Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: Milling Glass

Tom Eldredge wrote:

> I have heard of hydroflouric acid getting on a hand, and then before its
> affects were arrested, the user had his arm surgically removed from the
> shoulder. I am not a chemist, but worked once in the hazardous waste
> industry where this occured. The "user" was the truck driver dumping the
> sludge which contained the acid. Maybe someone can give a more technical
> response.

Yes, a HF burn is quite severe. If you detect it right away, there are treatments
that can arrest the damage, but there will still be a lot of tissue damage. If you
don't arrest it with alkali applications, and sometimes alkali injections, then it
just keeps burrowing deeper until it gets into the bones. It seeps through the
bones, burning and poisoning the bone marrow. Apparently, some HF burns
are not immediately painful, so people shrug them off, and continue working.
Hours later, it starts to give immense pain, but by then, real damage has
started, and it is beyond the arresting treatments. Sometimes, they can
cut down and remove the HF contaminated tissue, but if you let it go
too long, amputation is necessary to avoid Fluoride toxicity. I think the
bones are slowly turned into Calcium Fluoride, which in modest doses
becomes poisonous.

Jon