Howdy folks,
Asking this question on behalf of a
colleague from another university (so if there are follow-up
questions, there may be a communications delay in answering
them):
What kinds of delayed reactions are known
for iodoacetic or concentrated sulfuric acid?
Here’s the background:
A graduate student was working with
concentrated sulfuric acid to acidify wastewater (wastewater
treatment plant effluent) samples, and spiking them with
iodoacetic acid (small quantities, since it was a spike). An
experienced student, who had done this before , she was
wearing nitrile gloves (the typical disposable type). To the
best of her knowledge, she had no skin contact with the
chemicals she was using and used proper glove removal
technique.
Approximately a day or so later, she
noticed a blistered looking patch on the back of her hand,
near the joint of the thumb and first finger bones – about the
size of a nickel. It spread, and by about four days after the
presumed exposure, covered approximately half of the back of
the hand. On-campus medical referred to a more experienced
doctor, who ended up referring the student to a hospital with
burn expertise (including chemical burns). The campus EH&S
felt the response was due to the sulfuric or maybe the
iodoacetic acids; the hospital agreed it looked like a
chemical burn. The assumption is that acid penetrated the
gloves or fell off the gloves onto skin during removal.
Treatment ended up including cadaver skin transplant; the
student seems to be recovering well and doing fine. However,
all involved would like a better understanding of what might
have happened.
Information related to the question above,
or other ideas as to what else you might consider checking for
possibilities, is welcomed.
Thanks,
Sue
___________________________________
Susan D. Wiediger, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
swiedig**At_Symbol_Here**siue.edu
618-650-3088
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