Dangers of acids & alkalis in electroplating

A. H.L. Mencken wrote: "The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins". Today the media as well as the politicians depend upon those hobgoblins for their living -- we'll stay up for the 11 o'clock news (and its commercials) because the newscasters issue teasers warning us of the hidden dangers we won't know about if we don't ... yes, the potential dangers of electroplating can be easily exaggerated.

Still, we are -- at the very least -- speaking of strong acids, alkalis, and cyanides that can burn, blind or kill ...so its appropriate to wear boots, rubber gloves [on eBay or Amazon (adv.)] and ventilated goggles [on eBay or Amazon (adv.)] when working in a plating shop. And, depending upon what you're doing, an apron [on eBay or Amazon (adv.)] , full [on eBay or Amazon (adv.)] , elbow length chemical_gloves, and respirator will be appropriate at times.

The fact that one or many employees have escaped uninjured doesn't mean that personnel protective equipment is not appropriate! Most police officers wear bullet proof vests every single day despite our expectation that the average officer will not have a bullet fired at them even once in their whole career. The odds of you encountering a splash or other exposure to dangerous chemicals are much much greater than a police officer being fired upon. Prudence rather than paranoia :-)