What is the most dangerous chemical Joe Six-Pack can purchase OTC?
Conc. sulphuric acid drain cleaner?
Ley - sodium hydroxide sol. drain cleaner. Sodium hydroxide
is insidious - you don't realize that you are being permanently
damaged for some time, while your flesh is being turned
into soap.
Removing ligaments from bones — if you are doing a skeletal
mount is almost mechanically impossible to remove ligaments
from bones, especially the ligaments around the pelvis. However,
a little hot solution of NaOH applied with a brush will remove
them that quick.
Byda the Mafia/Mexican Drug cartels do not dispose of bodies in barrels of acid ... they use NaOH.
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From the MMWR
Aluminium phosphide — Fumigants, such as aluminum phosphide,
can liberate toxic gases that are rapidly absorbed through the
respiratory tract (6). Symptoms may begin immediately and can
include fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain,
cough, and shortness of breath. Acute poisoning, such as occurs
after inhalation of phosphine, can lead to pulmonary edema,
central nervous system depression, toxic myocarditis, and
circulatory collapse (3). Aluminum phosphide cannot be detected
in blood or urine (7). Treatment is symptomatic and supportive.
Long-term effects may include genotoxicity (1).
Water - kills 4000 to 8000 people a year in the U.S. alone.
hissingnoise - 13-6-2010 at 08:05
And there's so much of the stuff around these days, it must have been invented a long time ago.
The guy who invented it has a lot to answer for. . .
quicksilver - 13-6-2010 at 08:19
Wouldn't you have to further define what "dangerous" is and the context? The answer "water", while possibly meant as a joke can be damn close if you
were to simply ask "what chemical materiel has been associated w/ the greatest # of deaths", etc. Nicotine could be in the running, as could materials
with histominic reactions strong enough to provide a "bee-sting" reaction in those w/ that sensitivity. For that matter isn't everything OTC IF you
find the correct situation where is was provided either directly or as the result of freely available materials? Of course I know that OTC would
normally mean bought whole and at once with no forms & hoops to jump through. But Mercury is OTC and so is chlorine.....mercuric chloride is one
nasty son of a bitch (serious poison). If the term "OTC chemicals" also is meant to include elements....I vote for Iron.
For that matter what about nitrogen? Nitrogen is always around when something bad happens.
[Edited on 13-6-2010 by quicksilver]Lambda-Eyde - 13-6-2010 at 08:31
Some rust removers supposedly contain high concentrations of HF...unionised - 13-6-2010 at 09:27
I think alcohol kills even more than water.
I can get tobacco over the counter and extract nicotine from that; nicotine's pretty seriously nasty.The WiZard is In - 13-6-2010 at 09:30
.....mercuric chloride is one nasty son of a bitch (serious poison).
Mercuric chloride!? Wow you must be older than I, who
other than seeing it a book does not remember mercuric chloride
tablets.
Corrosive mercuric chloride was introduced as an antiseptic in
surgical procedure more than 30 years ago, and for two decades
at least was widely known by the popular names "corrosive
sublimate," "bichloride," or "sublimate," and used in the form of
solutions for a variety of purposes. This widespread use led to its
employment in other directions, so that at the present time
statement made by the governor of Pennsylvania that bichloride
of mercury "is a household commodity" is altogether too true,
particularly of the tablets—pounds, if not tons, of which are
annually for other than medicinal purposes.
A survey of the current price lists of five of the larger
manufacturers of pharmaceutical preparations in the United
States, presents some rather startling information, and suggests a
really valid reason why tablets of corrosive mercuric chloride may
be considered to be more important factors in the health and
welfare of many members of the community than is generally
supposed. Perhaps the most startling discovery is the fact that not
a single manufacturer of tablets of corrosive mercuric chloride
markets them under a name properly indicating the nature of the
materials contained therein. In the lists referred to we find, under
corrosive sublimate, mercuric chloride or mercury bichloride, a
cross reference to antiseptic tablets or antiseptics, and under this
heading the several price lists mentioned would present the
following composite table:
[snip]
The tablets in this list containing corrosive mercuric chloride are
marketed in 16 varying sizes, 5 different shapes, and 5 different
colors. Three of the shapes are distinctive and probably
proprietary in nature. Obviously the most objectionable feature is
the confusion which may arise from the totally misleading name
applied to tablets containing highly toxic materials.
The possible abuse arising from the use of a totally misleading
name for poisonous substances is further emphasized by the
statement recently made by one of the agitators for legislation to
provide a distinctive shape for "antiseptic tablets." This writer
says: "It is a known fact that the tablets of corrosive sublimate are
very easily procured, and are used to a very large extent as a
home remedy, hence they are not looked upon as the dangerous
agents that they really are in the hands of the careless and
ignorant."
Among the many suggestions that have been made to compel
uniformity in shape and size of tablets of corrosive mercuric
chloride, we have proposals to have them triangular, coffin-
shaped, kidney shaped, and in the shape of a skull, in addition to
the various forms already in use. Suggestions have also been
made to enact laws to compel manufacturers to color these tablets
red, green, blue, yellow, and pink; also to give them a distinctive
odor, and to compel their being dispensed in a uniform and
distinctively shaped bottle; all of which, if it were practicable to
enforce uniformity in all States and with all manufacturers, would
at best tend to elaborate on the misuse of tablets of this kind,
rather than to prevent accident, or their use as a poison for
suicidal purposes.
