DCHAS-L Archives, Mar 22 2022 - Re: [DCHAS-L] [External] Re: [DCHAS-L] OSHA materials on Karen Wetterhahn's mercury exposure

I'd be very interested in anything you find on this, James.� And when the chemical the glove is made from does not also include the mil thickness, that is pretty useless information.� If you doubt this, look at Kimberly Clark's thin mill nitrile charts.� Most of those solvents go through in a minute or two.

Monona

-----Original Message-----
From: James Kaufman <jkaufman**At_Symbol_Here**LABSAFETYINSTITUTE.ORG>
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Sent: Tue, Mar 22, 2022 10:25 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] OSHA materials on Karen Wetterhahn's mercury exposure

Can anyone share a copy of the MSDS that was from the actual DMM supplier?� ... Jim

PS.� The CSB video said that MSDS recommended latex gloves.� I have been unable to locate the MSDS.� I did get one from Strem� Chemicals from that timeframe but it did not say that.

� James A. Kaufman, PhD

Founder/President Emeritus

The Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI)

A Nonprofit Educational Organization for� Safety in Science, Industry, and Education

192 Worcester Street, Natick, MA 01760-2252

(O) 508-647-1900� (F) 508-647-0062� (C) 508-574-6264� Skype: labsafe; 508-401-7406�

jkaufman**At_Symbol_Here**labsafety.org� � www.labsafety.org� � � Teach, Learn, and Practice Science Safely

On Tue, Mar 22, 2022 at 10:06 AM Ralph Stuart <ralph**At_Symbol_Here**rstuartcih.org> wrote:

>And wondering about Karen�??s gloves, were they standard dry-box gloves or did she double glove them inside of the glove-box with another type of glove, as we sometimes double glove with our disposable tactile gloves.

I believe that Dr. Wetterhahn was working in a fume hood rather than a glove box on the occasion of her mercury exposure. I assume that she was using the fume hood to control the fire hazard associated with the dimethyl mercury (flashpoint = 5 degrees C), but the fume hood does not add value with regard to dermal toxicity hazards; and latex gloves add minimial protective value as well. OSHA reports that the dexterity value of the latex gloves led to that choice. I believe that the OSHA presentation on this event suggested that Silvershield gloves were the only appropriate choice at that time.

One of the learning points I take from this story is the challenge of working with chemicals that present multiple hazards while balancing chemical and human factors.

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
ralph**At_Symbol_Here**rstuartcih.org

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