The Flesh Eating Chemical

This article is from April '96 Discovery Magazine. It's long, heavy and written by a doctor for science people. Keep reading though, it may save you some serious injuries, perhaps your life:

An Invisible Fire
By Jeremy Brown

During a scene in the movie Alien, crew members are startled to see a fist-size hole in their spaceship’s ceiling, still sizzling from some substance that has just burned clear through the metal. That metal-eating stuff is, of course, the “blood” from the alien. I have met the closest thing there is to that alien’s blood. It came in a small plastic bottle, and it was eating its way through my patient’s hand.

On an otherwise ordinary evening, William Turner, a 37-year-old truck driver, noticed a paint stain on his coat. Looking for something to remove the stain, he wandered into the basement of his rented house and rummaged around. At the back of a dusty shelf stood a small bottle labeled Industrial Laundry Rust

Remover. The side of the bottle carried the warning CAUTION: DO NOT USE WITHOUT GLOVES. William didn’t read that bit, however, and he removed the cap from the bottle, spilled some liquid onto a rag, and began rubbing it into his stained coat. But as the stain began to fade, his right hand, the hand he was using to apply the liquid, began to hurt. After 20 minutes the pain was so intense that he had to stop. Within 40 minutes he could no longer move his fingers. Frightened and in terrible pain, he managed to drive himself to our emergency room. Fortunately, he brought the rust remover with him.

While William writhed in agony, I took a close look at his right hand. Except for some mild swelling of the fingertips, it looked just like his left hand. But if I even gently pressed on his fingernails, he grimaced and begged for a painkiller.

When we burn our skin by touching something extremely hot, it is the high temperature that kills the cells. Chemical burns are different: cells are killed by a chemical reaction on the surface of our skin. Probably the most common type of severe chemical burn comes from the sulfuric acid in a car battery. But sulfuric is not the acid to be most feared. That distinction belongs to hydrofluoric acid, a compound commonly used in solvents and rust removers, and so powerful that it can be used to etch images on glass. Although the burn it produces initially causes no blisters or changes in skin color, it can leave behind a scarred limb.

Hydrofluoric acid can severely damage the deep tissues of the body yet leave little trace of damage on the skin surface. It can even kill. People have died after a patch of skin no bigger than the sole of the foot was exposed to the substance.

Counterintuitively, perhaps, what makes hydrofluoric acid so deadly is not that it is a strong acid. In fact, compared with hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid, it is actually weak. Acids are formed when charged hydrogen atoms bind with nonmetal atoms, and they are judged strong or weak depending on the tenacity of that bond. The weaker the acid, the less easily the bond is broken.

A charged atom, or ion, is an atom that has gained or lost one or more electrons, and it is the attraction between a hydrogen ion and a fluoride ion that creates the chemical bond in hydrofluoric acid. The bond is relatively stable because the fluoride ion--which can hold an electron more strongly than any other ion can--wants the electron that hydrogen has to offer. Yet under the right conditions, that stable bond can be broken. Because fluoride is so electron-hungry, it will latch onto chemicals that can provide electrons. And unfortunately, the tissues of the body are swarming with chemical partners that are far more attractive to fluoride than hydrogen.

To do its deadly work, hydrofluoric acid must first pass through the skin. This is easily done because hydrofluoric acid doesn’t carry a charge, and uncharged molecules can easily slip through the fatty surfaces of membranes. Hand in hand, as it were, the hydrogen ion and the fluoride ion pass down through the stratum corneum, a tough, waterproof layer of dead cells. Eventually they reach living cells in the epidermis and dermis, where they meet up with a slew of new chemical partners. And that’s when the terrible damage begins. The electron-hungry fluoride ion breaks free of the hydrogen ion and binds to calcium or magnesium, two electron-rich minerals. The hydrogen ion, now free of its fluoride partner, binds to enzymes that neutralize acids and keep the pH in our blood and tissue stable. This devastating disruption of the normal chemical balance--both inside and outside cells--kills cells beneath the surface of the skin.

