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novelist
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Dimethylmercury cold storage?
Help, my friend brought dimethylmercury here from his school's lab! I had asked for some mercury but he didn't know what this was. I'm returning it
after the holidays which means these ampules have to be stored at my place, for the next few weeks.
I've read that mercury solidifies below -32C, but couldn't find the freezing point for dimethlmercury. Also, like mercury could I place it in water or
ice to lower chances of vapor or volatile heat? Or would there be a water/ice-crystal reaction that could cause a gaseous discharge that bursts the
ice (allow leeching/seepage)?
I plan to discreetly return all but one of the samples, and would like to know if cold storage is the best means of keeping this chemical. Happy
holidays and many thanks in advance!!!
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j_sum1
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This is all kinds of scary.
Dimethyl mercury can kill you in minute exposures. It passes through the skin and is an extremely powerful neurotoxin. 0.1mL on the skin and you are
dead.
Do not keep it. Do not handle it unnecessarily. Call someone qualified to come and collect it immediately. You should have
an image in your mind of yellow hazmat suits and gas masks.
The fact that you are not differentiating between mercury metal and organic mercury means that you have no idea what you are handling. I would not
want to be in the same room as that stuff.
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Metacelsus
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RUN AWAY. VERY FAST. CALL A HAZMAT TEAM. THIS IS NOT A JOKE.
(assuming you're not trolling, of course)
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j_sum1
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| Quote: | | In 1996, Professor Karen Wetterhahn, an organometallic chemist (1) at Dartmouth College, was running an experiment that required the use of a chemical
called dimethylmercury, a colorless, volatile, sweet-smelling liquid(2). She was using all proper safety precautions — protective clothing, gloves,
and most important, a negative pressure fume hood(3). During the transfer, Wetterhahn spilled one or two drops of the liquid on the back of one of her
latex gloves(4). After five months, she began to display symptoms of severe neurological impairment, and was hospitalized. Three weeks later she
slipped into a coma. Five months later she was dead from mercury poisoning. There was nothing that could be done to save her life, including chelation
therapy(5). |
from https://www.acsh.org/news/2016/06/06/two-drops-of-death-dime...
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woelen
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Someone is trolling here. Do you really believe that a school has dimethylmercury in stock? And on top of that, do you believe that it is stored in
such a way that it can be taken away by some pupil without any notice?
If this is not trolling, then there is a SERIOUS issue! Contact a hazmat team or whatever organisation is responsible for such a thing in your area.
Do not handle it yourself, a small accident will lead to death, after a period of extreme illness.
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DavidJR
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Quote: Originally posted by woelen  | Someone is trolling here. Do you really believe that a school has dimethylmercury in stock? And on top of that, do you believe that it is stored in
such a way that it can be taken away by some pupil without any notice?
If this is not trolling, then there is a SERIOUS issue! Contact a hazmat team or whatever organisation is responsible for such a thing in your area.
Do not handle it yourself, a small accident will lead to death, after a period of extreme illness. |
Perhaps by 'school' they mean a university.
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j_sum1
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That thought occurred to me too. I doubt the story is true in its entirety: I am not going to expect unembellished truth from someone pilfering stuff.
But if there is any truth whatsoever to the organic mercury compounds... that is serious stuff.
Put it down carefully. Evacuate. Call the Hazmat guys.
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wg48
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Hopefully any organisation in the developed world will have dimethyl mercury in secure storage and any missing quantities investigated.
I can imagine the response of parents and authorities in the US and UK to discover that a child’s school has any quantity of methyl mercury even if
its secure in a locked safe.
Yes I would say it almost certainly a trolling post.
In the UK several years ago now they had what I will call the mercury squad visiting each university department to secure and hermeticaly seal any
mercury and preferably remove it.
Borosilicate glass:
Good temperature resistance and good thermal shock resistance but finite.
For normal, standard service typically 200-230°C, for short-term (minutes) service max 400°C
Maximum thermal shock resistance is 160°C
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fusso
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| Quote: Originally posted by wg48 | In the UK several years ago now they had what I will call the mercury squad visiting each university department to secure and hermeticaly seal any
mercury and preferably remove it.
