Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2003 12:04:35 -0400
Reply-To: "William C. Penker" <WPenker**At_Symbol_Here**NETSCAPE.NET>
Sender: DCHAS-L Discussion List <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU>
From: "William C. Penker" <WPenker**At_Symbol_Here**NETSCAPE.NET>
Subject: Re: safety and nomenclature
Comments: To: "Greene, Ben"


Re:  sodium hydroxide and its alias "caustic soda"
     A number of years ago I was contacted by the building maintenance engineer who said,"The boiler company sent us some cleaner.  It's some kind of SODA STUFF. Can we scoop it up with our bare hands?"
     A check of the barrel revealed only the words CAUSTIC SODA.  No chemical name; no warning label.  The term caustic didn';t register because the engineer thought acids were caustic and acids are liquids and this was a solid.  The word SODA was the only one to register.

                 Wm. C. Penker
                 School District of Neillsville
                 Neillsville, WI  54456





"Greene, Ben"  wrote:

>Hello List - For training purposes, I'm putting together a list of
>laboratory incidents/accidents/close calls/confusions that resulted from use
>of incorrect nomenclature (to emphasize the need to use and understand
>correct nomenclature).  If you can think of any that would be of use, I
>would appreciate it.  I can also summarize and post to the list.
>
>I've got the old "barium oxide" name for "barium peroxide", and the classic
>trike/TCE/PCE/TCA mess for the chlorinated ethanes/ethenes so dearly loved
>as cleaning solvents.
>
>A related example of what I'm looking for and the reference follow:
>
>A violent explosion took place after a student (pursuing an independent
>research project) attempted to follow a standard U.K. forensic procedure for
>fiber analysis.  The student had used 0.1 g of a jute rope sample, 20 ml of
>glacial acetic acid, and 20 ml of 30 percent hydrogen peroxide.  After
>heating the mixture in a flask in a boiling water bath on a hotplate, a
>detonation occurred.  The ceramic top of the hotplate blew apart into rather
>massive fragments that were thought responsible for the cracking and damage
>of the laminated safety glass of the fume hood sash.  Fortunately, the hood
>sash was down and the blast and fragments confined to the hood with no
>injuries.  In this case, the mishap was attributed in part to the use of a
>more concentrated hydrogen peroxide solution than was called for in the
>procedure.  This was due to the nomenclature employed by the U.K. procedure
>that was unfamiliar to American workers:  a "20 volume" hydrogen peroxide
>solution was called for, not 20 percent.  A "20 volume" hydrogen peroxide
>solution refers to the amount of hydrogen peroxide that can evolve 20 ml of
>oxygen for each ml of solution, and actually corresponds to 6 percent
>hydrogen peroxide.  Other factors, such as possible metal ions in the fiber
>sample or accidental contaminants may also have played a role in the
>explosion.  In addition, the shattering of the ceramic hotplate top
>suggested this possible shrapnel source might best be avoided where
>explosion hazards may occur.
>
>De Forest, P. and Rothchild, R.  "Fiber Analysis Using Heated Hydrogen
>Peroxide."  Chemical & Engineering News, Vol. 65(31), 1987:2
>
>
>Thanks, Ben
>
>Ben Greene, Ph.D.
>Honeywell, NASA White Sands Test Facility
>

__________________________________________________________________
McAfee VirusScan Online from the Netscape Network.
Comprehensive protection for your entire computer. Get your free trial today!
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/computing/mcafee/index.jsp?promo=393397

Get AOL Instant Messenger 5.1 free of charge.  Download Now!
http://aim.aol.com/aimnew/Aim/register.adp?promo=380455

Previous post   |  Top of Page   |   Next post



The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary@dchas.org.
The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.