The worst damage occurs when fluoride grabs onto calcium and magnesium, minerals crucial to a host of electrochemical reactions. Without enough free calcium and magnesium, nerves fail and cell membranes collapse. The degree of damage depends on just how low the levels fall. A mild decline can cause numbness, cramps, or horrendous pain. A more severe decline can cause extreme muscle spasms, convulsions, an irregular heartbeat, and even death.

When William first arrived in the emergency room, the doctors flooded his injured hand with water to wash away the hydrofluoric acid. Then they applied a gel--a mixture of calcium gluconate powder and surgical jelly. The reasoning was simple. If the tissue damage occurs because hydrofluoric acid causes dangerously low levels of calcium, then providing extra calcium to the affected tissue should prevent the damage. But William was still in excruciating pain. That meant the hydrofluoric acid was still at work deep inside the tissue. Something more had to be done. Without treatment, William could lose his hand.

Hydrofluoric acid burns are rare enough to require the advice of an expert. When I called our local poison control center, the toxicologist advised that we boost William’s calcium levels by injecting calcium into his bloodstream.

There were two ways we could do this. The first was to inject calcium into a vein. Technically, this is very easy to do. The problem is that veins carry blood away from tissues, so any calcium we gave would quickly be washed away from where it was most needed. The second way was to inject calcium directly into William’s radial artery, the artery in the arm that carries blood to the wrist and hand. Since arteries carry blood into the tissues, calcium injected into an artery would be most likely to reach the affected area. The problem is that arteries are much more sensitive to injections than veins. An injection of calcium into an artery could cause it to spasm, cutting off the blood supply. That was the last thing William’s already damaged hand needed.

I decided to inject calcium into his vein, but I would use a variant of a technique that the toxicologist told me might decrease the blood flow out of William’s arm and thus increase the delivery of calcium to the injured tissue. The technique, long used for local anesthesia, is known as a Bier’s block. After placing a small needle into one of the veins in his right arm, I raised William’s arm up above his head and wrapped an Ace bandage around his fingers and up his arm until I reached his elbow. The pressure of the bandage squeezed blood out of his arm. I then inflated a blood pressure cuff to a pressure high enough to prevent any more blood from leaving his arm. William now had, in effect, a right arm that was almost completely detached from the rest of his circulation. Any calcium we injected into this arm would stand a good chance of staying where it was and raising the calcium levels back to normal.

The Bier’s block went according to plan. As I waited to see if the treatment eased William’s pain, I thought about what he would face if he lost the use of his right hand. William was the sole breadwinner for his large family and ailing parents. Saving William’s hand might also save his family.

But after nearly an hour, William felt no better. His arm looked just about the same as when I first examined it--almost normal, though very pale. But the danger of hydrofluoric acid is that the burn it causes just doesn’t look like a burn at all. It was time to use the last weapon we had.

I asked the nurse who was caring for William to infuse calcium directly into his radial artery. She knew this was an unusual procedure. Although patients in the intensive care unit often have a catheter placed into the radial artery, the catheter is typically used to measure the pressure within the artery. It is rarely used to give drugs. Infusing calcium through the artery made the nurse uneasy. She worried that it would constrict, cutting off the blood supply to his hand and fingers. After I explained why we needed to do the procedure, she shrugged and made sure that I signed the patient’s medical chart. That way, at least, if any problem occurred, it would be clear that she was just following the doctor’s written request.

A half hour later, I returned to William’s bedside. He was smiling for the first time. The throbbing sensation in his arm had eased, and although his hand remained tender, he said the pain was subsiding. Within two hours he was totally free of pain, and to prove it, he extended his right hand and gently shook my hand.

William remained under close observation until the next morning. His pain had nearly vanished, and I discontinued his calcium therapy. I checked on him the following day, just before he was discharged. He was still very sensitive to pressure on his fingertips, but there was almost no trace of the burn. Our treatment had worked. William had uncorked a flesh- eating chemical monster in a dusty bottle of rust remover but would survive unscathed.


