Which chemicals really frighten you?

[wackyvorlon]

I remember mention in Mr. Thompsons book of chemicals that even professional chemists are afraid to work with, like sodium hydroxide(which is absurdly common, oddly enough). I was wondering what other chemicals give a professional chemist the willies? I just recently found out about one that's really alarming to me, anyway. I live in Chemical Valley, birthplace of the oil industry. Imperial Oil has a laboratory not far from here that suffered enormous damage in a fire. A chemist was working with aluminum alkyls, and to my understanding exposed it to air for too long. I saw the damage, having driven by the lab after the fire was over. The windows had been busted out, and all you could see inside the lab was black.

[GoatRider]

Hydrofluoric Acid

[thompson]

Most of the truly scary stuff like dimethylmercury isn't something you'd find in a home lab. Even stuff that gives civilians the willies, like potassium cyanide, isn't really that dangerous if you handle it properly.

I'll concur on HF, which is easily absorbed through the skin and a deadly poison. I'm also very cautious with hydrogen sulfide, which is deadlier than hydrogen cyanide gas and has the unfortunate characteristic of deadening your sense of smell. It stinks like rotten eggs in low concentrations, but if the concentration is a bit higher (or if you're exposed to it for a short time), you stop being able to detect it. And it'll kill you dead in very low concentrations.

I also refuse to keep dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in my lab. It's not particularly hazardous in in itself, but it penetrates skin like it's not there, and it can carry other chemicals with it. It also goes through most gloves like a hot knife through butter, so I simply don't keep it around.

[wackyvorlon]

I did not know that about DMSO. I was actually considering buying some before reading your post:)

[tangent]

yeah - hydrochloric acid will eat through glass (and you!) real fast! But artists use it to etch photo's into glass windows.

DMSO is actually used to sooth muscles, but as stated, can carry lower molecular weight chemicals with it an kill you if you are not careful. It's an interesting solvent. Some people find significant health benefits with it.

metallic sodium and potassium give my chem instructor the willies, but it is kinda fun and not bad if treated with the respect it deserves. Store under mineral oil.

white phosphorus will burn through skin and char bone - VERY unpleasant to handle! red phosphorus isn't quite as bad, I've never seen WP for sale and RP is watched now, due to it being useful in some illicit drug manufacture process. Not sure which one. Basically something you probably want to steer clear of. RP can be converted to WP pretty easily.

hydrogen sulfide is unfortunately a basic analytical chemistry staple. there is supposed to be a chem, forget it's name, that can be thrown into a solution for the same effect but much more safely and pleasantly. it's rather expensive - the chem I'm thinking of...

picrates (sp?) - one or more can form picrate acid (sp?) just sitting on the shelf. This is a very unstable primary explosive... like don't let a fly land on it and don't even think about moving it...

If I remember the names right, tri-ethyl-aluminum and tri-ethyl-magnesium. It spontaneously combusts on contact with air and is highly exothermic. As in a quart of it reacted outside a bunker will turn everyone inside into pot roast in about a second... yeah - HOT! You will never run into it, though I did run into a truck hauling it on the highway once, obviously headed to the ordnance lab up the road. I pulled off at the next exit and waited 15 minutes so that it was the hell away from me! It's supposed to be a total PITA to synthesize. One of those don't even ask chems - unless you want to experience rendition first hand...

-t

[salsbury]

I also refuse to keep dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in my lab. It's not particularly hazardous in in itself, but it penetrates skin like it's not there, and it can carry other chemicals with it. It also goes through most gloves like a hot knife through butter, so I simply don't keep it around.

DMSO is a very interesting compound, and we keep it in the bathroom for first-aid use. (It's excellent for burns if you apply it within about 30 seconds or less. It cuts off some of the cascade of reactions that lead to tissue damage & inflammation. I had a friend who swore by it and kept it in the kitchen for just such a purpose.) It's also very good for certain types of muscle problems, and helped my girlfriend when she had fallen and torn the muscles in her quadriceps. I also used it when I tore a hamstring muscle.

However, as Robert noted, it's a solvent that goes right through the skin and carries other agents with it. (Meaning you have to be careful to apply it only to clean skin, make sure there are no synthetic fabrics worn on the skin while it's absorbing, etc.) It heats up a bit as it's applied, and you can often taste a garlic-y taste within 30-60 seconds, as it circulates through your bloodstream.

Since it's such a potent carrier solvent, I completely understand and agree with Robert that it shouldn't be kept in your lab-space with lots of other chemicals. That seems prone to accidents.

[wackyvorlon]

Just recently I ran across these blog posts:

http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/th ... work_with/

He lists some truly terrifying substances.

[jacobavera]

Hydrofluoric acid- the scary part is you can buy it at the supermarket. its sold as a stain remover.
A puddle the size of your foot will kill you. the really bad part is it skips the skin and starts eating the bones.
I handle it like it was radioactive.

[salsbury]

Hydrofluoric acid- the scary part is you can buy it at the supermarket. its sold as a stain remover.
A puddle the size of your foot will kill you. the really bad part is it skips the skin and starts eating the bones.
I handle it like it was radioactive.

Now why in the world would they sell something like that at the supermarket? (Granted, they sell cleaning chemicals and rat poison, so why not?)

I've heard horror stories about HF, and yes, you're right. I heard about a guy who spilled a hand-sized blotch on his leg while in the lab. Cleaned it right off, did all the right things you're supposed to, and was dead in a week, anyway.

The story was in the "Chemistry in its Element" podcast for Fluorine. They have a very handy index to all the stories about different elements. I highly recommend the series. I've listened to them all, and subscribe to it for weekly updates. By the look of that page, they should complete the whole set within a few more months.

Apparently, it displaces the calcium in you, so it rips it right out of the bones and they rot/crumble away. Not to mention anywhere else you have calcium, which is probably every cell in your body. Nasty stuff.

[mwechtal]

Hydrofluoric acid- the scary part is you can buy it at the supermarket. its sold as a stain remover.
A puddle the size of your foot will kill you. the really bad part is it skips the skin and starts eating the bones.
I handle it like it was radioactive.

Now why in the world would they sell something like that at the supermarket? (Granted, they sell cleaning chemicals and rat poison, so why not?)

If I remember correctly, it's a glass cleaner, and the concentration of HF in it is quite low. So as long as you're reasonably careful, it shouldn't be a problem.