Your father was quick thinking and probably had some very good training.
I worked in a large R&D lab, never knowingly near hydrofluoric acid.
But spend endless hours in safety classes for almost everything.
Some very nasty stuff.
Posted on 05/07/2022 7:51:09 AM PDT by fireman15
Ever wondered what types of batteries are used to power electric and hybrid vehicles (EHVs)? Well, the majority of EHVs being driven on our roads today will use lithium-ion (Li-ion) or lithium polymer batteries. ...
They pose a potentially lethal chemical hazard to anyone working on or near EHVs. ...
Since the electrolyte is a liquid, there is always the possibility that it could leak from inside the battery – we’ve all seen standard AA batteries that have leaked leaving white potassium hydroxide crystals on their outer casing, right? Well, that’s the danger with lithium-ion batteries. If the electrolyte inside them does leak and comes into contact with moisture in the air or water, a chemical reaction happens and hydrofluoric acid is produced. ...
Hydrofluoric acid is a solution of hydrogen fluoride in water. A colorless liquid, hydrofluoric acid is highly corrosive – it can dissolve glass! – and is extremely toxic. If it comes into contact with our skin or eyes, it can cause severe chemical burns that are very painful and slow to heal. If left untreated, it is absorbed into the body’s tissues and bones causing their destruction. It interferes with our body’s calcium metabolism and contact with concentrated hydrofluoric acid can result in systemic toxicity, cardiac arrest and even death.
Perhaps the most disquieting and sinister property of hydrofluoric acid is the delayed serious tissue damage it can cause. If your skins is exposed to just one tiny drop of low concentration of hydrofluoric acid, it may not produce any immediate pain or burning sensation. It may take several hours for any pain to materialise at which point irreparable damage could have been done. For this very reason, any exposure to hydrofluoric acid, however small, must be considered significant and immediate first aid must be administered.
(Excerpt) Read more at prosol.co.uk ...
“electric vehicles and electronic gadgets”
I’ve wondered about the total tonnage of lithium used in cars versus its use in electronic gadgets.
If you can find an example of HF being used to add fluoride to a municipal water system... please provide a link.
I would assume that currently electronic gadgets are still using the most... But since you are talking about grams vs hundreds to over a thousand pounds per battery... It probably will not take that long for electric vehicles to take the big prize.
The CFO of Rivian said recently that probably less than 5% of the infrastructure currently existed to produce the amount of batteries that would be needed by electric vehicles in ten years. My guess is that it will never exist.
Ah yes HF acid.
Also used in refining gasoline
#4 No wonder food in teflon coated cookware tastes funny : )
I will stick to stainless steel.
“Teflon can generate significant concentrations of HF if overheated (above 500°F)”
This is another reason not to get a electric car.
Imagine millions of batteries leaking in landfills or in your car.
Electric cars are a fire hazard and will dissolve you too : )
No wonder food in teflon coated cookware tastes funny : )
I will stick to stainless steel.
#6 “Teflon can generate significant concentrations of HF if overheated (above 500°F)”
FTA: A colourless liquid, hydrofluoric acid is highly corrosive – it can dissolve glass! – and is extremely toxic.
There must be a very high risk of contamination in the event of a severe automobile accident/impact that damages the battery: the potential for the stuff to be sprayed for some distance; not to mention the consequences of it coming into contact with hot surfaces.
Your father was quick thinking and probably had some very good training.
I worked in a large R&D lab, never knowingly near hydrofluoric acid.
But spend endless hours in safety classes for almost everything.
Some very nasty stuff.
Early on I worked with the fellow who was the engineer responsible for the tin plate line for IC packages. The acids were just sulfuric and nitric but he had kind of a casual attitude. Never got anything resembling a bad burn but one day he put his hands in his pants pockets and the pants totally disintegrated. So much for that pair of work pants.
just be sure to put the body in a large plastic tub and not an actual bathroom enamel-coated iron tub ...
Reminds me of a drilling project at the Tyrone mine in NM, around 1993. One site was adjacent to a dump where sulfuric acid solution was being applied with sprinklers. The mist was drifting over the rig all day, and everyone’s eyes were burning. When I washed the clothes I had been wearing, they just fell apart.
At Intel, the safety demonstration included dipping chicken
parts in hot sulfuric. Came out blackened. After a few complaints it changed to a white cotton tennis shoe.
Same result.
Not just any plastic tub either, it has to be the correct kind or it won’t fare any better than cast iron.
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