I remember seeing a a book these tablets stamped with a skull.
---
I do remember rat poison containing white phosphorus, and
cyanide based ant poisons. Reduce-Me - 13-6-2010 at 09:34
I have a vendetta with ethanol myself. I feel that its very dangerous in almost all aspects. Social, Economical and health.
Other than that,
I think Gasoline (if you want to call that a chemical) is by far one of the most dangerous things you can buy "OTC"
Just about EVERYTHING about it is dangerous, we depend on it's "controlled" explosions for cripes sake!Eclectic - 13-6-2010 at 12:22
O2! Almost all deadly fires are associated with it's presence! And it's the most addictive substance known. One wiff and you are hooked for life.
Water - kills 4000 to 8000 people a year in the U.S. alone.
Most recently, scores of people and still
counting in Arkansas, as the result of flash flooding.Sedit - 13-6-2010 at 14:19
My vote is with EtOH. Its simplicity and actions on the body have had a large impact on a number of societys normaly in either a neutral or negative
manner that its risk to everyone even those not exposed to it, not to mention its avalibility presents it as my obvious choice. Not that I care, im
just waiting till I have no more responsibilitys for the night so I can crack open a beer.psychokinetic - 13-6-2010 at 16:25
EtOH is definitely the most destructive. Probably due to the slower action of the biological response, as compared to said 'harder drugs'.
Dangerous, I don't know. Different locales have different OTC availabilities. I'm not sure if mercuric chloride is available here.JohnWW - 13-6-2010 at 17:53
I have a small jar of calomel (mercurous chloride, Hg2Cl2), supplied by BDH, which I bought in Auckland, N.Z., in about 1972.The WiZard is In - 13-6-2010 at 18:08
I have a small jar of calomel (mercurous chloride, Hg2Cl2), supplied by BDH, which I bought in Auckland, N.Z., in about 1972.
-----
Mercurous chloride is not poisonous/harmful.
Which reminds me .... years back a got a phone call from
a company that manufactures it, the were willing to pay
me to find uses for it in fireworks....
I'd like to take your money, however,.... it has not
been used in fwks for over a hundred years and even then
its use was not common. The chances of any fwks
company using a mercury compound in their fireworks
today ......!
v/ poisons mercuric chloride was a common household
disinfectant back before WWII — before penicillin — when
getting sick often meant .... dieing.
My grandmother would scald the dishes (pour boiling water
over them in the drain board) after washing.
As my mother said of her mother-in-law — she was pregnant
every year she was married — had 8 children who lived —
the rest she buried in the back yard.
We have come a long way in the past 70-years in the
1st world. Skyjumper - 13-6-2010 at 20:39
I'd have to say the most dangerous chemical you could buy would be cold medicine. The ephedrine kind. How many are addicted/ die from meth.The WiZard is In - 14-6-2010 at 06:43
I'd have to say the most dangerous chemical you could buy would be cold medicine.
The ephedrine kind. How many are addicted/ die from meth.
----
Actually .... no. Ephedrine (including the (+)-theo form)
are not psychotropic. To turn them into meth requires
chemistry not physiology.
Brings upon my mind - a bunch of years ago... my sister
drank 1/2 a bottle of codeine containing cold syrup — then
slept for 3-days.psychokinetic - 14-6-2010 at 13:21
Ephedrine is dangerous for the home chemist with a sniffly nose.Sedit - 14-6-2010 at 14:57
I'd have to say the most dangerous chemical you could buy would be cold medicine. The ephedrine kind. How many are addicted/ die from meth.
Not even close to the amount addicted and killed each year from alcohol. Without checking the stats directly I doubt its even on the same chart as
alcohol. Propaganda works wounders and where as amphetamines have legle medical use once being percribed myself to them EtOH has next to no real
medical value on its own only a numbing of the nerve ending making one believe they feal better. More of a mask then a cure for anything.
[EDIT]
Heres some data and I forgot all about this one Tobbaco which is a clear winner as far as death is concerned.
You will see that all illicit drugs combined does not even equal a quarter of alcohol related deaths but smoking and FOOD and lazyness trumps all.
[Edited on 14-6-2010 by Sedit]mewrox99 - 14-6-2010 at 17:01
I believe the most dangerous substance, non-chemists are exposed to is Carbon Monoxide.
The most dangerous sold is NaOH.
I actually believe that NaOH is very much more dangerous than sulfuric acid because people don't respect it.
People tend to be very casual with Sodium Hydroxide whilst taking extreme caution with H2SO4 and HCl. I've seen people using conc. NaOH without gloves
and goggles. This false sense of safety can have tragic results. A small splash in your eyes and your blind permanently.
Sulfuric acid drain cleaner is usually not used in homes and where I live it's quite rare. NaOH is common though.
