposal Procedures

Modified from procedures at University of Illinois and consultation with EHS and Dr. Venkataraman at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst 1. Piranha is a strong oxidant and is generated from conc. sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Do NOT use piranha unless it is necessary. Please consult with PI or senior lab investigators before you use piranha for the first time. 2. You should wear lab coat, eye glasses, covered shoes, full pants when you are using piranha. You should not wear ear plugs or ear phones while handling piranha. 3. Do NOT transport piranha. 4. Generate piranha in a hood and where you will be using piranha. 5. Prior to collection and storage of the piranha solution, it must be left in an open container inside a chemical fume hood in order to cool down and allow the gases from the solution to dissipate for at least 24 hours. 6. The cooled piranha solution may be transferred into the piranha waste bottle. When transferring make sure no heat is produced or reactions are occurring.

It is important to remember that this used piranha cleaning solution is still concentrated sulfuric acid with an undetermined hydrogen peroxide concentration. Care must be taken not to allow the solution to be mixed with organic solvents, as this will cause a violent reaction and possibly an explosion. 7. Following the transfer, the piranha waste bottle contents must be swirled to achieve agitation (see SWIRLING PROCEDURE below for more information). 8. Do not place caps on piranha waste bottles. Caps will be put on by the EHS chemical waste staff at pickup. 9. Maintain a log of all additions to piranha waste bottles including the user name, date, time, amount, concentration (3:1, 5:1, etc), and verification of swirling. (See PIRANHA LOG SHEET) 10. Do not keep piranha waste on hand for extended periods of time (max 3 months from the first addition to the last addition) Prianha Swirling Procedure

Modified from procedures at University of Illinois and consultation with EHS and Dr. Venkataraman at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Following each addition, the contents of the piranha waste bottle must be swirled to achieve agitation. S t i rr i n g w i t h g l ass r o d s o r st i r bars i s n o t r e c o m men d e d s i n ce s c o r i n g o f th e c o nt a i n e r may o c cur a n d s t i r b ar c o a t i ng s m a y b e d a m ag e d o r r e m o v e d b y pi r a nh a so l u t i o n s.

Following the LAST ADDITION – as with all other additions – the contents of the piranha waste bottle must be swirled. Make sure that the bottle is open while swirling. In addition to noting the time and date, personnel performing the agitation should take note of either heat or gas evolved after swirling. If there is gas evolution, note under the column ‘Swirled’ as ‘gas evolution’. Af t e r a m i n i m u m o f 48 ho u r s , t h e c o nt e nt s sho u l d ag a in be s w i r l e d a n d t h e a c ti o n d o cu m e nt e d.

Recommended Collection Container For This Waste Stream. Can be found at http://www.calpaclab.com/Safety-ECO-Funnels-s/5.htm PIRANHA LOG SHEET

CONTAINER IDENTIFICATION:

Date Time Name Amount Added Concentration Swirled √