How to kill yourself with brake cleaner

[Pedrostt500]

bored

hes American , the roads are big , the cars are big the symptoms are big ,,,

as uncle choppa would say HTFU

next they will be saying something stupid like Asbestos causes headaches


Stephen

I don't mind an American being a Geunie Pig, but would like to keep a few Kiwi's alive so they don't make the same mistake. But if you would like to prove yourself as a hard man be my geust and take a good snort of Phosgene gas.

[fliplid]

Not nice stuff!

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/phosgene/basics/facts.asp

[Naki Rat]

So many stupid warnings these days we tend not to read or understand the important ones

Wow! That's very handy to know, you'd think they'd make the warning label a tad bolder, makes cigarettes look a bit tame....

Spot on Gareth51, as cs363's post would confirm. It only takes a look at any product or machine imported from the USA to see the ridiculous level of warnings that are now commonplace due largely to their thriving liability litigation industry.

Example here is the increasing practice of company and other vehicles driving with headlights permanently on. It loses its effect when everybody does it, so do we then install roof beacons on all vehicles?

How about we start reimposing common sense and self responsibility?

[Brian d marge]

I don't mind an American being a Geunie Pig, but would like to keep a few Kiwi's alive so they don't make the same mistake. But if you would like to prove yourself as a hard man be my geust and take a good snort of Phosgene gas.

I am not coming out of the office.... that's what Americans are for , I ll take the lost earning out of their pay !

you wonder why a few more haven't been poisoned
if it was that easy to do?

Stephen

[Pixie]

Yes they are there for a reason but how offten are they over looked, and offten the chemical compistions for some products you need to have a dotorate of chemistery to understand, as Argon is the comon inert gas or part make up of gasses used, when TIG or MIG welding, knowing that adding heat and Argon to common break cleaner, would make a leathal cocktail of gasses, is not some thing the average person would know.

Sometimes you even need to be literate and to spell well.

I note that the idiot who poisoned himself implied that clear non-pungent urine was a bad thing,and not just a result of being well hydrated.
But,then,I suppose he'd never been in that state before.

[tri boy]

Good post/thread pedrostt500.
Making such dangers aware to home mechanics, and professionals is wise.
I once suffered quite a bad reaction from gas cutting galanised piping, (large culverts that needed trimming) when I was younger. Not pleasant.

[The Stranger:Me]

Yes they are there for a reason but how offten are they over looked, and offten the chemical compistions for some products you need to have a dotorate of chemistery to understand, as Argon is the comon inert gas or part make up of gasses used, when TIG or MIG welding, knowing that adding heat and Argon to common break cleaner, would make a leathal cocktail of gasses, is not some thing the average person would know.

Fark, pretty freaky. Yesterday I had to mig weld in an engine bay covered in oil. Cleaned it up with brake cleaner first. Being it was an engine bay I ensured it was thoroughly free of brake cleaner before proceeding, fark you never know what could have been eh?

[Motu]

Most brake cleaners these days don't contain that stuff...but it pays to read the label.We stopped using that stuff when they gave warnings about birth defects.For the past 10 years or more I have been using bulk brake cleaner,and spraying with a Sureshot - it's just Stodard Solvent...Britolite,Shellite or some other brand.Still,I don't often clean oil off what I'm welding,the heat will do that.

I've breathed in heaps of zinc fumes from welding galv,and I remember the sweet taste of lead doing valve grinds.Not often I get the sweet taste these days,but it's a wake up call if I do - you can't see the lead,but you can taste it.Kids can too - that's why they used to eat lead based paint.

About 20 years ago we got warnings about brake cyl cups - if you burn then it turns into some sort of acid that never stops....goes right through to the bone and keeps going....

[marty]

how, as a welder, would you not know this?

heat vs chemicals, it's all bad for you.

[lb99]

while soldering something (a new pipe maybe ) using the electric stove as a heat source, I spilled some Duzzel on the element, and copped a lung full of smoke from it.
I thought it was all over that day, instantly puked my guts and collapsed on the floor, whole body seemed dead, I felt soo sick for a few minutes, almost called an ambo....

[AllanB]

Good post.

Super glue is another bad one if used to temporarily hold metal together while welding. Lots of smoke from a small drop and it contains arsenic in it.

[klingon]

while soldering something (a new pipe maybe ) using the electric stove as a heat source, I spilled some Duzzel on the element, and copped a lung full of smoke from it.
I thought it was all over that day, instantly puked my guts and collapsed on the floor, whole body seemed dead, I felt soo sick for a few minutes, almost called an ambo....

This is the bit that gets me... you almost called an ambo? And the guy in the linked story had all kinds of neurological and other symptoms for days and days before he got checked out?!

Crikey, if I was suffering even one of those symptoms I would be off to the doctor quick as I could. I think that might be the real lesson here!

[Ixion]

Chemistry's a bit dicky. Argon is an inert gas. Doesn't react with anything at room temperatures and pressures. Not implicated at all.

Any organochloride (chloroform, dry cleaning fluid, brake cleaner) will react in the presence of heat and oxygen to produce some amount of phosgene , COCl2. The reaction will be accelrated by ultra violet radiation (profusely produced by an arc welder, it's what gives you arc eye).

Phosgene's nasty stuff. As in , dead. Best not to go there .

The Duzall is a different thing. Hydrochloic acid and zinc chloride. When heated the HCl breaks down to release chlorine gas Cl2. Nasty , but not as nasty as phosgene. Just rots your lungs in large doses. But if you're on your feet enough to call an ambo you don't need one. HTFU.

I chlorinated myself liberally today with hypochlorite, same reaction. Fortunately chlorine doesn't have much effect on me (Sulphur dioxide is another matter - if I'm ever around that stuff call the ambo *now* - I worked with all these things for years).

Zinc fumes are not good for you, but not real bad. What *is* bad is that the galvanizing metal usually contains small amounts of cadmium and antomony. Those are **real** bad . Dead, bad. Which is why welding galvanized metal is a bit dodgy. Though I done it many times, and I only died a few times.

You sometimes encounter cadmium plated articles (nuts and bolts especially). Looks like zinc plating , but duller and a more even "battleship" grey. Don't try to weld or heat anything with cadmium on it. Just DON'T, OK?

[Ixion]

About 20 years ago we got warnings about brake cyl cups - if you burn then it turns into some sort of acid that never stops....goes right through to the bone and keeps going....

Early forms of teflon. Teflon is a fluoro polymer. Contains fluorine. Like chlorine but a zillion times worse (yep, same fluorine they put in our water. Nice ) . In the presence of heat the organfluorines break down to form hydrofluoric acid. Which, as you note, just keeps on dissolving. Dissolving you that is. No way to stop it other than immediate amputation. Only thing worse is plutonium.

[Brett]

Shit that is a bit scary. I must admit I am often guilty of not reading the warnings on cans etc. 4ppm is nothing, yet could be a fatal dose...wonder wat shit could go down with other chemicals....