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Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Horror stories
Date: Saturday, October 17, 2020 at 8:21:18 AM
Author: Monona Rossol <0000030664c37427-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU> 		Next by Date:
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] nitric acid distillation
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2020 11:05:38 -0400
Author: pzavon**At_Symbol_Here**ROCHESTER.RR.COM

From: John Callen <jbcallen**At_Symbol_Here**GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Horror stories
Date: Sat, 17 Oct 2020 09:54:24 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: 2A0BE206-EB9E-4BF5-821F-3778E6C47654**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com
In-Reply-To


ALL,

As horror stories go, the classic one I like to tell relates simply to acids and bases.

I am sure most of you know or remember that J. T. .Baker has the color-coded caps for the 2.5L glass bottles of various concentrated acids and bases, e.g., Ammonium Hydroxide = green, Hydrochloric Acid = blue, Nitric Acid = Orange and Sulfuric Acid =  Yellow, etc.

I once saw a technician walking down a ramp carrying a green capped bottle in one hand and a blue capped bottle in the other.  All of a sudden and when he lost his balance,  the bottles went flying and crashing onto the floor immediately forming a cloud of Ammonium Chloride.  Fortunately for the technician that he fell forward and the bottles flew backward.  In the final analysis, the technician was in a hurry and didn't follow the safety protocol to jacket the bottles and secure then onto a cart before transporting them from the stockroom to the lab.

Be Safe and Stay Well!

All My Best,

John B. Callen, Ph.D
3M Personal Safety Division - Retired
ACS/DCHAS Founding Member
(312) 632-0195



On Oct 17, 2020, at 5:23 AM, Daniel Kuespert <0000057d3b6cd9b7-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU> wrote:

Reminds me of the Lab Safety Institute's three-volume series "Learning By Accident." Lots of horror stories in there. I used it as a source for an "Incident of the Week" in class, even.

Regards,
Dan

Daniel Reid Kuespert, PhD, CSP
11101 Wood Elves Way
Columbia, MD 21044
410-992-9709

On Oct 16, 2020, at 22:07, davivid <davivid**At_Symbol_Here**WELL.COM> wrote:

This thread about nitric acid distillation got me thinking.

One thing that I think would be useful, educational, and entertaining is a collection of laboratory "Horror Stories". I'm sure every experienced chemist has a few. These could be a means of motivating and educating the public as well as other chemists. Think of these as chemistry "morality tales". No obtuse jargon, no lengthy analysis. Just some good old fashioned story telling. Youtube channel anyone?

A couple of my favorites

A low boiling solvent condensed in a liquid nitrogen cooled trap. When the dewar was removed the twisted vacuum tubing flipped the trap upside down sending the cold solvent into the rotary vacuum pump that had been running overnight. The overpressure created by flash boiling when the solvent hit the hot oil split the pump casing at the casting seam.


Another one

There was an attempt to grind a material in a ball mill. Unfortunately the material was too soft. So the researcher added liquid nitrogen, sealed up the heavy ceramic ball mill and proceeded to grind as usual. Fortunately they mentioned their cleverness to a supervisor who promptly had everyone get to safety before the inevitable explosion.


Cheers!
Dave Lane
Principal
Clavis Technology Development

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