Help Sodium nitrite shelf life

[qasawaqada]

I bought 1kg of sodium nitrite about two years ago. It arrived in a sealed plastic bag and has remained unopened since it arrived by mail in May 2022. There is a 'best before' date of 31 July 2022; from what I've read however it would seem that sodium nitrite can last several years if stored well. Does anyone have information about how long SN remains viable for use as a suicide method after the date of manufacture?

 

[anxiousguineapig]

As long as the bag is sealed I would expect it to last for years. it may gradually break down/lose potency but that would probably be on the scale of losing a few % over several years since it is a reasonably stable chemical. If opened it will react with the oxygen in air and then the shelf life would go down significantly, keeping it away from oxygen is the main requirement for long-term storage.

 

[qasawaqada]

As long as the bag is sealed I would expect it to last for years. it may gradually break down/lose potency but that would probably be on the scale of losing a few % over several years since it is a reasonably stable chemical. If opened it will react with the oxygen in air and then the shelf life would go down significantly, keeping it away from oxygen is the main requirement for long-term storage.

Thanks for the information - much appreciated.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

You can do the aquarium test and here's the thread were the stability of SN is being discussed.

Stability of SN and N

I'd like to preface this to hopefully help people not make rash decisions due to the fear that their suicide method will go "bad" and they feel forced to take it before they truly want to. Freedom of choice means everything. There is a lot of misconception on here about how long both of these...

sanctioned-suicide.net

 

[qasawaqada]

You can do the aquarium test and here's the thread were the stability of SN is being discussed.

Stability of SN and N

I'd like to preface this to hopefully help people not make rash decisions due to the fear that their suicide method will go "bad" and they feel forced to take it before they truly want to. Freedom of choice means everything. There is a lot of misconception on here about how long both of these...

sanctioned-suicide.net

Thanks for the link - very helpful.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

Also, as long as it didn't see extreme temperatures it should be fine. Contrary to what one might think, plastic is not 100% protective. The plastic\nylon polymers have wide enough gaps between them for the passage of small clusters of molecules in the micro, or nano, level. In other words air will penetrate the protective plastic covering over time, particularly as the plastic degrades over time, as all things do. I'd certainly test the SN before using. If funds are available, I'd even consider sending some off to a lab for testing.

 

[qasawaqada]

Also, as long as it didn't see extreme temperatures it should be fine. Contrary to what one might think, plastic is not 100% protective. The plastic\nylon polymers have wide enough gaps between them for the passage of small clusters of molecules in the micro, or nano, level. In other words air will penetrate the protective plastic covering over time, particularly as the plastic degrades over time, as all things do. I'd certainly test the SN before using. If funds are available, I'd even consider sending some off to a lab for testing.

Thanks for the advice - much appreciated.