its me!
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picric acid toxicity
I was making some picric acid, and some solution of it got on my skin because of bad glove.... anyway i want to ask about its toxicity (i know its
toxic, but not much more) and if i will get cancer from it.
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woelen
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A one-time exposure will not immediately lead to cancer. I would not worry too much about that. It is like smoking cigarettes. Smoking a single
cigarette also does not lead to cancer, it only gives a tiny increase of the chance that you will develop cancer.
A more realistic risk is acute toxicity. Lookup its acute toxicity.
What is important is the size of the exposed spot and the length of time of the exposure. If it only is brief exposure (a minute or so) before you
rinsed it away and the exposed area is just a few square cm, then I would not worry at all. If the exposure is on a large part of your hand and the
exposure has been for tens of minutes in that glove, then it is wise to lookup its acute toxicity.
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its me!
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Quote: Originally posted by woelen
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|| A one-time exposure will not immediately lead to cancer. I would not worry too much about that. It is like smoking cigarettes. Smoking a single
cigarette also does not lead to cancer, it only gives a tiny increase of the chance that you will develop cancer.
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|| A more realistic risk is acute toxicity. Lookup its acute toxicity.
|| What is important is the size of the exposed spot and the length of time of the exposure. If it only is brief exposure (a minute or so) before you
rinsed it away and the exposed area is just a few square cm, then I would not worry at all. If the exposure is on a large part of your hand and the
exposure has been for tens of minutes in that glove, then it is wise to lookup its acute toxicity.
Thanks, i had it on hand for qite long time, but it was just few sqare cm ( about 3 sqare cm) on 2 fingers.
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Herr Haber
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Quote: Originally posted by its me!
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|| I was making some picric acid, and some solution of it got on my skin because of bad glove.... anyway i want to ask about its toxicity (i know its
toxic, but not much more) and if i will get cancer from it.
Now find a UV light and look at yourself 
It's not that toxic, dont worry. It was / is used on live animals (rabbits afaik)
I once had some on the ear. My biologist friend couldnt stop laughing. The UV light is perfect to show spills.
The spirit of adventure was upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn what the words 'act upon' meant. - Ira Remsen
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Tdep
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Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber
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The UV light is perfect to show spills.
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Are you saying picric acid is fluorescent? Does it glow yellow under UV light?
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Herr Haber
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Quote: Originally posted by Tdep
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|| Are you saying picric acid is fluorescent? Does it glow yellow under UV light?
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That's what I remembered but was wrong.
I remember now the light came from one of those crappy leds from the beginning of the century with a blueish tint not a UV light.
In fact... I just used several leds, including UV in search for very old spots on the bench.
With normal lighting the stain is invisible unless you know it's there. A strong cool light washes it out, warmer white is slightly better but UV
actually makes it look a very dark red that stands out from the wood.
And from skin.
I had to double check 
The spirit of adventure was upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn what the words 'act upon' meant. - Ira Remsen
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teodor
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UV light is carcinogenic
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unionised
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Picric acid was formerly used as a burn medication.
The patients generally survived repeated large exposure.
It's not good to get it on your skin, but it's unlikely to do any harm
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teodor
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It's funny that nowadays we should distinguish between "really toxic" and "people of certain category say that it is toxic", "real carcinogenic" and
"people say it could be carcinogenic". I believe that if somebody will ask those people to study oxygen (O2) by their methods they will find that it
is highly toxic, carcinogenic and oxidizing also.
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Herr Haber
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Quote: Originally posted by teodor
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|| It's funny that nowadays we should distinguish between "really toxic" and "people of certain category say that it is toxic", "real carcinogenic"
and "people say it could be carcinogenic". I believe that if somebody will ask those people to study oxygen (O2) by their methods they will find that
it is highly toxic, carcinogenic and oxidizing also.
It's funny like broad statements.
Quote: Originally posted by teodor
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|| UV light is carcinogenic
Somehow, I'm less worried about my LED's than say.... a bulb to sterilize water.
The spirit of adventure was upon me. Having nitric acid and copper, I had only to learn what the words 'act upon' meant. - Ira Remsen
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