Rank: Forum user 
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I work in a laboratory and we have a few old chemicals with black and orange pictograms on them. My question is do I have to either throw away the old chemicals and buy new ones with the new pictograms or stick new pictograms over the old ones or can I just leave them as they are until they are used up. They are only used in the lab for research and are NOT for resale.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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There is no obligation on end users (which is what you are here) to relabel or dispose. Might be worth checking that everyone still knows what the symbols mean though.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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As stated no need to relabel However given the length of the transition period over labelling stock rotation/control would appear a bit lax What are the manufacturer recommendations on shelf-life? If the substance/mixture can/does degrade over time why would you consider using it? Personally I would take it as an opportunity to clean out slow moving/redundant items Reminds me of when COSHH first landed on the statute books and the horrors found hidden lurking at the back of cupboards because someone thought it may come in useful at some unspecified point in the future.
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Rank: Super forum user
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As stated no need to relabel However given the length of the transition period over labelling stock rotation/control would appear a bit lax What are the manufacturer recommendations on shelf-life? If the substance/mixture can/does degrade over time why would you consider using it? Personally I would take it as an opportunity to clean out slow moving/redundant items Reminds me of when COSHH first landed on the statute books and the horrors found hidden lurking at the back of cupboards because someone thought it may come in useful at some unspecified point in the future.
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Rank: Forum user
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Thanks for the replies, thats what I thought. I agree about the age and condition, but getting an academic scientist to throw an old chemical away, you would think you were asking them to dispose of their mother!
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 1 user thanked danderson666 for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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There is no such thing as an old chemical in academia; only a well thought of semi-retired reagent. The oldest I found in a recent audit was one dating back to 1975. If the container is sound and the label readable they can keep it. With some reagents there is an issue of stability (somethings go bang after while but not many) and legislation sometimes changes as well, so that something that you could just buy over the counter 30 years ago now needs to go through a more rigorous procedure. But don’t relabel. A training course on what the labels actual mean might be handy for those concerned.
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Rank: Forum user
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If for end use you are required to ensure that staff are aware of the hazards I.e in a risk assessment. Having made over 50,000 labels since June for stock for sale to end user I think you've got off lightly!
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