Funny you ask. I have been wondering this myself.
I recently added a a few hundred mg of malonic acid to about 8mL of methanol and added 1mL of H2SO4. I heated this at 40-50C for 2 hours poured it on
a crystallising dish and took a whiff, I couldn't smell anything so I tried 2 more times. the methanol was warm and I was close with my nose so I
inhaled quite a lot. I knew that this was not enough for ill effects but I read on methanol toxicity that day. It seems that susceptibility varies
widely among individuals, and you cannot use the LD50 as an indicator of danger. Although the average fatal dose is 30-50mL, doses as low as 10mL (one
source states a minimal fatal dose of 15mL of 40% MeOH, wich is 6mL ! ) have resulted in death, but another patient survived 500mL!
However these are amount you will never be exposed to unless you drink it or work with large amounts hot methanol for hours in a poorly ventilated
area.
However, permanent eye damage can already occur with smaller amounts. As long as you work in a well ventilated area I see no risk handling the stuff
unless you spill a lot on your skin. Sniffing it on purpose like I did is not recommended!
If you're really worried, eat lot's of orange juices. This contains folic acid, and this is a cofactor in the metabolism of formic acid (wich is the
toxic metabolite responsible for effects) to CO2.
After 24 hours it's probably already to late to drink a lot of normal alcohol as an antidote as most MeOH will be metabolized to formic acid.
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