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Disposing of Chromic Acid Bright Dip

We have a small musical instrument repair business that is no longer operating and need some information on disposing of the bright dip chemicals responsibly. It is my father's business and I'm trying to help him out. We have 2 large plastic containers of the bright dip stuff and I believe they contain chromic acid. I imagine they are about 50 gallons a piece...each about the size of a garbage can. We had a reputable person lined up who would like to take the tanks of dip and were told that it was okay to parse it out into smaller buckets to transport it. But after researching this stuff, it appears it is very nasty and carcinogenic and not something you want to breathe in or get on your skin (even though my dad used to all the time but that is another story). Plus, I'm not sure how exactly flammable it is either. Most of the stuff I found on the internet was regarding larger "industrial" quantities so I'm not sure in light of the relatively small amount whether I am overreacting or not. Is this something we could safely transport ourselves under any circumstances? I've looked all over the web and haven't been able to get detailed information but have managed to freak myself out. I also looked on the finishing.com website and came up short. I would greatly appreciate some insight...thank you so much in advance.

Nikki Johnson
music instrument repair - Los Angeles, California, USA
January 8, 2010

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Hi, Nikki. If California is the same as NJ, this material is not "waste" until you say it is . . . so don't use the term "disposing of". Get that interested party to give you a few dollars for it so you are selling surplus product, not disposing of waste. These materials are routinely transported, so if they are properly packaged, I don't see a problem. But if no one knows what they are doing, trouble could be coming. So see if you can enlist a local company experienced in cleanups to guide you on this shipment and everything else involved.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
January 7, 2010