Assessment of Chemical Reagent Procurement and Storage Standards in Secondary School Science Laboratories in Ogun State

Secondary school science laboratories serve as foundational training environments for future scientists, yet chemical reagent procurement and storage standards in Nigerian public secondary schools are often inadequate, creating safety risks for students and teachers. This study assesses chemical reagent procurement processes, storage conditions, labelling standards, and disposal practices in forty public secondary school laboratories in Ogun State, South West Nigeria. A structured checklist adapted from the Globally Harmonised System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals was used for physical audits of chemical stores. Interviews were conducted with chemistry teachers and laboratory attendants. Compliance with Federal Ministry of Education guidelines for school laboratory management was evaluated. Results show widespread non-compliance across all domains. Sixty-three percent of audited schools had unlabelled or inadequately labelled chemical containers. Corrosive and flammable chemicals were stored together in open shelves in 47 percent of schools. Forty-two percent of laboratories contained expired reagents, some dating back more than ten years. Chemical disposal was largely unmanaged, with most schools lacking formal disposal procedures. Procurement was reactive, irregular, and dominated by price considerations without hazard assessment. The study recommends mandatory training for chemistry teachers in chemical hazard management, development of a standardised school chemical inventory system by the Ogun State Ministry of Education, and establishment of a state-coordinated chemical disposal programme to address accumulated legacy stockpiles. Keywords: chemical reagents, school laboratories, procurement, storage standards, Ogun State