— April 1996
 
WOW, thank you for the very informative post.

by the way i was just in Indianapolis this weekend. what a drive but TIKI BOBS was unbelievable
 
I've been burned by hydrofloric/phosphoric mix before and it is probably the most severe pain i have ever felt. Unlike just hydrofloric the mix i had eat the meat under my fingernails to the bone. knowing how dangerous the stuff is was also very scary. I called poison control and they pretty much told me I was gonna die,scared the crap out of me. If you dont have to, dont use it,if you use it make sure you take safety precautions. needless to say i dont use it anymore.
 
First Aid for a Unique Acid:

Here is one I came across!


First Aid for a Unique Acid:
Hydrofluoric Acid
by Eileen B. Segal
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2000 issue of Chemical Health & Safety. Reprinted with permission.
October 22, 1999: Robert Belk, a 48-year-old business owner, died at Grady Memorial Hospital after an exposure to hydrofluoric acid. Belk owned a company called Chemical Packaging near Atlanta, GA, which produced solutions for high-pressure washing. At the time of the accident, Belk was mixing a solution when a hose slipped, saturating his clothes with 70% hydrofluoric acid. He hosed off with water, but rather than have his secretary call the paramedics, he drove himself to the hospital. Burns were found on both lower legs and his left arm, but it was the HF that went through his skin that caused his death the following day from respiratory and heart failure.1
The above accident illustrates a dire consequence of working with hydrofluoric acid without an awareness of its extreme hazards and with a lack of preparedness. From the numerous queries I personally have received after publication of my first paper in 1998,2 I conclude that there are still many more who could use information. And from a recent spate of inquiries on the safety listserve, it appears that many have not established a protocol for HF exposure or heard of the current recommended methods of treatment. In this article, I want to discuss:
I. Review of HF Hazards
II. Emergency Procedures
III. Treatments
IV. 5 vs. 15 Minutes of Irrigation
V. Current Status of Hexafluorine
I. Review of HF Hazards
Hydrofluoric acid (CAS 7664-39-3) is a high-volume chemical used in at least eight industries (see Fig. 1). It had a production rate of 375,000 tons in 1998, and its U.S. demand is estimated to be 400,000 tons in 2002.3 It is considered more hazardous than most chemicals in five out of six ranking systems4; and it is ranked as one of the most hazardous compounds (worst 10%) to human health. Ray Campbell, REA, CCHO, at Varian, Inc., described his HF injury as “the most painful, disabling, scarring, long-term injury I have ever seen, and I am a Vietnam veteran.” Concentrated HF covering 2% of the body can be fatal.
HF is a colorless, fuming liquid or gas with strong, irritating odor. In concentrated forms it is a strong protonic acid, whereas dilute solutions are weak acids (pKa = 3) that remain relatively non-ionized but can penetrate the stratum corneum (the tough waterproof outer skin layer of dead cells) and penetrate deep into tissue layers.5 Once absorbed, HF dissociates rapidly at the physiological pH of 7.4.
HF ® H+ + F-
Toxic systemic effects occur when the electron-hungry fluoride ion penetrates and migrates into tissue to bind primarily with calcium, although binding to magnesium, sodium and potassium can also occur.
Ca2+ + 2F- ® CaF2
Mg2+ + 2F- ® MgF2
Without enough calcium (hypocalcemia) and magnesium (hypomagnesia), nerves fail and cell membranes collapse. In addition, excess potassium (hyperkalemia) can occur, which can lead to life-threatening cardiac arrythmias (ventricular fibrillation). The adverse effects can progress for several days after exposure.
Surface involvement of weak solutions is minimal and may even be absent. Burns to the fingers and nail beds may leave the overlying nails intact. An insidious hazard is the fact that dilute solutions are indistinguishable from water.
The time to onset of symptoms is related to the concentration of the HF:
• At concentrations greater than 50%: immediate burns appear with rapid destruction of tissue as noted by a whitish discoloration, usually proceeding to blisters, accompanied by severe pain. The pain is typically described as “deep,” “burning” or “throbbing” and is often out of proportion to apparent skin involvement.
• At concentrations between 20 and 50%: burns can be delayed one to eight hours.
• At concentrations less than 20%: painful erythema may be delayed for up to 24 hours. Redness, burning or pain may not show up until several minutes or even hours have elapsed. Thus, the surface area of the burn is not predictive of effects.



