When I was with Air Products, they filled anhydrous HF from a railcar, as a result the ER Team was specially trained and equipped to handle an exposure. In one incident a flexible transfer hose sheared and the line somehow wound up shooting liquid HF up into the operators chemical apron and burned through his pants. The ER team immediately deconned him and applied the gluconate gel which is meant to only react with the surface of the skin. The medical treatment is multiple injections through the skin at the ER. He did not have permanent injuries as a result.

An excellent Medical Treatment guide is from the US Health Dept. I have had these translated into Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Japanese for all of the gases.

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/substances/toxsubstance.asp?toxid=250

Eugene Ngai

Chemically Speaking LLC

I am puzzled.   My understanding is that HF, and other ionizable/ionized forms of fluoride, if exposed to the skin should be treated with calcium gluconate.  ("Calgonate" is a preparation of calcium gluconate.)  However, these treatments would neither be effective nor necessary if the fluorine-containing compound is covalently-bound F.  Thus, I don't know what a "fluorinated acid spill" might be or whether calcium carbonate (which is not calcium gluconate/"Calgonate") would be effective.   (An example of a fluorinated acid might be TFA, trifluoroacetic acid; these F atoms are not ionizable.)

When once researching medical events about fluoride exposures I came across anecdotes of medical ER folks using calcium gluconate on an exposure that was clearly a covalently-bonded fluorine compound.  (I can't find this now.)  The treatment was ineffective, as expected.  But, the patient was not suffering from "fluoride exposure", either.)

I would welcome other insights that clarify my understanding.

Dave

David C. Finster
Professor, Department of Chemistry
Wittenberg University
937-327-6441

https://www.wittenberg.edu/academics/chemistry/facultystaff/finster2.html

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