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How dangerous actually is lye?

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Xenogears

Xenogears

Rising Star
Here is a hypothetical question or two if somebody more knowledgable doesn't mind answering or discussing. :idea:

Lets say someone were to hypothetically use a STB method with lye and naphtha to extract some DMT out of MHRB (crazy idea I know right, who would wanna do that :lol: )

You would obviously never want to bring any lye at all when you pulled the naphtha out.

What if someone were to accidently get a tiny bit? Lets say that person had a fat tray of white fluffy pure DMT crystals except in one or two spots on one side of the dish there were small dots (about the size that quickly tapping a ball point pen on a piece of paper would make, or even smaller) of red that were obviously a tiny tiny tiny TINY amount of naphtha.

Would scraping the whole tray AROUND those two specks be safe? and then scraping the lye dots up and disposing of them and cleaning the tray thoroughly before using again?

Would a piece of lye that teeny tiny really contaminate a whole tray?

How dangerous is lye to get on the skin?

Also how dangerous is naphtha? Like if someone were to let it evaporate in their house? Would the naphtha evaporating in a basement cause health problems upstairs for people breathing it in? How dangerous is this? Cause cancer dangerous?

Lol sorry if I come off as ignorant, just trying to figure out how dangerous exactly this process is that so many people seem to do :D thanks!
 
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naptha isn't known to cause cancer, though proper ventilation is generally a good practice.
NaOH hydrolyzes the phospholipid bilayer in skin, literally turning it to soap. the damage it does to eyes is even worse, they'll actually melt in your eye sockets (i'm not kidding).

it's a good practice to wear gloves and eye goggles when handling lye.
have some vinegar nearby to neutralize any spills.
 
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Encountering two tiny spots of lye,bark,water solution brought up accidently is not hazardous, handling them the way you did is just fine.

I recommend wearing safety glasses when doing this. Any ammount of lye can burn you and I mean burn you bad if you get it in your eyes or in contact with mucus memrane. It will also burn you skin. It is good practice to keep a bottle of vinegar around to neutralize any accidental lye spills.

The procedure you describe for getting rid of the two dots of lye sounds fine to me.

If you suspect that your final product is contaminated then re-crystalize using warm naphtha.

In order for your naphtha, that you are using downstairs, to be dangerous to people upstairs, you pretty much gotta ignite it somehow. I am assuming you are probably using a small 1qt can of it?

Well lets say you were using a gallon, which is a ridiculosly large ammount. If you put it in a large open container and heated it up you could get enough vapors in the room you are working in to reach the, LEL, or lower explosive limit and cause a fire that could travel upstairs. In an average size home say 1400sq ft your probably not going to be able to produce enough fumes with that ammount to travel upstairs and be a flammability hazard. People upstairs will probably smell it.

Breathing in naphtha fumes is not good for you. You should always use it in a well ventilated area. Your probably not going to get cancer and die from breathing it in once in a while. I would suggest you dont make a practice of it.

Both of the items you mention, naphtha and lye are extremely safe to use if you take the proper precautions when using them. Any info you need regarding safety when using these items can be found on this web site.

Be safe,

ihs
 
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imPsimon said:
What kind of vinegar works? Is rice vinegar (for making sushi rice) 4.2% acetic acid any good?
Click to expand...

most likely, although there may be a mystery alkaloid that has the same properties of DMT only found in RICE vinegar..... not likely though.

SWIM uses 5% white vinegar. like $1.50 for 2 litres.
 
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q21q21 said:
Although SWIM has got lye on his hands many times and just washed it off with a little vinegar in water, he threw out his lye after finding lime works way better, easier and when SWIM feels like it he mixes with his fingers just for fun.


(shameless plug)
Click to expand...

Very smart move.

I will NOT allow lye in my home. PERIOD! It's way too dangerous of a chemical.

All it takes is a little tiny bit to get in your eyes and you could go permanently blind from it. We all make mistakes.

Ever cut a chili pepper and forget you cut one, and then wipe your eyes! OUCH! Well, imagine doing something like that with lye accidentally! The possibility of going blind from a tiny mistake is pretty serious.
 
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If your careful enough then its fine, glasses a must, but when you get it wrong, it goes wrong, just make sure you got the right tools to clean up a chemical mess, not just regular dirt.

R&R
L
 
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No matter how careful people are they still make mistakes. It's part of being human.

You could have on goggles, a gas mask, gloves, lab coat, etc., and accidentally spill some concentrated lye on your shoe and not notice it. Then after working, you take off your goggles, gloves, lab coat, and then your shoes, touch the lye on your shoe, not knowing it's there, then wipe your eyes! If you can't wash it out fast enough, you'll go blind.

It's the mistakes you don't think you're going to make that get you.

Why take chances with lye when other safer bases can be used?
 
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Yes use other bases' is well and good. But when making a descions people do not always choice with that choice because its the safest. Alot of time it comes down to what is avalible, cost effectivness.

Chemistry is not all safe as houses, you take a risk doing it.

Try act proffessional, keep work space clean and everything carefully done. Wear the eye proection the gloves etc, you will be fine.

If you dont take proper steps for hazard control then your kinda of shooting yourself in the foot.

If you dont even think about safety, then dont even bother to do an extract or chemistry standard.
Not saaying dont use lye because its bad, or do use lye because its good.
But dont be put off by it just because hazardous substance, unless the country your in it is watched.

R&R
L
 
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69ron said:
No matter how careful people are they still make mistakes. It's part of being human.

You could have on goggles, a gas mask, gloves, lab coat, etc., and accidentally spill some concentrated lye on your shoe and not notice it. Then after working, you take off your goggles, gloves, lab coat, and then your shoes, touch the lye on your shoe, not knowing it's there, then wipe your eyes! If you can't wash it out fast enough, you'll go blind.

It's the mistakes you don't think you're going to make that get you.

Why take chances with lye when other safer bases can be used?
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Dear 69ron,

Not all members on this forum are actually humans, so this shouldn't be too much of an issue for us non-humans, as we don't generally make mistakes. I for example am a intergalactic time traveling being. I have no eyes and infinite vision with many many senses. Naturally, being visually impaired is no serious concern of mine. I know of God-like beings and angels who also use these chemicals. But I suppose for you humans, it might be a good idea for you to shy away from dangerous chemicals.

Sincerely, TrigZu
 
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As to clarify for naptha, it is not a known carcinogen, but inhalation of the fumes can cause Central Nervous System depression, disruption, and irritation, as is the case with most hydrocarbon solvents. After working with evaporating naptha for over an hour, you may notice headaches as a common first symptom. Serious inhalation exposure (purposeful inhalation, large spills, etc) can cause nausea, blurred vision, confusion, ataxia (loss of motor coordination) and general malaise. Please be careful and use proper ventilation. I suggest a large room fan placed in the window (pointing OUTWARDS), along with a smaller fan aimed at the naptha.
 
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