This is a portion of an article that we make any employee or temp. read before he goes out to wash whether he uses it or not because it is in our rigs regardless. It was taken from the Cleaner Times website 9/27/02. Forgive the length of the post, but thought it should be touched upon again.
October 22, 1999: Robert Belk, A 48 yr. old business owner, died at Grady Memorial Hospital after an exposure to hydroflouric acid. Belk owned a company called Chemical Packaging near Atlant, 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 werew 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.
Review of HF Hazards
Hydrofluoric acid (CAS 7664-39-3) is a high-volume chemical used in at least eight industries. 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. It is considered more hazardous than most chemicals in five out of six ranking systems, 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 colrless, fuming liquid or gas with strong, irritating odor. In concetrated forms it is a strong protonic acid, whereas dilut 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. Once absorbed, HF dissociates rapidly at the physiological pH of 7.4.
The article goes on to describe more of what HF does to the human body, emergency procedures,treatments, etc.
If you are considering using this product, please, please, educate yourself on everything about HF. Here is the link to this article if you want to read the rest.
http://www.cleanertimes.com/features3/hydrofluoric.cfm
October 22, 1999: Robert Belk, A 48 yr. old business owner, died at Grady Memorial Hospital after an exposure to hydroflouric acid. Belk owned a company called Chemical Packaging near Atlant, 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 werew 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.
Review of HF Hazards
Hydrofluoric acid (CAS 7664-39-3) is a high-volume chemical used in at least eight industries. 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. It is considered more hazardous than most chemicals in five out of six ranking systems, 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 colrless, fuming liquid or gas with strong, irritating odor. In concetrated forms it is a strong protonic acid, whereas dilut 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. Once absorbed, HF dissociates rapidly at the physiological pH of 7.4.
The article goes on to describe more of what HF does to the human body, emergency procedures,treatments, etc.
If you are considering using this product, please, please, educate yourself on everything about HF. Here is the link to this article if you want to read the rest.
http://www.cleanertimes.com/features3/hydrofluoric.cfm
