ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR Safety Gear!

[PLTannery]

And its a DAMN good Thing I was. 

Although I feel I should invest in a longer set of Chemical Gloves (Past Elbow, instead of mid Forearm).

Full Length Water Resistant Apron, Full Chemical Vapor Face Shield/Mask, LONG Gloves,  And a good Sink Handy... ALWAYS.

Jug slipped off the spout of my Formic Acid Barrel while filling.  Acid Splashed down my apron, onto the arm steadying the jug.  This Does Hurt...  The two biggest welts up top are from the acid that got on my shirt at the top of the glove.

So if you think Awe that will never happen... IT CAN..  SO all you Home tanners, Commercial tanners and everyone else, BE CAREFUL when Handling Dangerous Chemicals and ALWAYS Wear your safety equipment!

[Mason(Ron&Linda)]

Ouch!

 Hate to see Ya boogered up Shelby.
    Hope it passes quick!

[MiniaturePaws]

That looks like it hurt... Good luck in your recovery from this ever-so-lovely event!

[cyclone]

That is why bees use it as a weapon...

And the rash from your forearm to wrist?

[PLTannery]

The "Rash" is from the acid.  It splashed all over my arm and down inside my glove The line at the top is where my shirt cuff was. It looks like someone misted my arm with a spray bottle full of red paint this morning.

[cyclone]

Danger! May be harmful if swallowed. Causes eye and skin burns. May cause liver and kidney damage. Combustible liquid and vapor. May cause severe respiratory tract irritation with possible burns. May cause severe digestive tract irritation with possible burns. Possible sensitizer. May cause central nervous system depression. Lachrymator (substance which increases the flow of tears).
Target Organs: Kidneys, central nervous system, liver, respiratory system, eyes, skin.


Potential Health Effects
Eye: Contact with liquid is corrosive to the eyes and causes severe burns. Lachrymator (substance which increases the flow of tears). May cause corneal edema, ulceration, and scarring.
Skin: May cause skin sensitization, an allergic reaction, which becomes evident upon re-exposure to this material. Contact with liquid is corrosive and causes severe burns and ulceration. Absorbed through the skin.   May cause erythema (redness) and blistering.

Like you said, you may want to seriously review your method of handling formic...

[PLTannery]

I Always wear the protective gear- Approved Chemical Vapor Mask/Face shield (Eye Protection, Lung protection, face protection) Apron to protect the body, Gloves for the hands.  Just apparently need a longer set of gloves.  Short of wearing a full haz mat suit, I've got it covered. If I had had no apron on and no face shield, just a respirator mask I'd probably be in the hospital or blind and burns on way more than just my forearm.  Alot of people get complacent in this business. Just posting as a reminder that it CAN happen and thats WHY you must always wear the protective gear.

[cyclone]

Didn't mean to imply that you were not being safe..
Perhaps I mis-wrote that last post..

You need to review your method of transferring formic from container to container..

Perhaps a large funnel or a transfer pump.

[PLTannery]

Ahh Got it~!

We use a transfer Pump right now, Hand operated for control but the jug is held by hand.  So we are gonna design a "Shelf" that hooks over the edge of the barrel to hold the jug on the pump spout much more securely. And so my hand doesn't actually have to hold the jug while filling.

[cyclone]

I'd suggest designing your shelf to hold much more weight than your normal container to be placed on it.  I'd also make it "shake proof", just in case and design a edge or "lip" around the shelf to keep the container from sliding off of the edge should it be bumped.

Accidents happen, be careful.

[nts2010]

I understand you clearly , as an apprentice I had to work in an area that used 99.8% nitric , by itself that stuff could burn , however mix it with sulphuric and heat it to about 180 f and it was super nasty , 1 workplace collegue had a couple drops get through his boots , 2 days later 1/2 a toe was gone , eaten from the inside out . 

[northernmontana]

That's no fun.