December 2008

Finally cleared!

What is the name of the product the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) of which was displayed last month?

First, let us remind you that everything stated in the MSDS is absolutely true.

Wording of the different chapters of this MSDS may let the reader think that oxygen dihydride, a primary alcohol, comes with a number of frightening risks which require harsh safety precautions.

Some alcohols, as a general matter, come with worrying risks.

Such is the case of methanol (synonym methyl alcohol), the chemical formula of which is: CH3-OH, which is given the CAS N° 67-56-1 and EC N° 200-659-6.

It is subjected to:

- Label F: Highly flammable, with flame pictorial symbol and label T, Toxic, with skull and crossbones pictorial symbol.

- Risk phrases:

R 11 Highly flammable,

R 23/24/25 Toxic by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed.

R 39/23/24/25 Toxic: danger of very serious irreversible effects through inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed.

- Safety phrases:

S 7 Keep container tightly closed.

S 16 Keep away from sources of ignition - No smoking.

S 36/37 Wear suitable protective clothing and gloves.

S 45 In case of accident or if you feel unwell seek medical advice immediately (show the label where possible).

In the nineties, we had the surprise to find a "home-made" NAWD (non aqueous wet developer) in a renowned company.

This company was supplied by a Penetrant Material manufacturer some kind of dry developer which was then diluted in methanol, and processed in an open tank (without any lid) fitted with a mechanical stirring helix so as to get a homogeneous suspension.

- No exhaust system on the equipment; the operator died when 40.

- Obviously no one had had time to read the Methanol MSDS.

So now, back to this oxygenated solvent, this primary alcohol talked about last month. Though it seems very dangerous, have you noticed it is not mandatory for the supplier to put a "Harmful" label, or any Risks/Safety sentences?

Intriguing, as you may wonder.

Is there any reason to worry about using it? To ring the alarm-bell?

Don't you think this chemical should be banned once and for all?

Well, definitely NO!

This horrific substance is the life-sustaining WATER!

We wanted you to think for a while about it, and we pointed out some words: solvent, primary alcohol. For chemists an alcohol has always the chemical radical -OH. By the way, water, generally written as H2O may also be written as H-OH, making water the simplest alcohol!

We guess that many of you, discerning people, had in fact understood the conundrum, either directly through the CAS number (and searching in the right documents) or through some clues we are to give now.

We are going to clarify some of the assertions: so maybe you will find a new way of reading the MSDS!

- Ingestion of large quantities of this solvent may lead to death: it was the basics of the Middle Ages "water torture". Swallowing several liters of water within a short time may lead to very serious digestive disorders, "discharge" troubles (kidney/bladder), to the dilution of the electrolytes which allow for data exchanges between all our body's cells.

- Inhaling large quantities may lead to death: a people in a 100% humidity atmosphere inhales this moisture as microscopic droplets. These droplets pile up in the lungs and the people finally is drowning: this is similar to a lung oedema!

- Major ingredient of acid rains: water is the major part of rain, isn't it?

- At very low temperatures, this product make surfaces slippery: ice on soils wet before frost!

- Chapter 9 gives very important data: boiling point ca 100 °C, freezing point ca 0 °C!!!

- This solvent pulls many unwanted chemicals towards sewers, rivers, etc. : rain "washes" soils which may have been weedkiller- or fertiliser-processed. Huge quantities of water sprayed on fires may make chemicals enter sewers, rivers, after cans’ or tanks’ leaks or explosion.

- A prolonged contact with skin leads to skin swelling and cells turgescence (i.e. cells swelling): stay in your bathtub, or in a swimming pool for two hours (water shall be fresh water, and not sea water) and look at your skin! Body cells contain electrolytes, among them common salt (sodium chloride) at higher strength than in fresh water. This ‘‘attracts’’ water into the cells. This is a natural phenomenon due to osmotic pressure. But this would be far too long to be explained here.

- This solvent is found in huge quantities in cancerous cells while no correlation has ever been established between it and cancerous characteristics. For a very good reason: every cell comprises 65% to 90% of water, be it cancerous or not! Water is VITAL, this meaning, as far as we know, that without it life is impossible. That's why the first element looked after on Mars or on the exoplanets (planets out of our Solar system) is water, traces of it, either directly with robots on Mars, or indirectly by spectroscopic analyses for example.

This example should make you, alert readers, wise enough to understand...you do not understand everything. Ask your supplier, and do not let other people (who are not trained in chemistry, medicine, biology) assert untruth.

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We, Pierre CHEMIN and Patrick DUBOSC, welcome any comment, any idea. If you have some examples you would like to see discussed here, please give us all the useful indications. If you require confidentially, we would modify locations, names and some parameters to prevent any traceability.

Nevertheless, we are convinced that our site may be a kind of surge-valve: the topic is NOT to target this company, or that auditor; but it is always to make users think, to make them ask themselves, or others, the right questions.

We may also give advice, once again on a confidential basis if needed: please, feel free to ask questions, to document our data basis: about Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS), about environment, a chemical name you don't understand, a Penetrant process you have heard about, etc.

We have plenty of examples, some being out of all the specifications/standards, which led to the discontinuities detection, when the "current, normal, processes" prevented discontinuity finding.