Hi all,
Here's my $0.02 worth:
At my sister's wedding in 1980, I was a bridesmaid and was asked to polish my nails to match my dress, which I did. About an hour into the reception, the polish on my right thumb ignited as I put out a cigarette. (I smoked in those days). Since I was in-expert when applying the polish, (and didn't routinely wear polish since it just came off in organic lab), some had run under the nail and extended into the nail bed. I was fortunate that my date had a soft drink in his hand when my thumbnail ignited, and the flames were both above and below the nail into the bed. He grabbed my hand and immersed my thumb, successfully extinguishing the flame, but I had third degree burns under the nail in the bed, and eventually lost the nail. It grew back, after several weeks, and I was fortunate enough not to be scarred or to permanently lose the nail, or the tip of the finger. But, it should be added to this discussion that the polish on ones own nails is also highly flammable, and such fires can also lead to significant injury. It doesn't have to be a polished artificial nail to cause a fire hazard, just the polish does the trick.
Meg
Meg Osterby
W831 County Road K
Stoddard, WI 54658
414-539-1543 (cell)
608-788-7951 (home)
megosterby**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com
"It's better to be careful 100 times than to be killed once." Mark Twain
From: McGrath Edward J
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2019 10:38 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] [External] Re: [DCHAS-L] Fancy nails in the lab
My perspective is the microbiologist one, and besides everything else that has been stated, long synthetic nails pose a source of contamination. The nail bed is difficult to sanitize with clipped nails. Longer ones create 10 distinct incubators. Compound that with the likelihood of piercing gloves, you now have 10 possible PPE breaches.
Sent via the Samsung Galaxy S8, an AT&T 5G Evolution smartphone
-------- Original message --------
From: Monona Rossol <0000030664c37427-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU>
Date: 2/18/19 10:50 AM (GMT-05:00)
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [External] Re: [DCHAS-L] Fancy nails in the lab
A good policy that covers both flammability and solvent exposure. Soap and water are not a problem for these nails. And I would think they would make wearing gloves problematic and increase the likelihood of a puncture.
Maybe change "You are advised to avoid..." to "Thou shalt not..." Monona
-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Foster <bfoster**At_Symbol_Here**WVU.EDU>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Mon, Feb 18, 2019 9:48 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Fancy nails in the lab
Excellent point, Monona. The following is an excerpt from our Safety Rules for Undergraduate Students in Chemistry Laboratories:
You are advised to avoid wearing synthetic fingernails in the chemistry laboratory. Synthetic fingernails can be damaged by solvents and are made of
extremely flammable polymers which can burn to completion and are not easily extinguished.
/ Barbara L. Foster
College Safety Officer
Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
West Virginia University
DCHAS Fellow - American Chemical Society
304-293-2729 (desk)
304-276-0099 (mobile)
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Monona Rossol
Sent: Monday, February 18, 2019 8:51 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Fancy nails in the lab
Take it from someone who wore 1.5 inch nails for years of nightclub gigs, they are thick, long, very flammable plastic. And if they catch fire, the are going to seriously burn the ends of the fingers. These longer ones also impair dexterity in the lab. Monona
-----Original Message-----
From: Harry J. Elston <helston**At_Symbol_Here**MIDWESTCHEMSAFETY.COM>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Mon, Feb 18, 2019 8:10 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Fancy nails in the lab
My 2-cents:
If it is not interfering with the dexterity required for the operation, I won't have a problem with it.
Harry
Sent from my mobile device
On Sun, Feb 17, 2019, 20:57 Dra. Clara Rosal=C3=ADa =C3=81lvarez Ch=C3=A1vez <pissa_unison**At_Symbol_Here**hotmail.com wrote:
Hello everyone,
We have seen that some students and teachers use quite long fancy nails while working in the lab. This topic was the object of a discussion in UNISON (University of Sonora). The arguments included the respect of the person to use that type of nails. However, it was also commented that it is a risk for those who use those fantasy nails and also for those who are working around in the lab.
What is your opinion about it? Have you implemented any policy in this regard?
Best regards,
Rossy
Dra. Clara Rosal=C3=ADa =C3=81lvarez Ch=C3=A1vez
Profesora de Tiempo Completo
Universidad de Sonora
Hermosillo, Son. Me´xico
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