II. Emergency Procedures
Standard first aid for most corrosives is to flush the exposed area with water for fifteen minutes. Then treatment by a professional can be administered. However, because of the dire consequences of HF exposures, the following first aid is recommended (based mainly on procedures used by AlliedSignal6).
A. Skin Contact
1. Immediately (within seconds) shower or flush with plenty of water.
2. Remove all clothing while in the shower. (Remove goggles last and double-bag contaminated clothes.)
3. If 2.5% calcium gluconate gel or 0.13% benzalkonium chloride is available, rinsing may be limited to five minutes [this is sufficient time to effectively remove HF from the skin; additional flushing time is unnecessary and will delay further treatment]. If neither neutralizing agent is on hand, continue to flush until medical help is available.
4. Continue with either step a. or b.
a. Apply calcium gluconate gel (2.5%) while wearing impervious gloves. Massage the gel promptly and repeatedly into burned area until pain is relieved. If pain does not subside within 20 to 30 minutes, injections of 5% calcium gluconate by a professional may be needed.
b. Immerse affected area in iced 0.13% benzalkonium chloride (Zephiran). Use ice cubes, not shaved ice, in order to prevent frostbite. If immersion is not practical, use towels soaked with iced 0.13 % benzalkonium chloride as compresses for the burned area. Change compresses every two to four minutes. Continue until pain is relieved. (This may require hours.)
5. Get medical help.
B. Breathing Vapor
1. Immediately get to fresh air.
2. Call or have someone call a physician.
3. Breathe 100% oxygen (10 to 12 L/min flow rate) as soon as possible.
4. Trained personnel should provide calcium gluconate (2.5%) by nebulizer.
5. Get medical attention.
C. Ingestion
1. Drink large amounts of water. Do not induce vomiting or administer activated charcoal.
2. Drink several glasses of milk or several ounces of Milk of Magnesia, Mylanta, Maalox or similar product, or eat up to 30 Tums, Caltrate or other antacid tablet.
3. Get immediate medical attention.
D. Eye Contact
Because of the ability of HF to penetrate deep into tissue, exposure of HF solution or vapor to the eye can produce more extensive damage than that of other acids in similar concentrations. For example, hydrochloric acid damages only the superficial structures of the eye because its penetration is limited by a precipitated protein barrier.5 In the case of HF, immediate action should be taken with initial flushing and then treatment with sterile 1% calcium gluconate solution. For details, see the inset by Bernard Blais, M.D.
III. Treatments
Calcium gluconate is the preferred treatment of choice for minor HF exposure for the following reasons:
• It is easy to use.
• It can be self-administered or applied by personnel trained in first aid care.
• It can be applied immediately as soon as the burn is suspected.
• It is painless to apply.
• It produces no risk of increasing tension in the tissues.
• It can be used topically, opthalmically, by infiltration and inhalation.
• It reduces the risk of hypocalcemia.
• No sophisticated equipment is necessary.
Pharmascience Inc. is the main supplier of calcium gluconate and can be contacted at 8400 Darnley Rd., Montreal, Quebec strongT 1M4, Canada. In the U.S., the company has a distributor at 175 Rano St., Buffalo, NY 14207 (800-207-4477, orders; 800-363-8805, technical information).
A. Mixing Your Own Solutions
This method can be considerably cheaper or a local pharmacy can make up a solution.
1. Topical Gel (2.5%). Mix one 10-mL ampule (10%) per ounce of surgical gel (K-Y Lubricating Jelly; Johnson and Johnson). The gel must be kept above 40°F. Do not freeze.
The latest DuPont MSDS (Nov 1998) supplies another formulation as well: Mix 3.5 g of USP calcium gluconate powder with a 5-oz. tube of surgical water-soluble lubricant (e.g., K-Y Lubricating Jelly).
2. Calcium Gluconate Solutions for Topical Injections. Mix one 10-mL ampule (10%) with an equal amount of saline solution to give a 5% calcium gluconate concentrate.
3. Nebulizer. Mix one 10-mL ampule (10%) per 30 mL of saline solution to give a 2.5% calcium gluconate solution.
4. Eye Wash. Mix one 10-mL ampule (10%) per 90 mL of saline to get a 1% calcium gluconate solution. If you take 100 mL out of a 1000-mL bag of normal saline and put in 100 mL of calcium gluconate, you will have the proper mixture.
Note: The shelf-life for all mixtures has not been determined, but a periodic replacement period should be established; the recommendation on the DuPont MSDS is six months. If the ingredients are stored separately until needed, the shelf-life is less of a concern.
