Chemicals/safety concern
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Question
I am a teacher who recently did an experiment in a high school classroom. we placed a few small pieces of lithium metal in water and as the reaction proceeded, a few of the students, as well as myself, noticed a tickle in our throats that made us cough. We quickly ventilated the room and everyone was fine, but is there a safety concern here that I am unaware of ?
Yes, there is a big safety concern. Any reaction of this sort must be done in a hood or at least behind a blast shield in a well ventilated area or both with the students no where close to it. I would say at least 5-6 feet. What you probably experienced was the release of lithium oxides or more likely you were using lithium with an oil covering and it was vaprized oil.
For this type of demo, I recommend just showing them a video of the process. There have been too many accidents with those not experience in how to do it.
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Henry Boyter
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Experience in the area
Chemistry (non-biochemistry), environmental science, occupational health and safety, environmental regulation and management, environmental engineering, and wastewater engineering. I'm the Director of Environmental, Health, and Safety and the Director of Research at the Institute of Textile Technology.
Experience
Chemistry (non-biochemistry), environmental science, occupational health and safety, environmental regulation and management, environmental engineering, and wastewater engineering. I'm the Director of Environmental, Health, and Safety and the Director of Research at the Institute of Textile Technology.
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