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Properly disposing of water tests

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Ackbar View Drop Down
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    Posted: March 28 2012 at 8:58am
This might be a stupid question, but I was unable to find any information in the instructions about properly disposing of the chemical water tests. (the PH, Ammonia, Nitrate etc) Does anyone know if the test renders the chemicals nill and im fine to just dump them down the sink or? Id imagine the ammonia wont hurt sewer lines but I have no idea what chemicals are in the other tests. 
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BobC63 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BobC63 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 28 2012 at 9:08am
Interesting question...
 
I have always just rinsed out the test tubes in the sink.
 
I don't think any of the reagents used are that toxic - based on the lack of a warning label on any of them that I have ever seen.
 
Now , I wouldn't go and drink a bottle of reagent - but I think you are OK to dump the tests down the drain...
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Ryan Thompson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ryan Thompson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 28 2012 at 9:10am
I have always dumped them down the sink. There are WAY worse things that get dumped down the sink. The minuscule amount that we add isn't going to change things.
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Adam Blundell View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Adam Blundell Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 28 2012 at 9:18am
This is correct. They are not hazardous when diluted with city water. They are safe to dispose of in your sink.

Prescription meds on the other hand.... debatable

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Mark Peterson View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mark Peterson Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 28 2012 at 9:54am
I agree with Ryan and others, I have always just washed it down the sink too, but is it just me or did anyone else feel a twinge of guilt when pondering that action?

Can one person make any difference? That reminds me of the Sea Star story. The person that tossed one Star back into the ocean made a difference for that one Star and also made a difference in their own life. Those that care will change the world, not alone but together.

How do the reagents react in the sewage system? I don't know, but I would like to.

I used to dump used engine oil in a spot in my backyard and sometimes in the gutter. I didn't know how much damage I was doing until, as a High School student in 197O, some friends and I did a video project about pollution. We visited the oil laden canals that dumped into the Jordan River and videotaped the barren hills denuded of vegetation near the Kennecott Smelter. The difference we made may not have been great, but it made a difference to me and the combined outcry of many people is what taught responsibility to the individuals like myself and to the companies that were dumping these chemicals into the environment.

As a country we formed the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). It made a difference. Streams and lakes that were once polluted and dead or polluted and overgrown with algae blooms were eventually transformed. Life recovered and those same streams and lakes are beautiful once more. People pick up their trash more now than ever, keeping roadways and waterways more pleasant. We drive cars fitted with pollution reduction devices. Yes, I know that TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
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