Be aware that even following emergency treatment with calcium gluconate, delayed life-threatening burns can still occur. Follow up treatment at a medical facility is necessary. It is wise to warn the hospital of your intentions to bring folks to them for HF burn treatment and to make sure that they are informed of its specific treatment.
B. Benzalkonium Chloride
(Zephiran Solution)
This product can be obtained from Sanofi Inc., 90 Park Ave., New York, NY 10016 (800-446-6267). It is available in gallon containers as a 1:750 (0.13%) solution. The material has a limited shelf life and should be stored in light-resistant containers. A 17% solution is also available but should only be diluted by a qualified individual. Since benzalkonium chloride is a nonprescription drug, it should be available through most local pharmacies. They can obtain it from pharmaceutical wholesale distributors. Assorted basins should be kept on hand for immersions.
IV. Five vs. 15 Minutes of Irrigation
After my first paper was published,2 a letter to the editor was published in the Jan./Feb. 1999 issue of Chemical Health & Safety entitled, “Another viewpoint on the treatment of HF skin exposure.”7 The purpose of this letter was to “provide an interpretation of these different procedures and offer a practical response for HF skin procedure.” Points brought out follow:
• It is straightforward to train employees in a single emergency response treatment (i.e., the common 15-minute wash protocol).
• Recommendations in MSDSs are inconsistent.
• There is a real possibility that a confused employee will attempt to apply HF treatment to another acid, (e.g., HCl).
• Community-involvement programs stress communication with industrial users of HF and hospitals.
All the above are valid statements, but we are faced with a dilemma when considering DuPont’s claim, “Flushing with water thoroughly for five-minutes is sufficient to effectively remove HF from skin. Additional flushing time is unnecessary and will delay further treatment. Although flushing is effective in removing surface acid, it does not affect the F- that may have already penetrated.”
Will an exception to the rule for HF cause confusion? The solution is, of course, to have a plan in effect ahead of time and to provide training to implement that plan. All potentially exposed personnel should be trained in first-aid care for HF burns before beginning work with HF. Calcium gluconate gel should be readily accessible in areas where HF exposure potential exists.
DuPont provides all its potentially exposed personnel with a 3" x 5" booklet and a 2.25" x 3.75" card that is easily carried on their persons. These are routinely provided free of charge to companies purchasing HF and to anyone who requests a single copy. (Call 800-441-9408.)
My contact at DuPont informed me that the five-minute wash procedure began in 1990 and since that time at least 75% (it might be as high as 98%) of companies using anhydrous HF have adopted the five-minute wash. Further, he tells me that the five-minute wash is being applied to other water-soluble substances such as hydrochloric acid and chlorine. For skin contact, the DuPont MSDSs for hydrochloric acid and chlorine state, “Flush the skin thoroughly with water at least five minutes.” Preliminary tests show that the five-minute time frame is effective in many cases; this is especially fortuitous in cold areas where a 15-minute cold shower wreaks its own hazards.
And consider this! In 1998, Pharmascience introduced a new product, a sterile 2.5% isotonic calcium gluconate wash packaged in a plastic container (480mL). In the event of an exposure, the solution was to be applied immediately to affected areas until thoroughly washed. It was claimed that the wash removed more HF than a pure water wash and significantly reduced the quantity of HF that penetrated the skin. After washing, calcium gluconate gel was to be applied repeatedly while seeking medical attention. Evidently, HF users weren’t ready for this innovation and, as of August 6, 1999, the wash was no longer available.
V. Current Status of Hexafluorine
At the 1998 spring meeting of the Semiconductor Safety Association, Alan Hall, M.D., delivered a paper 8 that presented impressive results about the use of Hexafluorine, a proprietary product manufactured by Laboratoire PREVOR in France. This product is claimed to be an amphoteric, hypertonic, chelating agent specifically designed to detoxify hydrofluoric acid. It has chemical bond energy greater than that of eye/skin receptors and does not produce a significant exothermic reaction with release of heat that could further damage exposed tissue. In addition, it is claimed to be safe to use in the eyes. Hall describes five cases in his paper. Two of the cases follow:
