HF in paleo (posted for H. Hilbrecht)

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Date: Thu, 18 Jan 1996 11:53:52 +0100
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To: paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk
From: Hilbrecht@erdw.ethz.ch (Heinz Hilbrecht)
Subject: HF in paleo

William A. Shear wrote:
>I use a standard fume hood, keep all HF containing vessels covered,
>use heavy-duty rubber gloves, a rubberized chemists apron, and the type of
>face protection used by welders--a plexi face sheild.  Some people also
>wear rubber boots in case a spill hits your feet.  I also keep handy HF
>spill kits which are available from any good science supplier.   Used acid
>can be neutralized with sodium bicarbonate.  Haven't had any problems in
>five years of heavy usage.

A standard fume hood may not be safe enough. I know at least two colleagues
who damaged their lungs for the rest of their lives through HF, working
with "standard" fume hoods. They were aware of potential dangers and were
both cautious people.
The fume hood can't be good enough and a good one may be damaged with time
through evaporating HF. This had actually happened in one of these cases.
Asking specialists for lab equipment and safety, and regular inspection is
a precaution.
To demonstrate the importance of rigorous training of students and lab
technicians: I actually observed a technician who spilled HF on his rubber
gloves and wanted to store these gloves outside the fume hood - with the HF
still on them. This technician did not receive enough supervision and
training at his institute and may have caused injuries to himself and other
lab users. Similar kinds of "accidents" are probably the biggest danger in
the use of HF.

Heinz Hilbrecht




Address:

Heinz Hilbrecht
Geological Institute
ETH Zentrum
Sonneggstr. 5
CH-8092 Zuerich
Switzerland

phone:  ++41-1-6323676
fax:      ++41-1-6321080
Hilbrecht@erdw.ethz.ch