The fear of lye

[DMTripper]

Why are people so afraid of lye. Isn't lye just a very strong base? I mean if you mix it with hydrochloric acid you get what, salt, water and hydrogen!
Diluted it's not harmful is it? It's not poisonous.
It's even used in the food industry.

 

[soulfood]

Well it's used to make soap, but I wouldn't lather it up all over myself.

I've never had mass exposure to a strong NaOH solution, but a couple of times I've got a little on my finger tip and half-assedly washed with water a little, then an hour later had some rather fucked up chalky looking finger prints.

Get that shit in your eye and your fucked... basically.

 

[Bill Cipher]

Oh, I dunno... maybe because it can burn you horribly or blind you for life.

Just a guess.

 

[DoingKermit]

I am sure it could blind someone quite easily. State of the Mind had a rough experience not too long ago with lye... Bad Day. =[ - STB - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus

 

[Phantastica]

when i added a bunch of lye to water, it started bubbling and splashing out..and i got 2-3 drops on my hand. i wasn't wearing gloves, and i got 3 tiny red burns (the size of droplets). that shit stung like a bitch for a couple days, but was soon healed. since then, i don't even wanna know what a larger amount can do to my eyes.
so im scared of lye cuz i love my eyes, and i like to use them to see the world around me:d

 

[soulfood]

Here's those lovely warning shots for ya people.

WARNING: Graphic lye burn links!

http://www.oftalmo.com/seo/archivos/maquetas/A/5BFBFF11-C25C-4249-B32D-00001FE1F6DA/f04-05.jpg

http://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/eyeforum/atlas/photos/lye-burn.jpg

I know....


Damn!

 

[Eden]

I had an incident with lye a few months ago....unfortunately in the eye.
Single drop of ~13ph, flushing within 3 seconds, neutralizing with vinegar, etc.

3 days of pain and the feeling of a foreign material in my eye...ended up being a glob of cacti mucus along for the ride. :?
Note that a difference exists between lye solution and lye beads....but this is highly dangerous stuff either way.

Always always wear eye protection, even when the task seems low risk. The alternative is terrible. Most likely the scariest, most terrible experience of my life.

 

[endlessness]

Soulfood, I edited your post and made them into links, better leave to each one to see the pics if they want, not everybody wants to unadvertedly see that.

Yes of course people, ALWAYS wear eye protection and gloves and all.. Thats a warning stated all over, in extraction teks, in our health and safety section, etc etc..

Just be conscious of what you're doing and no need for fear mongering. We could just as well post picture of stab wounds and talk about how knives are dangerous, but its all about how you'll use them... Be careful holding the knives, dont point them to yourself, dont run with them in your hands... Or also same with cars and the dangers, or anythign else.. Just be careful, know what security measures to take and you'll be fine.

 

[polytrip]

Lye is used by serial killers and mexican druglords to get rid of the dead body's they leave. It can completely dissolve a human body.

It's also present in the red mud that came from the hungarian aluminium factory. I wouldn't want to live in that area right now.

 

[hyperspacing]

There's nothing scary about lye as long as you show it respect. Just like all the chems and substances we work with. I honestly think "foodsafe" is just an excuse to perform sloppy chemistry.

 

[narmz]

I suggest if you are going to be storing lye for any period of time in solution, use a suitable plastic container (HDPE is good i think), instead of glass. Glass has a tendency to shatter and cause a huge mess when lye is stored for a long period or with sharp temperature changes.

 

[benzyme]

we store 6 N NaOH in glass bottles in the lab. haven't seen one shatter yet.

 

[obliguhl]

Not saying that movies = reality, but do watch Fight Club. :?

 

[Entropymancer]

we store 6 N NaOH in glass bottles in the lab. haven't seen one shatter yet.

Yeah, but that's borosilicate glass, isn't it? Glass bottles are the norm for storing lye solutions in the lab, but canning jars (Ball or Mason or whatever) are a far cry from the glass bottles used in lab storage.

 

[DMTripper]

There's nothing scary about lye as long as you show it respect. Just like all the chems and substances we work with. I honestly think "foodsafe" is just an excuse to perform sloppy chemistry.

Exactly.

 

[Metanoia]

There's nothing scary about lye as long as you show it respect. Just like all the chems and substances we work with. I honestly think "foodsafe" is just an excuse to perform sloppy chemistry.

Exactly.

The reason I am more attracted to "food-safe" teks rather than teks which employ lye is safety. You could call me a "sloppy" chemist, or just an amateur. I'd rather not have an accident with something so deadly when I can use safer materials and achieve almost the same result.

I've read about extractions for years now, and it wasn't until I started seeing teks which didn't employ lye that I got excited and decided to give it a go. Lye is dangerous, there's no question, and I'm not a confident chemist as of yet.

 

[jamie]

"I honestly think "foodsafe" is just an excuse to perform sloppy chemistry."

:d hmmm..maybe pull your head out of your ass? Do you also think recycling is an excuse to perform slopy waste management and that organic food is an excuse for sloppy eating habits? Thats one of the most arrogant(and stupid) things Ive read in a while. Why?..becasue there is no context for your statement..its a cop-out-if you would rather support the use of naptha and xylene disposal then limonene which is 100% environmentally friedly than that is your thing..but dont come here and assume that everyone else here has not thought about it and only uses these other things becasue they are "sloppy" and have not already or cant do the other teks..it makes your egotistical attitute towards others come off as extrememly unappealing.

 

[narmz]

Thats one of the most arrogant(and stupid) things Ive read in a while.

amen

 

[DMTripper]

"I honestly think "foodsafe" is just an excuse to perform sloppy chemistry."

:d hmmm..maybe pull your head out of your ass? Do you also think recycling is an excuse to perform slopy waste management and that organic food is an excuse for sloppy eating habits? Thats one of the most arrogant(and stupid) things Ive read in a while. Why?..becasue there is no context for your statement..its a cop-out-if you would rather support the use of naptha and xylene disposal then limonene which is 100% environmentally friedly than that is your thing..but dont come here and assume that everyone else here has not thought about it and only uses these other things becasue they are "sloppy" and have not already or cant do the other teks..it makes your egotistical attitute towards others come off as extrememly unappealing.

Lye is not toxic to the environment so this comparison with disposing naptha is stupid and arrogant.

 

[gibran2]

Let’s not forget that the “safe” alternative to sodium hydroxide is still a corrosive, strong base. Here’s an excerpt from the MSDS for Calcium Hydroxide:

Inhalation:
Causes irritation to the respiratory tract. Symptoms may include coughing, shortness of breath. Can cause chemical bronchitis.
Ingestion: :
Gastric irritant. Ingestion may be followed by severe pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and collapse. If death does not occur in 24 hours, esophageal perforation may occur, as evidenced by fall in blood pressure and severe pain. A narrowing of the esophagus may occur weeks, months, or years after ingestion, making swallowing difficult.
Skin Contact: :
Corrosive. May cause severe burns and blistering, depending on duration of contact.
Eye Contact: :
Corrosive. May produce severe irritation and pain. May induce ulcerations of the corneal epithelium. Can cause blindness.

Some people seem to think that calcium hydroxide is perfectly safe. This can lead to complacency and accidents. All of the precautions that one takes with sodium hydroxide should also be taken with calcium hydroxide (gloves, eye protection, etc.)