1
– We no longer allow water aspirators.
2
– Not allowed.
3
– House vacuum or diaphragm pumps
We
purchased diaphragm pumps to replace water aspirators as a
sustainability measure.
Robin M.
Izzo, M.S.
Associate
Director, EHS
Princeton
University
609-258-6259
(office)
Get
your facts first, then you can distort them as you
please.
~
Mark Twain
I
can only answer question number one: I have worked in pharma
and in manufacturing chemistry QA and R&D labs over the
past decade and have NEVER used a sink aspirator for
filtering powders. We always had a house vacuum or vacuum
pump set-up for filtering. I finished grad school four
years ago and we never used a sink aspirator for filtering
in my research lab. We very rarely used them in the
teaching labs. I think both my graduate and undergraduate
institutions are moving away from sink aspirators for a
number of reasons: the waste issue you mention here, the
potential for sink overflows, the ridiculous waste of water,
and even the noise level when lots of students are using
them in a large teaching lab.
I
also agree with someone else’s comment about Fisher or VWR.
If a google search doesn’t turn up what I want right away, I
usually call our Fisher rep and let him do the leg work for
me. He’s never let me down.
Good
luck, and do let us know if you come up with an effective
response to the but-we’ve-always-done-it-that-way PhD
chemists!
Katherine
C. House, CCHO
Laboratory
Coordinator
Chemical
Hygiene Officer
Cormetech
Environmental Technologies, Inc.
(O)
919.620.3044
(M)
919.815.2024
(F)
919.620.3001
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From:
DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU]
On Behalf Of Kim Auletta
Sent: Tuesday, December 04, 2012 8:27 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] water aspirator - vacuum question
I need the expert opinion of chemists
working with 21st century ideas!
I was in a lab yesterday in Chemistry
that is run by a PI older than the hills. His lab is
filtering powders and solvents using the sink aspirator. All
of the tygon tubing (both sides of vacuum & flasks) is
discolored and shows signs of deterioration. They say this
tubing is only looking that way because its really old.
There was a flask for trap set up between the sample &
the sink. I tried to explain that this set up may be
allowing solvents to go into the water & down the drain.
They tried in their best "I'm the seasoned PhD Chemist and
you're not" voices to tell me it was ok and that there was
no other way to do this and that everyone, including in
industry, does it this way. Really?
So - my questions to all of you
enlightened chemists:
1. Do you still use the sink
aspirator/vacuum?
2. If so, what kind of trap do you use to
prevent solvent or other hazardous material (liquid &
vapor) from going down the drain?
3. If you no longer use this
filter/vacuum set up, what do you use?
Laboratory Safety Specialist
Environmental Health & Safety
Stony Brook, NY 11794-6200
