Neal,
Thanks for
the comments on “Pilots Gloves.” Can you provide a link to what you
mean by these as it isn’t immediately clear? I assume you are
referring to gloves that are Nomex or neoprene and go most of the way
to your elbow covering the wrist and forearm including the closure to a
lab coat sleeve if it is not gathered..
Referring to
your note and George’s, finding the balance point to when non-syringe
techniques are appropriate in terms of scale is always a concern. She
was transferring about 50 mL, as I understand, which is more typically
done by cannula into a dropping funnel for subsequent measured addition
rate. For sample sizes below 10 mL, few are familiar with transfer
techniques that are not syringes. The use of a shut off valve to
prevent drips, etc. and the use of inert atmosphere tubes are
improvements, but still involve syringes. Above 10 mL becomes a
discussion point about techniques in a research environment vs the same
questions in scale-up situations. The UC Riverside link on the CA FACE
Alert page and the Aldrich page inserts with their organometallics
provide a good set of instructions for small scale transfers though it
is not as complete as I would like to see.
As a direct
outcome of this accident, I am putting together a training session on
organometallics handling and transfer techniques to be required for all
of our synthetic chemists. While it will be a refresher for all, being
sure to cover it will catch a few who may not have gotten all the
lessons in graduate school as well as reminding all of our safety
measures and requirements.
Please
continue to contribute comments in this area so we minimize the chances
of repeats.
Lee.
Below
is the content of an email I just sent to the people who published the
pyrophoric alert.
As
a chemist and an expert in handling reactive materials, I have reviewed
your pyrophoric chemical ALERT and strongly disagree with the gloves
shown in the figure. The gloves being used protect against the much
less severe chemical hazard, not against the significant fire hazard.
The figure shows the result of an inadequate hazard recognition and
risk assessment, translated into an inappropriate PPE assessment.
“Pilots
Gloves” with thin mil nitrile under them, if wanted, is the appropriate
PPE. In addition, a device such as a Unishield should be used to
protect the face, and fire retardant clothing, such as a Nomex lab
coat, not the cotton one shown, should be used.
There
is a lot of mis-information both about the incident and the correct way
to handle pyrophoric chemicals.
Neal
-------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
The information
contained in this message is privileged and confidential and protected
from disclosure. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient, or an employee or agent responsible for delivering this
message to the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any
dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is
strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error,
please notify us immediately by replying to the message and deleting it
from your computer.
NEAL
LANGERMAN
ADVANCED CHEMICAL SAFETY, Inc.
7563 CONVOY Ct
SAN DIEGO
CA 92111
(858) 874 5577 (phone, 24/7)
(858) 874 8239 (FAX)
www.chemical-safety.com
