Research staff at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) is celebrating a small feat. For the first time in many years they have a central storage room for their chemicals.
Although it may seem like a minor milestone, the new storage room plays a fundamental role in keeping the facility safe and organized.
Complete with a new computerized inventory system, the central storage also features specialized cabinets specifically built to contain flammable, poisonous, corrosive, acid or base materials. Previously, researchers would have their own stores of supplies but with no way to keep track of who had what, supplies would often run out or be well over excess.
"This is going to really help in our research," says CCBN research manager Janice Sutherland. "It will help save money because we won't be buying doubles and triples of things. We will know what we have. We'll be able to keep things in supply without running out."
Now that all the chemical supplies are inventoried and housed in one place, researchers will know exactly where a chemical is located and how much is available.
"Everything that comes in now has to be coded in, and everything going out has to be coded out in order for the system to really work properly.
"Hopefully it's going to bring our research to a new level of organization, which is, in my opinion, crucial for doing really good quality experiments," says Sutherland, adding proper storage of chemicals is vital for everyone's safety. "Proper storage for your corrosives, for your acids, for your bases, for your flammables is absolutely critical. It should never be done any other way."