HF Exposure Questions: What Should I Do Now?

[Huck Mucus]

I am not a chemist or student. I made some stupid mistakes.

I did not read directions.

I used what I thought was compressed air to blow out a propane oven burner that I was cleaning. It contained difluoroethane CAS#75-37-6. When I went to re-light the pilot, there was an explosion. My glasses protected my eyes but the left glass was etched and there was minor scorching of hair on the left side of my head. I probably inhaled twice before getting to outside air. It was not propane. It was horrible and I knew I had to get out.

I did not take any of the recommended precautions, other than getting out of the kitchen and then airing the place out for a half hour.

Since I seem fine, I subsequently researched (internet) difluoroethane and its flammable breakdown to carbon monoxide and hydrogen fluoride. I then researched hydrogen fluoride to see what I had done to myself. It did not look good. Of particular concern is the potential for delayed reactions. It has been 42 hours and I still seem to be fine.

In my research, it seemed that a lot of potential for damage is conditioned upon time and amount of exposure. The time was about 5 seconds. The amount is hard for me to determine, especially in ppm. In an effort to blow out foreign matter, I sprayed into the ports along each side of a burned, about 18 inches to a side. I would guess I held the trigger down for about 5 seconds.

My questions are these. Since it has been 42 hours, is there anything I should be doing to clean the kitchen or myself? Does HF degrade or go away? Or is it still in the air and/or on surfaces? Based upon my description, is there a rough guess as to how many ppm of HF might have been generated and what that might mean for my health?

I’ve already stipulated to the fact I made stupid mistakes, so I was hoping I could get some input on the specific questions asked.

 

[.Scott]

I would be concerned with what you inhaled. My only concern would be lung and other internal damage. Anything on your skin would be apparent by now. And CO eventually makes its way out of your system. But get evaluated by a doctor immediately.

As far as the ppm, that's a bit like asking for the size of the bomb that just detonated. It might be interesting, but that's not the way to determine the amount of damage. Certainly any visible etching on you glasses is plenty enough evidence for potential internal injury.

As far as clean-up is concerned, here is an NIH weblink. Note that it is all about getting away and ventilating.

 

[berkeman]

But get evaluated by a doctor immediately.

I agree. Please call your doctor and try to make an appointment as soon as possible. If they can't see you for a couple of days, consider going to an Urgent Care facility near you. You need to have your lungs and eyes checked out.

 

[chemisttree]

You are probably fine given the time elapsed and your lack of acute symptoms. Most HF exposure that I am familiar with is exposure to the aqueous solution of HF. That can have delayed effects so be sure to consider the mode of exposure. I assume you showered shortly after the explosion? If so, and since you didn’t have any acute breathing issues, you are probably fine. Fluoride rapidly combines with calcium in your body and when it is present in large enough quantities can stop your heart.

Now to your accident… lets unpack this.
1. You “etched” your glasses. Are you sure you etched them? Most glasses nowadays are made of plastic. Could it be that you “heat treated” your plastic lenses and that caused the “etching”?
2. What was your potential exposure? No way of knowing for sure but we can do some estimating. I assume you were using canned air that contained R152a (difluoroethane). I assume you used about a third of a 10oz can. That is roughly 100grams. Of that 100 grams, about 60g is fluorine. If that was converted entirely to HF and the volume it was dispersed in post explosion was about 3 cubic meters, the average concentration would be 60,000 mg/3000 liters or about 20 ppm. I’m not saying that was what you breathed in but just doing an estimate here. Since exposure to 30 ppm is immediately hazardous, and our estimate is really close to that… you should probably see someone about this exposure.

And pop a few Tums just to be sure?

 

[Huck Mucus]

Thanks for all the input. I went to the emergicare and they sent me to ER and they called the poison control hotline and sent me home. Hopefully I dodged a bullet, learned a lesson and won't get hammered too hard by the hospital. FYI: I didn't call the hot line myself because I thought they'd freak and send me to the ER anyway. The Doc says they actually do the opposite and try to steer you away from the ER *if they can*. Next time, I'll call them right off. Caveat: I think everyone was not too concerned because of the 48 hours. Had I called right away, they might very well have told me to go in.

Anyway, again, thanks for the input. I read a lot before I even came here but I found nothing too revealing about my specific circumstances, how to judge exposure, and what is left in the environment, cloths, etc. That's why I popped in. Have a great new year.

 

[DaveE]

Sorry this happened to you. But... DON'T GO TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MEDICAL ADVICE. We aren't MDs. There is real value in their training to treat real people in real world situations. It doesn't matter if they remember their quantum mechanics class. They are specialists in dealing with situations like this. We are not, your facebook friends aren't either. You can explore google later, after you are evaluated by someone that knows more about this stuff than you, or us, or your friends, will ever understand.