Eugene,
You truly have an interesting live. I love your stories.
Imke
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> on behalf of Eugene Ngai <eugene_ngai**At_Symbol_Here**COMCAST.NET>
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Date: Saturday, July 27, 2019 at 3:13 AM
To: <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Is lead sheeting a source of lead dust? And-Chemical Exposure question...
Someone mentioned what they should do with chlorine trifluoride which is violently water reactive. For some of you that have attended my training classes over the years, one of the more memorable videos is ClF3 dripping onto a chicken leg
and explosions all over the skin where it landed. I did that to demonstrate how reactive it is.
In early 2000, Tokyo Electron developed a reactor system that used ClF3 as a cleaning gas. This created a market for ClF3 worldwide. Up until that time the only use was for uranium enrichment. All of a sudden we were faced with training
joint venture partners, users and emergency responders on how to deal with this gas safely. I directed a test program to better understand its behavior on PPE, metals and other materials both gas and liquid phase. I authored an article on this testing
Croll, D.W., Martrich, R. l., Ngai, E.Y., VanOmmeren, J., "Chlorine Trifluoride Exposure and Reactivity Study", Center for Chemical Process Safety Symposium, 2003
Of the over 200 gases I have handled in my career, it is the most reactive by far. I used the results of this testing to develop a training program that I use worldwide and to develop an ER kit to deal with it in an emergency. I am the
only remaining ClF3 trainer worldwide today that has hands on experience with the molecule. Just trainined 2 users in 2018. I investigated 14 major incidents involving it. One almost destroyed a $2 billion dollar 300 mm fab in 2004.
The real reason why I'm writing this is because one of the exposure tests was liquid onto Tyvek, a garment material they use in the cleanroom. 2 drops of liquid ClF3 did not react on a clean test piece so I decided to drip a drop of water
onto it. The hydrolysis reaction of ClF3 was the trigger to cause the ClF3 saturated Tyvek to detonate. The explosion was so intense that time stood still and the shock wave proceeded to take out my high end hearing. I now wear hearing aids as a result. For
those of you that have been in combat or explosions, you know what this is about
Think about a person being exposed and they get immediate irritation. They go straight to the safety shower! They could lose an arm!.
Eugene Ngai
Chemically Speaking LLC
www.chemicallyspeakingllc.com
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
On Behalf Of Eugene Ngai
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2019 1:27 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Is lead sheeting a source of lead dust? And-Chemical Exposure question...
A partial answer to your second question is
The old chemistry rule, Acid into water or water into acid?
If someone were to splash themselves with a strong acid, their saturated clothing must be removed and any liquid on their body removed before the safety shower. We had a chemist that was carrying a bottle of phosphorus oxychloride that
broke and saturate his lab coat. He immediately went to the safety shower. Water into acid reaction on his clothing was so exothermic that he got second degree burns on his chest. Water is fine with water reactive materials as long as most of it is removed
before the shower.
We had a second case where the technician was splashed with a water reactive material and did not remove her clothing. He was almost overcome with the diethylamine that was formed
In HazMat response they call it bikini burns when people do not completely remove their clothing before showering.
Eugene Ngai
Chemically Speaking LLC
www.chemicallyspeakingllc.com
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
On Behalf Of Margaret Rakas
Sent: Friday, July 26, 2019 12:06 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Is lead sheeting a source of lead dust? And-Chemical Exposure question...
So...two questions for Friday...
1) If you found a large stack of lead sheets...sitting in a storage area for some time (who knows how long!?)...would you be concerned about lead dust in the immediate area, say the surrounding floor? I understand that grinding, sanding,
filing, etc creates lead dust but this situation doesn't fit any of those...I cannot find any references so in case I'm imagining that just because it's soft, dust forms over time....I wanted to check...
2) A student asked me if there were any chemicals for which you would NOT want to use water in case of chemical exposure. I did a quick search and the Canadian CCOHS (their OSHA) advises "...Note that the manufacturer/supplier .. may recommend
an alternative agent in exceptional cases if water is clearly inappropriate." I have read plenty of SDS's in my time but have never seen an SDS state anything other than using water as the first step. Has anyone ever encountered any other initial instructions
for dermal or eye exposure? (Of course there may be additional steps AFTER water flushing, like use of calcium gluconate gel, etc)...
MANY THANKS and happy Friday to all!
Margaret
--
Margaret A. Rakas, Ph.D.
Lab Safety & Compliance Director
Clark Science Center
413-585-3877 (p)
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--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at
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