Re: Potassium Oxalate Hazards (fwd)

Eric Neilsen (ejnasn@laplaza.org)
Wed, 13 May 1998 23:37:24 -0600

Judy, Anyone that uses potassium oxalate should get a copy of the MSDS
for it and keep it on hand. Artcraft, B&S, and other suppliers should
be able to provide you with a copy if you request it, some suppliers
will send MSDS with everyorder that you place with them.

Here is a bit from a chapter on health for my platinum book.

There are several caustics involved in noble metal printing. One of
the most common is potassium oxalate. Another common form of
potassium oxalate when dissolved in water is oxalic acid, which has an
OSHA PEL of 1 mg/m3 for airborne contaminants. This is also a skin
hazard due to the caustic nature of the material. If ingested, or
absorbed through the lungs or skin, damage may result to the kidneys
and liver as a systemic toxin. This compound can be controlled by
good chemical hygiene, as in use of gloves or tones to prevent skin
contact and good ventilation in the workroom.

This information was privided to me by Howard Etkind. There is also a
web site that list hazards of many chemicals used by artist. Michael
McCann, Ph.D runs a world wide web site for the Center for
Safety in the Arts at http://artswire.org:70/1/csa.

Judy Seigel wrote:
>
> This came to me. I can't answer it, but perhaps someone else can.
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Wed, 13 May 1998 23:52:15 EDT
> From: V6263 <V6263@aol.com>
> To: jseigel@panix.com
> Subject: Potassium Oxalate Hazards
>
> Can someone tell me in what ways potassium oxalate is toxic and what might be
> done to reduce these hazards?

-- 
Eric J. Neilsen
505-758-8868
http://laplaza.org/~ejnasn