I need to do some etching so I was hoping to be able to get some ferric nitrate for use. If no one has any available I’ll purchase some and leave it up there for our use.
Thanks!
Sorry - I only have ferric chloride.
Please make sure that you dispose of it properly. I don’t know what that entails, but I’m sure it’s not down the sink. It’s generous of you to leave it at the Space. If you leave some up there, you should also bring in the SDS (formerly called MSDS) and include the disposal instructions.
@nausser915 - do you want to weigh in?
1 Like
Chemicals you bring in you generally can use at the space, but you need to remove and dispose of. We have no “proper way” and have to do it commercially. Etching would be great.
If fresh chemical donated must be accepted by a chair and we’ll need MSDS sheet.
I’ve got plenty of ferric oxide on my vehicle… but I don’t think that will help with your etching. 
3 Likes
There is some ferric chloride at the space already. What kind of metal? You could electroetch it
I concur and have no objection if properly stored, clearly labeled, and applicable SDS is provided.
I’m looking to etch some silver.
I was going to buy crystaline and make a batch of solution for doing the etching. The crystaline would be in a jar and I’d put the SDS up there with it, but what about the solutions? We have other various chemical solutions hanging around so I could put it in a small enough container that it could live in the cabinet but from what I’ve read ferric nitrate is only good for a few etches before it loses strength and needs to be replaced. What are your thoughts on storing a pre-made solution? I’ll research how best to dispose of it.
According to the interwebs you can just neutralize the solution with baking soda and it will form iron carbonate and calcium nitrate. The former is non hazardous (occurs naturally in siderite) and calcium nitrate which is a component of fertilizer. We could also save the solution and send it off for reclaim but I’d have to research who to send it to unless someone knows a reclaim company because the solution will contain dissolved silver.
I left a voice mail with the Dallas area OSHA office to ask about how to properly dispose of this from the local regulatory standpoint so I’ll keep this thread posted with what I find out.
@nausser915 @John_Marlow @Photomancer @MrsMoose Dallas hazardous waste collections says hobbyists can dispose of it there. 95 dollars for non residents and free for residents. I’m a Dallas resident so give me all of your gross stuff and I can dump it 
Nice thought and addressed in the past… But as a corporation, we can not have private individuals dispose of our waste.
I f you bring it in to use (that private individual) and remove and dispose, then DMS never had it.
If folks leave hazardous waste at DMS: chemicals, oils, other fluids, DMS is now responsible for it disposal as it is now “Ours”. It is why w make a big deal of folks leaving oil and coolant in automotive - we can just drop it off behind Autozone, etc.
There are things private citizens can do that we can’t as a corporation.
1 Like
@Photomancer what if I, as a private individual, agree to help another private individual with their disposal but am not disposing of anything on behalf of the corporate entity DMS?
Another question I thought of: If there are things that unavoidably live in DMS, brake cleaner in automotive as an example, who do we contact for removal since at that point as you said it’s DMS’ responsibility?
I’m still pretty new so I don’t know all the procedural nuance yet.
As long as it is private individuals doing it, I would guess it is okay. Not sure what status is transferring between individuals.
Key is it is not someone doing it on behalf of DMS as a corp. Point being: you bring it in, you take out, and it is not DMS’s responsibility.
For those that think “I know how to neutralize it” that is not the issue. Vinegar and baking soda are not neutral in terms of pH. It’s what is in the final solutions in terms on chemicals. If any of the constituents of the compounds contain something prohibited then it’s a no go. Our policy is to just avoid the issue of disposal entirely with our “you use it, you dispose of it” policy. It’s not a “You can’t use it at all.”
Things like the parts washer, coolant from machining (Haas) this has to be disposed and is. That is what is in some of the 55 gal barrels you see. It is contracted for removal and we have to track what is in there and don’t mix them.