I was etching a PCB a few minutes ago. I thought I'd beef up the FeCl3 with a little HCl so I went in the other room, got the bottle and opened it. On my back to the kitchen sink where I was doing the etching I tripped, splashed a little of the HCl into my face (luckily the cap was still partly on) and dropped the bottle. A little of the acid went into my left eye so I put my head under the tap and flushed the eye out thoroughly. Of course, I shouldn't have removed the cap until I was at the sink. I suppose I ought to get the eye checked, but I can see perfectly out of it, although it's a little sore, so I won't bother. The effect was like peeling onions, but a *lot* worse. Onions generate H2SO4 when the juice gets into the eyes, same sort of effect. It's 30% HCl, BTW, quite concentrated. Leon
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HCl - a cautionary tale!
2004-06-23 by leon_heller
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