1. A worker fell into a bath containing 1505 L of water, 30 L of concentrated hydrochloric acid and 233 L of 59% HF (calculated bath concentration — 9.2% HF), immersing his entire body and face. Hexafluorine, as well as a regular water eyewash, was immediately used for decontamination by coworkers. Only minor burns developed on the back and abdomen. There was a significant corneal burn of the left eye, but the right eye remained normal.
2. At a facility using a chemical dipping bath containing nitric acid and HF for producing stainless steel for construction and machine tools, a worker sustained an eye splash with 38% HF. He rinsed his eye immediately with Hexafluorine and did not develop any eye injury, returning to work the next day.
Experimental animal data on rats and rabbits as well as in vitro data are compelling. One such case is shown in Fig. 2. To simulate the effects of decontamination without flushing, 10 mL of 0.1 N HF (0.2%) was placed in a beaker and either water, 10% calcium gluconate or Hexafluorine was added. The pH and the pF (pF = negative logarithm of the fluoride ion concentration) were measured. As noted, water had little effect. Both calcium gluconate and Hexafluorine absorbed or neutralized H+, although Hexafluorine bound the hydrogen ion 100 times greater than calcium gluconate. The final pH for Hexafluorine was 6.5 vs. 4.5 (still acidic) for calcium gluconate.
I recently spoke with Dr. Hall, one of the authors of the 1998 paper on Hexafluorine, who has been hired as a consultant for PREVOR. He was very skeptical about the product at the beginning, but new incidents of 11 exposed workers at Mannesmann AG (headquartered in Dusseldorf, Germany) have shown the effectiveness of the product. These case studies were presented at the Semiconductor Safety Association 2000 Spring Meeting and published.
Hexafluorine is being widely used in France and Germany. Ireland, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom are giving serious consideration to its use. In the U.S., PREVOR is actively seeking FDA approval, armed with the new compelling data from Germany. One “sticky” issue is whether the product should be considered a drug or, preferably, a medical device (as it is in Europe).
Conclusion
Because HF is a unique acid and its emergency treatment is specialized and different from that of other inorganic acids, all exposed and potentially exposed personnel should be made familiar with its properties and hazards and trained ahead of time to deal with emergency situations. In the case of the HF fatality mentioned in the introductory news report, the victim evidently was not aware of the internal damage that the fluoride ion could inflict. Protocols should be set up, appropriate supplies should be on hand and arrangements should be made with nearby hospitals and professionals because not all physicians may be aware of the unique treatments. In addition, one should always try to keep up to date to learn of new innovations in safety, especially when working with nasty chemicals, such as HF, and then institute those changes if they can save lives. Even if you’ve already converted to a five-minute rinse and have calcium gluconate on hand, don’t get complacent! New and better changes may be coming. Stay on top of safety!
Acknowledgements
I want to thank Dr. Bernard Blais for his contribution to this article and acknowledge Allied and DuPont for their valuable comments, assistance and generosity in sharing information.
References
1. Kelley, S. The Gwinnett Daily Post, Oct. 23, 1999, p.1. Web site: http://www.gwinnetdailypost.com/gdp10231999/fpals2-gdp.htm.
2. Segal, E.B. “First Aid for a Unique Acid: HF,” Chem. Health Saf. 1998, 5, 25-28. Also on the Web: http://dchas.cehs.siu.edu/Magazine/hf.
3. “Chemical Market Reporter,” Chemical Profile of Hydrofluoric Acid, Oct. 1999. Schnell Publishing, New York, NY.
4. Chemical Scoreboard, Environmental Defense Fund, New York, NY, 1999.
5. Caravati, E.M., Am. J. Emerg. Med. 1988, 6(2), 143.
6. “Recommended Medical Treatment for Hydrofluoric Acid Exposure,” Dec. 1998, AlliedSignal Inc., P.O. Box 1053, 101 Columbia Rd., Morristown, NJ 07962-1053. This booklet can be obtained at no charge by calling 800-622-5002 or faxing your request to 973-455-6141. For more information, check out AlliedSignal’s Web site at http://www.specialtychem.com/ha/.
7. Langerman, N. Chem. Health Saf. 1999, 6(1), 5.
8. Hall, A. H.; Blomet, J.: Gross, M.: Nehles, J. “Hexafluorine® for Emergency Decontamination of Hydrofluoric Acid (HF) Eye/Skin Splashes.” Presented at the Semiconductor Safety Association Meeting, San Diego, CA, March 1999. Funded by Laboratoire PREVOR, Moulin de Verville, Valmondois, France.
Eileen B. Segal is a private consultant in the field of chemical health and safety and in technical editing. She was an analytical chemist for DuPont and the GAF Corp., and for the past 19 years has conducted seminars in health and safety throughout the United States and Canada as part of the J.T. Baker Office of Training Services.




