Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Rhodamine B

borrowedlawyer - 6-1-2013 at 22:53

Today I was working with rhodamine b and some fell on my nitrile glove and I thought nothing of it. However, it turns out it must have penetrated the glove as my hands are pink!

I have removed the pink coloration by washing my hands for ages. What are the effects of this one time exposure, wikipedia and MSDS seem unclear however some report it as a possible carcinogen, do you think I would have had significant exposure?

Also when I washed down my work bench it had pink spots! It says it is decomposed by chlorine, so would sodium hypochlorite solution decompose it?

This is the first time I have had an accident like this.

kavu - 6-1-2013 at 22:57

Rhodamine b is notorious for it's staining properties even in very small quantities. It will fade over time, don't worry too much. Scrubbing with aq. HCl should help to get rid of the spots on your bench.

K12Chemistry - 7-1-2013 at 13:14

your fine it will fade over time

kristofvagyok - 7-1-2013 at 13:36

Quote: Originally posted by borrowedlawyer  
What are the effects of this one time exposure, wikipedia and MSDS seem unclear however some report it as a possible carcinogen, do you think I would have had significant exposure?

.....

This is the first time I have had an accident like this.

Your will probably die in 2-5 days.
-just joking :D

Rhodamine B is a widely used laser dye and a perfect marker used in biology.
It is almost non toxic. You won't get any cancer or any other thing from that amount, don't be afraid(:

borrowedlawyer - 8-1-2013 at 00:58

Ok, thank you to all of you for the advise. But what sort of gloves should I wear to prevent it going through them or is not preventable without getting on your gloves?

[Edited on 8-1-2013 by borrowedlawyer]

Urzah - 9-1-2013 at 06:13

I do use Rhodamine B each year a few times for chemical demonstrations with kids. Its a very strong colouring agent, so I use an already stained labcoat and nitrile gloves. Even with care, I do stain myself as only a tiny grain of this product, not visible with eyes will stain. Washing the glassware or just removing the gloves I often stain myself.

But it never get through the gloves. I wonder how much Rhodamine you use...

So if you stain yourself, dont panic just wash and wait for the color to get away. MSDS are nice but you must consider it for intense contact, not ponctual ones.

You must be careful with chemistry, but not being afraid of it.