To ensure a safe working environment and to protect our plumbing, please follow these guidelines when neutralizing samples with bleach:
- No Bleaching in Sinks: Do not add bleach to samples directly in the sink. This creates a respiratory hazard for others using the sink to wash their hands or glassware. This can also lead to accidental chemical reactions. Bleaching in sinks also allows the risk of recombinant biological material going down the drain before it has been effectively neutralized.
- Use Secondary Containment: Please perform all neutralization in a secondary container (e.g., a plastic bin or tray) at your bench or inside a fume hood.
- Incubation Time: Allow samples to sit in the bleach solution for at least 20 minutes to ensure full neutralization.
- Disposal & Rinse: Once neutralized, samples can be poured down the drain. Important: Run the water for at least 30 seconds afterward to thoroughly rinse the pipes and prevent bleach from corroding the stainless steel.
- Quick safety tip: Double-check if your samples contain Guanidine-based buffers (common in RNA/DNA kits (e.g., RLT, Trizol, QG)). If bleach is added to Guanidine based buffers, it creates Hydrogen Cyanide gas which is extremely toxic/hazardous. Samples that have Guanidine based buffers must be collected as hazardous chemical waste.
If you need a secondary container or have questions about chemical compatibility, please reach out to Lab Ops.
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