Safe storage for glaze chemicals

[Denice]

I am looking at storing some of my glaze chemicals in a safer cabinet.    I have two small heavy metal cabinets  that can be locked with a padlock,  I thought maybe I should keep my cobalt,  chromium, lithium and barium in it.   The tornado that passed by my house a few weeks ago got me thinking about the hazard of them being blown everywhere.   Hundred of volunteers are clearing the damaged houses,  I want to keep them safe.   I know there isn't any way to  prevent tornado destruction  but I want to try.   My question is there any other chemicals that I might have in my studio that should be included or excluded from my list.   I have a lot of jars of glaze chemicals  that I  have purchased over the last 50 years,  if you think of something it is probably sitting on a shelf.      Denice

[Min]

If you have any uranium, lead, cadmium, ferrous sulphite, nickel oxide, vanadium, potassium bi or dichromate, selenium, iron chromate  I'ld probably take all those to a toxic waste depot and just get rid of them all together.

[Roberta12]

6 hours ago, Denice said:

I am looking at storing some of my glaze chemicals in a safer cabinet.    I have two small heavy metal cabinets  that can be locked with a padlock,  I thought maybe I should keep my cobalt,  chromium, lithium and barium in it.   The tornado that passed by my house a few weeks ago got me thinking about the hazard of them being blown everywhere.   Hundred of volunteers are clearing the damaged houses,  I want to keep them safe.   I know there isn't any way to  prevent tornado destruction  but I want to try.   My question is there any other chemicals that I might have in my studio that should be included or excluded from my list.   I have a lot of jars of glaze chemicals  that I  have purchased over the last 50 years,  if you think of something it is probably sitting on a shelf.      Denice

I literally never ever thought of that before Denice!  Excellent point.  We don't have the threat of tornados, but...we have had some violent derecho storms here in the past 2-3 years.  food for thought.  Thanks.

[Denice]

 On my small container shelf  I found Nickle oxide,  Iron Chromate and  White Lead.   I will put them in the cabinet until our next trip to hazard waste.    When I am glazing I wash my hands and equipment in a separate dish pan.   I let it dry up and put it in a container,  when it is full I take it to hazardous waste facility.   My husband and I drove through a damaged area close by yesterday.   Some houses were completely gone, others had the kitchens left standing,  if garage doors were still there the fire department painted the number people who lived there,  if they got out and were OK.   When you live in Kansas you have tornado season every spring and hide  in the basement.   You never get use to the sheer force and damage of a tornado.    Denice

[oldlady]

i had a hard time getting rid of uranium but it is long gone now.

denice, when i was looking for property in florida it took me a long time to figure out why there were so many houses listing "new kitchen".  when i looked at the property online there were lots of blue roofs scattered among the other colors.  i thought it was just a florida color until i realized there had been 4 hurricanes through Pensacola that year and those were blue tarps.
 

[Denice]

Lots of blue tarps around here,  some of them have blown off and we had four inches of rain yesterday.  Most of the 249 homes that were hit were new small homes built for first time home owners.   Many businesses got hit,  the store I bought my dog food at was wiped clean,  just a cement slab remains.     Denice

[oldlady]

so glad you are safe.  be very careful moving around those damaged buildings.  of course you want to help out those whose homes and businesses are no more but take care to watch your footing especially.  falling in that kind of damaged building materials can hurt you more than you might think. 

[Pyewackette]

I grew up in Tornado Alley.  We had an old cistern in the basement with a hole cut in the side which we used as our tornado shelter.  I wasn't the oldest but somehow I was the one responsible for taking care of all the rest.  I used to keep that cistern stocked with fresh water and clean blankets and new batteries for the radio I kept in there every spring.  Tornadoes still terrify me to this day.  Hurricanes - not so much.  You have plenty of time to get away from a hurricane.  Tornadoes are totally unpredictable.

Tornadoes are occurring with greater frequency, more power, and not limited to traditional tornado "seasons" or areas any more.  Plus things like "derechos" and landspouts. Climate change is a bear.  Stay safe as possible.

[Mark C.]

I had a 25# bag of white lead I took to toxic waste drop off. I had no idea where I got it-must have been in a potters chemicals that I bought out long ago .Red lead paint as well. 

[Denice]

I found some plastic jars in my shop that had a screw lid,   my other jars fit inside of them.  Everything is tucked  away in the cabinet,  I still need to label it.   I am not helping with the tornado  clean up  I haven't been able to walk around on uneven surfaces for years.   I can still walk some,  my neuro calls me wonder woman because I just keep going.   I have been getting different clays  ready for the mural I am starting.   I am going to donate money to a fund for tornado victims when the dust settles,  I can figure out which one helps the most.     Denice