Warning to those who use brake cleaner

[Travis Miller]

Originally Posted by sc4400

Welllllll.............a little perspective.

I worked in the largest single site Phosgene plant in the world for 27 years. It killed 2 good men in that time and one other was permanantly disabled. HOWEVER, they were hit with a staggering dose (refered to as a lethal dose in training). way beyond 4 ppm. We wore monitors and dosing badges. It was not uncommon to get hit occasionally with 25-50 ppm, or more. It's all about TWA (time weighted average).
THERE IS NO WAY YOU COULD CREATE THIS MUCH COCL2 (phosgene) from a can of brake cleaner! One drop of liquid phosgene would barely be noticeable for more than a few seconds as it flashed to vapor. It has a distict sweet smell. You are more likely to encounter COCL2 by burning matress foam and releasing it that way.

There is treatment for exposure, as many people have survived. It's effects are severe and straight forward when exposed to a signicant amount. You drown from creation of fluid on the lungs. If you survive, you can have scarring from the release of CL2 (chlorine) which combines with water to make acid.

Don't get me wrong. Breathing any chemical is a bad idea. But fear of everything is a waste of lifes energy. There are nasty chemicals everywhere in our daily lives.Few people relize how much ammonia or chlorine goes down your local railroad.

Use common sense, but don't live your life in fear.

RIP

Thanks for the additional info but you failed to mention what would happen when subjected to extreme heat such as welding. Would you mind forwarding what you just posted to the guy who wrote the article in the first place? I'm sure he would be glad to read a rebuttle to his incident.

According to the article he can be reached at www.BrewRacingFrames.com or by phone at Brew Bikes LLC, 336-385-BREW. I believe he may be the owner of the company.

In the meantime, I know I will be more careful when using chemicals around my garage.

Travis