Tables:
Hydrofluoric Acid
CAS No. 7664-39-3
UN 1052 (anhydrous)
UN 1790 (solution)
Synonyms: hydrogen fluoride, fluoric acid, hydrofluoride, fluorine monohydride
OSHA PEL 3 ppm
Description: colorless gas or fuming liquid
Disagreeable, pungent odor at less than 1 ppm
Irritation of eyes and throat at 3 ppm
Molecular weight: 20.0 daltons
Boiling point 68°F (20°C) at 760 mmHg
Specific gravity 0.99 at 19°F (-7°C)
Vapor pressure 400 mmHg (34°F)
Vapor density 0.7 (air=1)
Miscible with water with release of heat
Nonflammable
Industry Use
Electroplating Acid Metal Cleaners — Oxide Removers
Etching Glass Etching and Frosting
Flotation Agents Depressants — Nonsulfide Ores
Integrated Iron and Steel Manufacturing Pickling Acids
Laboratory Chemicals Acids, Other Chemicals (non-salts)
Oil Refineries Catalyst to Produce High-Octane Fuel Additives
Refrigeration Manufacture of Fluorocarbons
Semiconductors Wet Chemical Etching
Home Use: Air conditioning unit coil cleaners; aluminum automotive wheel cleaners; chrome, brass and crystal cleaners; masonry cleaners; rust stain remover; truck and commercial car washing compounds; water spot remover.
 
