I was waiting for someone to strike this one up! As a Process Chemist (solid 9 years experience), I also agree with Neal. there ARE proper ways of handling pyrophorics. I have handled many "pyros", such as n-BuLi, t-BuLi, Grignards, LAH, DIBAL and so forth. There is NO WAY this student knew what She was doing! YOU DO NOT handle BuLi in the manner that was described, much less using the gloves that were mentioned, no PPE!! That is unacceptable!!! Whoever said a syringe could be used should be questioned. There ARE other techniques that are used, even on small scale. The key point here is, never sacrifice safety for service!!!! If there are questions as to HOW to initiate such a transfer, I will be glad to describe it, free of charge but NOT free of acknowledgment! Again, pilot gloves are the standard protocol, plain & simple. The comments I have read that She was bright, intelligent, etc. don't mean a damn thing when it comes to safety (or in the case, a clear lack of it)! The notion that the Professor was a noted scholar/chair doesn't account for anything either if safety was no adhered to! I cannot tell You the anger that is inside Me when I read the articles relating to this incident. Yes it was tragic, Yes it could have been prevented, and Yes a clear attitude of familiarity lead to breeding of contempt in that laboratory. Pyrophorics are not meant to be handled by anyone who is not versed in the techniques in handling/transfer/deactivation. Further these operations should be operated on a buddy-system, even on small scales. The dumbest question is the one You don't ask. Nobody should be fearful of asking how to handle materials (pyro, flammable, etc.)! Cheers! George D. McCallion
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post