Imagine a closet bulging with unchained ammonia and hydrogen cylinders and boxes of old chemicals piled high, and the humor is lost. Cylinder closets are designed specifically for the safe storage of compressed gase in cylinders and are not to contain other kinds of storage. Cylinder closets in Tech are not designed for storage of flammables. Toxic gases may be stored in a cylinder closet only if the closet has a gas detection system. Cylinders must be separately chained.
Regulations also require proper signage and restricted access.
Other visions of trouble include hoods stuffed with mixed chemicals, shelves and cabinets without required separation of various classes of chemicals, chemicals in glass bottles on the floor, flammable chemicals in domestic refrigerators, bicycles parked in laboratories, general clutter, and so on. Federal, state, and local regulations are very specific about how hazardous materials may be stored, and violation of those regulations invites fire, explosion, hazardous releases, and injury, as well as a potential for fines and other legal action. The ORS Chemical and Biological Safety in Laboratories manual is your source for information on the proper storage of hazardous materials. You are urged to review this information and put your space in order.