Facing the unknown with confidence: working with unidentified hazardous properties of chemical reagents

摘要

The data available on chemicals are not always complete enough for a full assessment of their properties. However, a careful study of the functionalities present in the molecule can often highlight the potential for hazardous properties and suggest the need for further investigation. General rules and common motifs that should alert the chemist are discussed. For compounds suspected of bearing hazardous properties, a typical testing process is presented; the different experiments and their interpretation are described. This approach helps to establish safe handling practices and is illustrated with two case studies.