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To: neverdem
Fulminate of mercury is the reason I was asked to leave a college chemical engineering program... Oops. Lab hoods are quite expensive to replace, believe it or not!

Mark

34 posted on 05/04/2013 8:03:36 PM PDT by MarkL (Do I really look like a guy with a plan?)
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To: MarkL
I saved a fellow student from "felony stupid" one evening in my college biochem lab. He was preparing to measure out a reagent for the lab procedure we were currently assigned. I stopped him short of using his mouth on the pipette. The reagent was a neurotoxin. We had proper rubber bulbs for doing that.

There were all manner of reagents on the shelf that could have been "abused" when I was in my college chemistry, physics and biochemistry labs. Most of us decided earning the degree outweighed potentially lethal frivolity. The pathogens in the microbiology labs were likewise easy to abuse, but we didn't.

Even with all the care we did exercise, I witnessed a terrible accident in my o-chem lab. One experiment called for the use of chlorosulphonic acid. We needed an acid chloride for the reaction. We were warned to dry the glassware thoroughly as the heat of hydration was significant. Most of use dried out glassware, then heated it over a bunsen burner to drive off any remaining moisture. One young lady decided that level of care wasn't necessary. Bad move. As she decanted the reagent into her glassware, the acid hydrated and sprayed all over her arm. We had bicarbonate of soda to neutralize it, but she panicked and ran for the faucet. The burns on her arms were horrible. She never returned to class.

36 posted on 05/04/2013 11:09:54 PM PDT by Myrddin
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