From: Katharine Thayer (kthayer@pacifier.com)
Date: 02/22/03-01:40:28 AM Z
Judy Seigel wrote:
Though I'm still curious
> about the facts (having learned meanwhile that not everything in my
> schoolbooks, or even in my alt photo books, is still true, if it ever
> was).
I'm just really fed up with this whole discussion, in which red
herrings continue to be piled on top of straw people on top of character
assassination, and I won't contribute further after I've said this one
thing. In most situations where someone questions a rule, I say okay,
try it and see what happens. But in this case it would be irresponsible
to say, well, just pour some water into some concentrated acid and see
for yourself why the rule exists. The rule is important especially for
sulfuric acid, in which case water introduced into a beaker of sulfuric
acid can cause an explosion and serious injury, but even with less
extreme acids it can generate enough heat on hydration to sizzle and
splatter, and if you get concentrated acid splattered on you, it will
burn a hole in your skin, and in your clothes. Long ago in college I was
the stockroom manager for the chemistry department and I mixed and
dispensed all the solutions for all the labs, so I know whereof I speak.
I was very careful, (well, as careful as an 18-year old might be I
suppose) but I still got acid burns occasionally and I can tell you,
they burn like the very devil. I can remember exactly how they felt,
decades later.
I don't think anyone is suggesting that we fall back to the extreme
warnings that say everything is going to kill you. What is being
advocated is some reasonable guidelines for safety in handling
chemicals.
And it's not general guidelines for chemicals in general that we're
talking about either, it's specific guidelines for specific chemicals.
The reason why aqua regia should be prepared in a hood or outside, for
example, is that the fumes from concentrated nitric acid are extremely
caustic and should not be breathed in unventilated quarters.
This is not about "beliefs" it's about ensuring that people are safe and
keep their skin intact and keep breathing. And I can't speak for Gord,
but the reason I would want guidelines rather than the continued
stalemate, is that as Gord said, at the end of the day no one knows
anything, all they know is that some people say it's dangerous and some
people say it's not. It's just a whole lot of heat with no light and I
for one am sick to death of it.
Katharine Thayer
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