At Connecticut College, purchasers of laboratory chemicals are responsible for maintaining that inventory by entering their chemicals into the “CEMS” Chemical Database, and for deleting empty containers.
Below is the link to the "CEMS" Chemical Inventory System, and access to the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS or SDS) for the Chemistry, Biology, Botany and Neuroscience departments.
Access to the chemical inventory is restricted to authorized Connecticut College faculty and staff, but Guests can find and download SDS without an account.
MSDS/SDS for all other departments are found in the appropriate "LOCATION" on the "MSDSOnline" page.
Chemical Owner/Purchaser Responsibilities:
- Chemical owners must affix a barcode label and enter all chemical acquisitions into the CEMS database, immediately (Barcode labels are located next to the computers in New London Hall and Hale Laboratory Chemical Stockrooms.)
- Empty chemical containers must be promptly deleted from the CEMS database.
- Laboratories must update inventories every 60 days to ensure regulatory compliance.
- All new chemical acquisitions must be checked against CFATS Chemical of Interest (COI) list at the time of purchase.
- Notify the Director of EH&S that a COI is being purchased (See below).
IMPORTANT: Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) and Chemicals of Interest (COI)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Chemical Facility anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) (6 CFR, Part 27) Final Rule, published November 20, 2007, imposes comprehensive federal security regulations for high-risk chemical facilities. As part of CFATS, DHS has designated over 300 individual chemicals, "Chemicals of Interest" (COI). Depending on quantity, these chemicals may require specific security precautions.
According to CFATS, any facility (including Colleges and Universities) possessing COI has 60 days to report when the amount of any COI meets or exceeds the Screening Threshold Quantity (STQ). Therefore,an accurate chemical inventory is essential.
The Director of E&HS runs a report on all chemical inventories every 60 days to monitor levels of COIs. These updates assists us in preventing any COI that is close to the STQ from exceeding it, or enables us to report to DHS within the 60 day limit any COI that is over the STQ.
Adherence to these procedures is mandatory. Failure to comply with CFATS regulations may result in DHS assessing civil penalties of $25,000 per day per violation and/or requiring the facility to cease operations.
Colleges & Universities and the Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) June 2012