University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
Hazardous Material Chemical Management Plan

Back to Chemical Management Plan Contents

Chemical Inventories

Individuals who use, store or handle chemicals are responsible for submitting an annual inventory to the Environmental Health and Safety Office.  The inventory must be submitted in an electronic format ^[12].  As a minimum the inventory will include the following information:

• Department & Unit Names
• Inventory Date
• Name of Person Conducting Inventory
• Contact information (telephone number or e-mail)
• Chemical Location (building name, room number, if located in specific locker or storage unit indicate as specifically as possible)
• Chemical Label Name
• Container Size (solids by weight, liquids by volume, gases by cylinder size) &
• Container Type (e.g. can (CN), glass/plastic bottle (GB, PB), metal/fiber/plastic drum (MD, FD, PD), bag (BG), cylinder (CL))
• Number of Containers (for each size, if in case lots indicate number of containers per case & number of cases)
• NFPA Fire (Red) Rating from label or MSDS
• NFPA Health (Blue) Rating from label or MSDS
• NFPA Reactivity (Yellow) Rating from label or MSDS

A sample form as an Excel® spreadsheet is included under "Forms" at the end of this plan.  The Department/Unit may submit the inventory in an existing inventory format, as long as this minimum information is included, the Environmental Health and Safety Office can open the format, and the inventory is submitted electronically.

A designated person, such as the laboratory manager, may physically conduct the inventory ^[13], but the individual responsible for the laboratory (Primary Investigator, Director, Department Chair, etc.) is ultimately responsible for accuracy and must ensure the inventory is submitted by 8/31 annually.

During the course of the inventory, the individual will check the following:

• Condition of containers (no leakage, corrosion, or crystallization);
• Verify that liquids are stored in secondary containment (adequate to contain the contents in catastrophic failure of the primary container) when required;
• Hazards are indicated on the individual containers as well as adjacent to the storage location (usually using the NFPA diamond);
• That excess or unused chemicals are returned to stock or properly disposed;
• That chemicals are properly stored with incompatibles segregated.

Questions and problems should be referred to the Environmental Health and Safety Office.