Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Working on arsenic detection in lab

Does Arsenic effect(harmful)while working in lab to detect the arsenic or preparing an arsenic calibration curve. Does it effect(harmful) when it comes in contact with skin (when you spill few drops of the Arsenic solution accidentally on your skin) Any ideas.

Rupam S.
environmental student - Landsdale, Pennsylvania, US
2006

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First of three simultaneous responses --

Hi Rupam,
Exposure to As or As compounds should be fully understood before working with it no matter what the concentration is. Your lab should have a MSDS on the element or solution you are working with. The MSDS will also tell you what safety apparel that should be worn such as goggles [on eBay or Amazon], long rubber rubber gloves [on eBay or Amazon], etc. Yes, As can be absorbed through the skin creating health hazards. Please read and understand the MSDS!

Regards,

Mark Baker
process engineer - Malone, New York
2006

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Second of three simultaneous responses --

Perhaps you should procure and read the MSDS for the compounds you are using and/or search for toxicological information on them.

Gene Packman
process supplier - Great Neck, New York
2006

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Third of three simultaneous responses --

Look at the toxicology section of the National Institutes of Health website. There you will find more information than you want!

As of this writing, their current URL is: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/

Tom Gallant
- Long Beach, California, USA
2006