There are legal controls and requirements placed on some chemical substances. It is important to know whether material you are working with or plan to work with is legislated and how. Legislation can effect storeage, require you to record use of the substance or require any sale or synthesis be declared.
For lists of legislated chemicals please consult the following:
Explosive precursors and Poisons
Chemical Weapons and Chemical Weapon Precursors
- Substances covered under Controlled Drugs Schedules 1 to 5, 2001
- Controlled Drugs broken down by class
Requirements for legislated chemicals
Departmental Requirements
The Physics Department requires that you obtain permission from the departmental safety team before purchasing:
- Regulated Poisons,
- Schedule 1 or 2 chemical weapons (or precursors),
- Controlled Drugs,
- Desensitised explosives,
- Any chemical labelled as 'fatal' on exposure (Category 1 and 2 toxic on the SDS),
- Substances that cause severe health problems in small quantities such as radioactive markers
- Substances that cause serious environmental damage such as (but not limited to) fluorinated gases and those listed here
Explosive Precursors and Poisons
These chemicals are divided into Regulated and Reportable substances.
For Reportable substances you must:
- Not send these materials to collaborators
- Report any significant disappearances or thefts within 24 hours
- Monitor levels of these substances
- Keep accurate records of stocks you hold (ie by entering on ChemInventory and recording disposal)
In addition for Regulated Poisons (but not Regulated Explosive Precursors) you must:
- Keep them in a locked cabinet when not in use, including overnight
Overnight reactions with regulated substances are permitted. Overnight reaction procedures must be followed as normal.
The University Safety Office recommends that any very toxic chemicals, with an LD50 of 10mg/kg or less, are also kept locked away and carefully monitored regardless of whether they are legislated or not. Examples include alkaloids such as atropine and digitoxin.
Chemical Weapons Convention
For all chemical weapons convention (CWC) substances we are required to make annual declarations of stocks. This is done using ChemInventory so it is especially important to make sure CWC chemicals are entered and kept up to date.
Import and export of all CWC chemicals is regulated and the regulations are quite complex, differing depending on whether the chemical is schedule 1, 2 or 3. For information on import or export, including sending or receiving samples from collaborators, please consult the central safety office.
Additionally for Schedule 1 substances only:
- Synthesis is limited to 100g per year for the facility
- Substances must be specifically licensed
- Records of use and production must be kept, accounting for every reaction that creates or consumes the chemical
- The license will specify the maximum amount that can be held
- The location, reason for use and supplier must be kept up to date for the license to remain valid
- If the license expires a copy of all related records must be sent to the CWC UK National Authority within 14 days of expiry
Controlled Drugs
University research departments do not require licences to possess and supply drugs in Schedules 2, 3, 4 Part I, 4 Part II and Schedule 5, but they do require licences to produce any of those drugs and to produce, possess and/or supply drugs in Schedule 1. However this does not effect requirements for storage and monitoring.
Drugs in Schedules 1 and 2 to the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 or listed in Schedule 3 as subject to secure storage provisions must:
- Be stored in a locked cabinet that meets specifications (found here)
- The key must be stored separately and must also be stored in a locked key box. A locked drawer is not sufficient under law
- Monitor levels of these substances
- Keep accurate records of stocks you hold, accounting not only for purchases but each use, spillage and disposal
- Report any significant disappearances or thefts