Does Anyone Here Use Hf For Prep?

[MikeD]

I used to work in a place that used it. The safety people put the fear of God into us about it. We were told that it can soak all the way in to the bone and mess you up pretty bad. I knew a guy that got one drop spilled on him. They hauled him out and treated him for quite a while. He did mention that it was painful.

I don't have anything else useful,although I did see it at the primary ingredient in a blood stain remover in the laundry section once. Don't know if they still sell that.

[Auspex]

'bobthemoose' is using a dangerous substance properly: for an appropriate purpose while employing all safety precautions.

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, KIDS!

If anyone reading this has experience pertaining to latent warning signs of accidental exposure to hydroflouric acid, please share them!

[bobthemoose]

Quote, However, Bob is trying to see if anyone else here has had a bad experience with the stuff and the warning signs of exposure.

My bold. That is one of the problems with the stuff, there can be no warning signs, until it is too late.

you are right. there can be no warning signs. the material is very dangerous stuff. i already knew that and i think we have made it abundantly clear in this thread to anyone else who was unaware - it's dangerous stuff.

but whats the more prudent position to be in?

-using the material while remaining ignorant of potential warning signs

-using the material while being as fully informed as possible to the potential risks, and possible indicators of exposure

If anyone else has input on the subject I'd heartily welcome it. I would however like to bury this particular horse.

[ozzyrules244]

i'll stick to my acetic acid short of drying your hands out and making you smell like a pickle I have had NO adverse reactions to it and it cleans my echinoids really well!!!

[TourmalineGuy]

This article is from the nanolab at UCLA, it should be informative. It does mention a number of symptoms and includes the fact that many of them are evident after its already too late, although in different words.

http://www.nanolab.ucla.edu/pdf/HF%20burns.pdf

Hope that helps!

Roddy

[dinodigger]

Wait. You guys don't add it to your coffee in the morning?

[Auspex]

Wait. You guys don't add it to your coffee in the morning?

Are you nuts? Coffee's bad for you!

[2ynpigo]

I used diluted HF to clean quartz crystals from the White Mountain Wilderness when it was legal to collect there. I used gloves and long sleeve shirts as my personal protective equipment (which is inadequate). I was always concerned about making a mistake, possibly getting splashed, worried about my kids and pets because I stored the stuff in my garage, and it was always a pain to neutralize even the "spent" acid.

A friend of mine got HF on his hand while cleaning his quartz (he didn't know how dangerous this "weak" acid is and took no precautions). He got a trip to the emergency room for it. It took about 4 hours or so for him to notice he had a chemical burn from the HF. By then he was in severe pain.

It is possible to die from a HF exposure. You can certainly be harmed by it. Do an internet search for "Material Safety Data Sheet HF". You can read all about exposure to HF and the symptoms.

As Auspex says, kids don't do this at home. Same applies to us adults (unless you accept the risk and wear appropriate PPE to protect yourself, and know how to dispose of the stuff safely after it's used). With this, I'm done.

[ashcraft]

Hydrofluroic Acid is actually a weak acid, meaning it does not fully disassociate in water to its ions. In that sense Hydrochloric is much stronger and more dangerous, sulfuric acid, or battery acid, is even more powerful, because it is diprotic, will form two H+ ions.

The problem with HF is that when it gets on your skin, it will absorb into your body, and when it gets inside of you, it will then disassociate into its ions. At that point you have an H+ ion floating around (pure acid)which will destroy (burn) any tissue it comes in contact with. The F- ion wreaks havoc upon you muscles/nerves, which function because of concentration gradients created by the cells in your body of Cl- and other anions. Fluorine is much more active then these other ions, and causes nerves to fire inappropriatly and muscles to spasm uncontrollably.

There is no treatment, once exposed you have to ride the wave until it breaks down or is eliminated from your system.

I have used HF is dissolving silicic rocks for total metal concentrations, etc, but if you are working on limestone, HCl is a better choice.

Like any chemical, it is dangerous if used incorrectly, and like any chemical, it is safe if used with proper safety gear, foresight and ventilation.

As for children using it, getting HF is not particularly easy, unlike an acetylene torch and a five gallon can of gasoline.

Me, I like the saying of Bert Gummer (?) "just a few household chemicals mixed in the correct proportions", like ammonia and a common disinfectant, which I use to make exploding fly paper.

Gotta love chemicals, youre made of 'em,

Brent Ashcraft

[Bootsie]

In a stone and marble restoration class I took I was told that Hydrofluoric acid will penetrate the skin and seek the bones and over time dissolve them. Will not burn the skin like Hydrochloric acid, but dissolve bones. Bad idea all around.