YT2095 - 20-1-2008 at 08:27
as I`m expecting a shipment of Phenol soon, I`v been considering the MSDS for this material, it seems to be quite the "Chemical Nasty".
now I wash with Carbolic Soap daily and have done for Decades, it`s use goes way to the war but has since fell out of favor for more "Girly" soaps,
incidentally, there wasn`t as much of that MRSA back then either! (I wonder why 
).
is the use of Carbolic soap in anyway Dangerous at all?
are there newly discovered Health risks or anything to be concerned about?
not_important - 20-1-2008 at 08:52
MSDS statement tend to the scary side in most cases, the better for keeping the less knowledgeable types from doing something stupid.
The concentration of phenols in carbolic soap is not that high, most domestic use soaps only had a few percent tops, medical grade ones in the later
Victorian and Edwardian eras would hit 20 to 30 percent. A soap making book from the 1920s gives the range as 1 to 5 percent.
YT2095 - 20-1-2008 at 09:13
so Long term exposure to a small amount, no harmful effects?
DerAlte - 20-1-2008 at 13:12
Are you in the UK? Back somewhere in the late 1950's to early sixties, it was discovered that phenol was carcinogenic (along with 99% of substances:
if you shave a mouse and paint its skin for long enough, you get a reaction!). 'Carbolic Soap' was then very popular with housewives as a GP and
antiseptic soap - in fact I believe 'Carbolic Soap' was a registered trade mark (Lever Bros?) When the news came out the manufacturer withdrew the
phenol from the soap but it was still called 'Carbolic', IIRC. I thoiught it had disappeared as a brand, but I haven't lived in UK for years.
Der Alte
Magpie - 20-1-2008 at 16:32
I have never seen carbolic soap but when I was young my mother used a "tar soap" for hair washing. This was supposed to fight dandruff. I think it
contained coal tar, which likely included phenol. It came in a metal box, one of which I used for years to keep a bar of soap in when
camping.
edit: Correction- I just found the metal box. It was Packer's Tar Soap of Mystic, Connecticut . "Pure as the Pines" - so it was most likely made
from pine tar. But I think that the original tar soaps were made from coal distillates, at least according to Wikipedia.
As I remember, the soap was black.
[Edited on by Magpie]
JohnWW - 20-1-2008 at 18:08
"Tar soap", containing pine tar, made by the anaerobic pyrolysis of pine wood, contains pine creosote, which has mostly the three isomeric cresols as
its active principles, along with the isomeric xylols, alpha and beta pinene, and methanol.
BromicAcid - 20-1-2008 at 18:12
The dangers are somewhat over exaggerated, phenol is still used in sprays for sore throats, only 1-2% but still I would say cumulative effects must be
small, though large exposures to the concentrated material, especially in chloroform solutions can be very dangerous.
MagicJigPipe - 21-1-2008 at 00:10
Yes, Chloraseptic contains 1% phenol. I remember recently buying some shampoo that said it contained coal tar. I was unaware that phenol was so easy
to get. I always considered it to be one of those things I would be better off synthesizing because it was nearly impossible to get. Looking through
google I found some extremely expensive on sciencestuff. That's it though...
Ozone - 21-1-2008 at 07:33
Ah, coal tar shampoo:
http://www.medicinenet.com/coal_tar_shampoo-topical/article....
We used to use the black tar soap to wash the cats. It knocks the fleas right off, but the cat takes great exception to the treatment
.
Where 1% phenol is safe to eat in small amounts, I would be less inclined to try the SeS used in Selsun blue (up to 2.5%, IIRC) and it has a LD50
~140mg/kg (rat, still 9.8g is a lot to eat!).
Paracelsus, again. A small amount is OK, a large amount is not. Phenol burns are usually bad because you don't feel them when they occur
(anaesthetic). Pure, deliquescing phenol is one of the few things I have seen embrittle then disintegrate the bottom of PP disposable weighing boats.
So... Soap, not to worry. Pure chemical, respect, standard PPE (gloves, glasses and coat).
Cheers,
O3
[Edited on 21-1-2008 by Ozone]
Mr. Wizard - 21-1-2008 at 18:13
Campho-Phenique : Active Ingredient: Camphorated Phenol (camphor 10.8% and Phenol 4.7% in a light mineral oil).
Noxema Medicated Shaving cream and Noxema may also contain it. I know it used to. It is an anesthetic and antiseptic .