Comment on YSK: The Lethal Danger Of Combining Welding And Brake Cleaner
JASN_DE@feddit.org 1 day ago
phosgene
Fun fact 1: has been used in WW1 as a chemical weapon. Nasty stuff.
Fun fact 2: not everyone is able to smell phosgene gas, so if you work in a chemical plant where phosgene might be around your employer usually does a smell test before you’re allowed in.
acockworkorange@mander.xyz 1 day ago
I was taught that if you’re in facility that uses phosgene as raw material and smell freshly cut grass, you have a day or two to say your goodbyes.
Canonical_Warlock@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 hours ago
Normally phosgene isn’t quite that deadly. If you catch it full concentration then you’re in for a bad time as your lungs start blistering but that definitely isn’t something that happens from a small leak unless its also in a confined space. I’ve gotten a face full of phosgene a few times on the job and you definitely notice it. Idk what it smells like because to me it just smells like pain. It feels like you just took a huff off a bottle of drain cleaner. If you get hit with enough of it, it’ll leave you short of breath and your chest burning but the only time I ever got hit with that much was the time I took a plasma cutter to an old refrigerant can I had forgotten to purge with nitrogen first while working in a closed garrage.
Suffice it to say, you would definitely know it if you got exposed to any significant amount of phosgene.
JASN_DE@feddit.org 21 hours ago
Unless there’s a massive leak it will oftentimes work out fine, IF the medical services are on top of it early. Everyone entering a facility which uses or contains phosgene will have to wear an indicator strip which tells you the exposure level and will be used as a treatment decision help.
acockworkorange@mander.xyz 21 hours ago
Thanks, that’s good to know. Still not setting foot on one. Would rather work with nuclear.