This one should be a sticky, maybe.
 
It is used in computer chip manufacturing. There is a large company near us called Micron that uses thousands of gallons of it each year. They are required to have their own Haz-MAt and fire department for the facility since the procedures to deal with a spill of this stuff is unbelivable. The local fire departments WILL NOT respond to a incident inside this facility as the primary responders. I know the safety manager for this company and he has spent 20 years working at EPA in hazardous clean-up and says this stuff is satan in a can as far as handling it.
 
Looks like rug burns
 
Tim, when are you getting that new truck on the home page?

When I get some time to finish her. I have been using it as a chase vehicle bringing extra supplies and such for awhile. I got the underbody boxes in and put a couple temporary hose reels on it, but I have been dragging azz with the welding that will hold the tanks, hose reels, and ladders. I hate seeing that little ranger on the homepage, but she is a worker! Hopefully I can get something going soon.
 
water accidently poured into a bucket containing 30 or so pounds of dry caustic soda beads and it got allover one leg ,i was 90 miles from home and had to finish the job with that stuff all over one leg ,i rode home in by underwear and was glad to get there ,always learning i guess ,another lesson learned
 
Nasty Burn

That looks awful, Russ. I have some sympathy, though.

A few years back, I was hired to sell residential fuel cells for a propane retailer in this area. Part of the training, and the entry job, was to sell propane on rural routes.

This outfit was chronically short of many things, and time was always the largest deficiency, behind planning, so I was out delivering propane without complete equipment training. I had a 5000 gallon straight tanker filled to ove 90% capacity, and had only operated this old beast one day with a trainer.

You can see where this is going. My trainer was another route sales guy who was paid by production, and wasn't part of the fuel-cell crowd. He thought he was training his replacement while we worked together so, there were few words exchanged that day.

I was doing fine, until I got to one giant home on an acreage, that had a pair of thousand gallon underground tanks manifolded together. There is a special "stinger" for underground tanks. It is a 3 foot pipe extension with a spigot and bleeder on the upper end, that attaches to the hose gun from the truck. On the other end it is threaded to fit the fill valve on the tank manifold.

I pumped off over 1200 liquid gallons of propane, and the tanks were properly filled. I detached the hose gun, and was looking for the bleeder on the stinger. Not there!

This is a bad thing, because the stinger is full of a column of liquid propane approximately 3/4 of an inch in diameter by 3 or 4 feet tall. Propane boils at 40* below zero Fahrenheit, so there is considerable pressure. Plus, the ball valve in the tank can sometimes stick open, and venting large geysers of highly inflammable gas in millionaires yards is frowned upon in all businesses, info I needed no training to grasp.

Luckily, I had seen my trainer disconnect without bleeding the stinger when he was in a hurry, he just slowly unthreaded the stinger until it bled out through the threads. Simple.

Here is where my real trouble arrived: This stinger was faulty, and was supposed to have been discarded because it had no bleeder, and because the spigot used as a shut-off on the feed end was badly worn and loose.

As I started unscrewing the stinger, I found it difficult to turn because of the pressure, so I choked up on it, straddling the hole in which it was attached. I was standing astride the stinger when it finally started to turn, and just as I heard the first hissing as it began to bleed out the bottom, my flexed forearms contacted the wheel on the spigot, opening the valve a crack.

The whole stinger explosively decompressed, shooting me in the quadriceps of my left leg with a jet of liquid propane. Luckily the rotation of the stinger hadn't quite come round to my...uhm...stinger.

I was 20 miles from the shop, twenty-two from a hospital, and I had to roll two-hundred plus feet of hose, write an invoice, and my jeans were frozen to my numb leg.

I hobbled to the rig, and fired up the business-band radio, but the dispatcher didn't know me, and thought I was some jerk prank radioing from a local grain elevator. He wouldn't tell me anything about the basic first aid for this problem, nor would he send help.

I had to drive to the hospital in my rig! As I was driving, my leg thawed, and as the propane boiled off me, it did what it does: I had a severe variable thickness chemical burn the size of a football on my thigh.

The nurse that helped me out of my pants nearly fainted, because she couldn't believe I could walk in and calmly ask for help with a burn that bad and large. She thought I must have been in shock, not to be screaming.

It looked like pale fried eggs were growing from my thigh. On the pain scale I'd rate it about a seven or eight, just above a gunshot, just below being stabbed. It was worse than when I was on actual fire, but not nearly as painful as a kidney stone.

The outfit paid me for the two weeks I couldn't wear pants, it was December, and then eliminated the whole fuel-cell division. (Me and two techs were all they ever hired)

The moral of the story? Know the proper first aid for the chemicals you are working with, and have the proper gear on hand. Their is no substitute for knowledge, and you have to be responsible for your own safety, since you will pay the price if you aren't.
 
Back
Top