Now THAT, my dear Sammye, is consistent with what I remember from this period. The problem is chemists sometimes interpreted "rubber gloves" as "thin latex rubber examining gloves" and those are not equivalent. And strangely they seem to feel that all gloves should be made so that dexterity and tactile feelings are preserved. Sometimes that is just not doable and you need to find another way to get the chemical where you want it to go.
And "chemically impervious gloves" was the kind of liability-defensive wording on a lot of MSDSs at that time.
I used to have a lot of the early permeability charts from Pioneer, North, Ansell, and some of the other suppliers. I'm not sure, but I think there were some organic mercury compounds on them that might at least be thought of as analogous to dimethyl mercury. But every chart has somewhere on it a technical number to call if your chemical is not there or it is a mixture that you need some advice about. And that was what should have been done.
Again, we in the theater shops knew how to do this. My question always is in these cases, how's come youse guys .........?.
Monona
-----Original Message-----
From: Samuella Sigmann <sigmannsb**At_Symbol_Here**appstate.edu>
To: Monona Rossol <actsnyc**At_Symbol_Here**CS.COM>; DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU
Sent: Tue, Mar 22, 2022 11:55 am
Subject: Re: [External] Re: [DCHAS-L] OSHA materials on Karen Wetterhahn's mercury exposure
Chemists routinely consult material safety
data sheets compiled by chemical manufacturer and suppliers for
information about protections against specific chemicals. Three
material safety data sheets (MSDS) were available for
dimethylmercury. Alfa Aesar, the chemical supplier from whom
Wetterhahn bought the dimethylmercury, recommended "rubber
gloves." Organometallics, the company that manufactured the
dimethylmercury, recommended gloves made of the synthetic rubber
neoprene. Sigma Aldrich, the chemical supplier that produced the
third MSDS, recommended wearing "chemically impervious gloves."
However, "there is no such thing," says the College's health and
safety director, Michael Blayney. "No glove is completely
impermeable." The rates of permeability vary according to the
glove type and the chemical involved. Despite the recommendations
on the material safety data sheets, Blayney says, no one had
actually tested any kind of protective gloves to see how they
stood up to dimethylmercury.
I have not been able to find an archived MSDS, but did locate a NJ
Hazardous Fact Sheet from 1989.
Sammye
On 3/22/2022 11:06 AM, Monona Rossol
wrote:
I'd
be very interested in anything you find on this, James. And
when the chemical the glove is made from does not also include
the mil thickness, that is pretty useless information. If you
doubt this, look at Kimberly Clark's thin mill nitrile charts.
Most of those solvents go through in a minute or two.
Can anyone share a copy of the MSDS
that was from the actual DMM supplier? ... Jim
PS. The
CSB video said
that MSDS
recommended
latex gloves.
I have been
unable to
locate the
MSDS. I did
get one from
Strem Chemicals
from that
timeframe but
it did not say
that.
James A. Kaufman, PhD
Founder/President
Emeritus
The
Laboratory
Safety
Institute
(LSI)
A Nonprofit
Educational
Organization
for Safety in
Science,
Industry, and
Education
>And
wondering about Karen's gloves, were they
standard dry-box gloves or did she double glove
them inside of the glove-box with another type
of glove, as we sometimes double glove with our
disposable tactile gloves.
I believe that Dr. Wetterhahn was working in a
fume hood rather than a glove box on the
occasion of her mercury exposure. I assume that
she was using the fume hood to control the fire
hazard associated with the dimethyl mercury
(flashpoint = 5 degrees C), but the fume hood
does not add value with regard to dermal
toxicity hazards; and latex gloves add minimial
protective value as well. OSHA reports that the
dexterity value of the latex gloves led to that
choice. I believe that the OSHA presentation on
this event suggested that Silvershield gloves
were the only appropriate choice at that time.
One of the learning points I take from this
story is the challenge of working with chemicals
that present multiple hazards while balancing
chemical and human factors.
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail
list, contact the Divisional membership chair at
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list,
contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the
Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas
The content of this page reflects the personal opinion(s) of the author(s) only, not the American Chemical Society, ILPI, Safety Emporium, or any other party. Use of any information on this page is at the reader's own risk. Unauthorized reproduction of these materials is prohibited. Send questions/comments about the archive to secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org. The maintenance and hosting of the DCHAS-L archive is provided through the generous support of Safety Emporium.
