Monday, July 27, 2009

Dichloromethane-Man, Dichloromethane-Man, does what ever Dichloromethane can

I do complain about Concordia from time to time. But we've had good times and bad times. Among the good times, is a recent experience I had in the lab. I was working with a chemical called dichloromethane, a toxic organic compound that is highly volatile. The liquid was in a bottle with a strange pump fastenned to the top. When I figured out how it worked, I was so excited I didn't realize there was a rubber cap blocking the spout. I forced down the plunger and was splashed with dichloromethane.

I may have gotten a drop on my hand. DCM, is so volatile it evaporates in seconds. I kept my cool, and looked up the safety information online. It attacks the central nervous system. That just happens to be my favourite nervous system. The MSDS (safety info) says in case you get some on your skin, you should rinse for 10 minutes with soap and water. I did that, but still wondered about my precious entral nervous system. Would the freak lab accident enhance my central nervous system to super-hero esque levels, giving me psychic powers?? Or would my IQ dwindle to the level of slack-jawed yokel??

I began to rant and rave as I often do, when someone suggested I call Info-Sante, perhaps hoping I would fret to them for a while. Sadly, I forgot to dial "9" for outgoing calls and I ended up getting in touch with a frenetic woman who worked at some kind of Concordia Emergency line. I excused myself, telling her it wasn't my intention to call her. Nevertheless, she asked me what hapenned. I made the mistake of telling her.

Lady: "Dye... cloro... what???"
Me: "Oh, it's okay, I just followed the directions online and..."
Lady: "An agent will be up to see you in a moment."

An agent??? I told her it wasn't necessary but in less than 5 minutes one security guard was in the lab looking around for a chemical spill. I told him there was a small splash and whatever was spilled probably evaporated before even hitting any surface. Two more agents came, one with a first aid kit, asking for my name, my supervisors name and the name of the reagent that I spilled. They were looking around the lab desperately to find the chemical spill. You can tell that before arriving they were anticipating a glowing green puddle, with red steam rising from it. They were dissapointed and asked if there was any burning on the spot where I had spilled DCM on my hand. I said no.

This didn't stop the 3 burly security guards from escorting me to the Concordia clinic where we met up with the safety officer from the chemistry department who deals with hazardous spills. He promptly went online to retrieve the information about what I had spilled (which I had already done). Following all that excitement there was a detailed report to fill out and a series of jokes about me dying, having my hand amputated and losing all of my skin pigmentation like Michael Jackson.

Good times. I came back to the lab where I was laughed at, nevertheless, impressed by the efficiency of the security guards. Does anyone remember when they suspected someone might have a gun in the school. It didn't take more than 10 minutes for them to muster a swat team, helicopters and snipers (only to discover that the potential assailant was carrying kendo sticks). But, it's good to know how efficient the security here is. Thanks to the men and women and Concordia Secuirty. I make jibes about Concordia, but at least we're pretty safe. That being said, next time I spill a chemical on me, I think I'll just suck it up and rinse with water.

3 comments:

Vrej said...

It could have been worse. This could have happened:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwYzyRfNFn0

Anonymous said...

hello, i was looking for dichloromethane hazards and i ended up here.. i dont know if u can help me or give me some suggestions? actually i spilled dichloromethan in the lab, today.. i got some drops on my hand..i did have gloves but after few seconds i felt burning..so i took them off and washed my hands with water but nor for 10 min:( only for like 1 minutes ..one of my fingers was a bit red..but i wore a new pairs of gloves and continued my work..i am so worried bcs i read now that dicholoromethane can be absorbed through the skin..do u think so? is it very dasngerous?..my finger is not red anymore and everything looks fine but do u think the dichloromethane is in my blood now? i am so worried please let me know about it if u have any ideas, thanks a lot.

Masta said...

Hi there,

I wouldn't worry about your spill. Not that I'm a safety expert or anything, but I was told that the safety instructions for these chemicals are written with the assumption that you've spilled many gallons of it on yourself. I've spoken to many friends and someone even said, "Yeah, a colleague of mine practically washes his hands with it." I'm not saying not to be careful, but I don't think you will suffer any noticeable effects. Whatever has been absorbed through your skin will be eliminated soon. If you notice your skin is still irritated, you could go to a clinic (perhaps your university or lab has one) and they might have a cream for that.

Don't worry, you'll definately be okay.