1. ALWAYS WEAR RUBBER GLOVES, LONG SLEEVES AND PROPER EYE PROTECTION WHEN HANDLING CATALYSTS OR ELECTROLYTES.
2.
DISPOSE OF USED ELECTROLYTE IN ACCORDANCE WITH LOCAL TOXIC WASTE REGULATIONS. How exactly? The information is very hard to find - and very confusing when you do find it - if you don't ask the right people. Ask three people off the street and you'll get five answers. Even official code is not always clear. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE.org) lightly criticized California's "confusing maze of hazardous waste regulations."
Contact your City Hall and ask for the "Hazardous and Toxic Materials Office" or the "Environmental Services Division", or something like that. In Los Angeles their phone number is 213-978-0891. Explain that you might need, hypothetically, to dispose of very small quantities of liquid waste used in
electrolysis of distilled water. The words "VERY SMALL QUANTITIES" are extremely important to paint the proper picture in their mind and prevent panic or friction, because you are FAR from being one of those factories (and large welding projects) that produce TONS of toxic waste every week, sometimes avery day.
Alternatively, there are ways to neutralize the toxins yourself if you know a thing or two about chemistry. The modern panic regarding electrolysis is that it produces a chemical called hexavalent chromium. How bad is it? The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA, part of US Department of Labor and THE authority on workers safety and health) says in their official website OSHA.gov that "
Workers who breathe hexavalent chromium compounds at their jobs for many years may be at increased risk of developing lung cancer. Irritation or damage to the eyes and skin can occur if hexavalent chromium contacts these organs in high concentrations or for a prolonged period of time." You can evaluate, if you think about it, that if you pass by a tiny amount of hexavalent chromium once or twice a month is
not like you're welding a 2500 mile pipeline and breathing it
8 hours a day in high concentrations for many years...
However, a panic is a panic. So let's look at local solutions. I mean, something must be available for us to neutralize hexavalent chromium ourselves, without relying on the city and without causing new problems. Chemistry is not my realm, but here is what I have found.
In a 2005 study supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, researchers from the Department of Environmental Engineering in Zhejiang University were successful in eliminating 100% of Hexavalent Chromium, using a common mild oxidizer called Potassium Dichromate (used in many labs and industries). The complete research paper, titled "Removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution by iron nanoparticles", can be found and printed
here. It's in English so you don't have to read Chinese. The graphs will print small - click each one to open a larger graph.
Additionally,
this paper (Microsoft® Word® format, open it with Word or
Open Office) explains how to neutralize hexavalent chromium using Ferrous Sulfate and Calcium Hydroxide. Lab-grade Ferrous Sulfate can be purchased
here for $8.95 and lab-grade Calcium Hydroxide can purchased
here for $6.84