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But those are UNIVERSITIES!!! So they think they know more than the universities themselves?! I don't think
they need to teach a dog to bark...
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Mr. Rogers
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I'm surprised that wasn't under lock and key with strict accounting procedures in place.
Someone is going to jail.
[Edited on 12-12-2018 by Mr. Rogers]
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Tsjerk
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This has to be bullshit as the melting point is the first hit on Wikipedia. Why would anyone wants to own mercury... have a friend who can get it...
but won't be able to find the melting point... Which doesn't matter when it is in ampules.
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XeonTheMGPony
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I have seen shit like this happen irl, same way I have seen friends in the military walk out with stuff that'd make your underwear crawl up you.
So this is very plausible, and if real as others have said GET AWAY FROM IT, do not touch it, do not handle it, call the uni and make up some thing
but let professionals handle it from here on out as this stuff is lethal in no uncertain terms
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novelist
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Thanks for the non-responses to my inquiry.
I know the difference between dimethylmercury and mercury. I was simply asking if I could store it in my freezer for safe(r) keeping. Plus I asked for
the freezing point, where it would become less liquid/vaporous - not the "boiling point".
I'm in a rural area and nobody's coming to pick this up anytime soon. Flying out tomorrow, and it's otherwise in my cupboard.
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j_sum1
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| Quote: Originally posted by novelist | Thanks for the non-responses to my inquiry.
I know the difference between dimethylmercury and mercury. I was simply asking if I could store it in my freezer for safe(r) keeping. Plus I asked for
the freezing point, where it would become less liquid/vaporous - not the "boiling point".
I'm in a rural area and nobody's coming to pick this up anytime soon. Flying out tomorrow, and it's otherwise in my cupboard. |
With respect, you are an idiot.
This is not something to be trifled with.
You clearly do not comprehend just how deadly this stuff is. And, let's face it, you cannot have a legitimate need for it.
Imagine a low probablity scenario where this stuff is somehow released in your absence -- a natural disaster or something. And your failure to apply
some basic sense or listen to advice kills a bunch of people.
Get on the phone NOW and work out a better solution to the situation.
Popping it in the freezer is not a solution. A cracked ampoule seal from thermal shock or from something in the freezer shifting and your freezer and
its contents are a death trap. No one will know the hazard until far too late -- including you. This is the dumbest thing possible
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mayko
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The melting point of dimethylmercury, per Wikipedia, is -43 C. Lower temperature means lower vapor pressure, but if you're asking sciencemadness how
to store dimethylmercury, you're incapable of storing it safely at any temperature.
al-khemie is not a terrorist organization
"Chemicals, chemicals... I need chemicals!" - George Hayduke
"Wubbalubba dub-dub!" - Rick Sanchez
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BromicAcid
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The year was 2006, my university still kept a bottle of dimethyl mercury. The alternating stories were:
-Disposal is just too damn expensive.
-The disposal company won't take it.
-Someone in the NMR lab said they need it.
-Dimethyl mercury, why should I care?
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Vomaturge
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I would rather you keep that ampoule in an empty cupboard than in your food freezer. Definitely don't freeze it into ice! The ice could crack the
glass and you wouldn't know until it melted. Instead, keep it somewhere it won't get broken, until you can return it. Remember, storing it at home is
unsafe, it's just a temporary solution. Preferably you would have someone from the university pick it up now, even if you miss the flight. It's really
important that this doesn't get broken.
That's assuming it's in a completely sealed ampoule. If it is in a broken ampoule, or a bottle with a removable top, an open bottle, or anything that
can be opened to the air, YOU NEED TO GET AWAY FROM IT NOW. Call emergency services and explain what it is, or better yet, call the university, so
they can direct a safe cleanup. Don't even touch the bottle, and certainly don't freeze it.
Now for what I think is most worrying:
So you plan on keeping some? You don't really have use for it. You'd probably poison yourself accidentally if you tried using it for an experiment, at
least if you're anything like me. Just storing an ampoule is pointless, and dangerous as I said before. Besides, if you plan on returning the other
ampoules to the university, won't that prompt them to check the inventory and find that one is still missing?
Call the university. Even if you get in trouble with the law, that's better than getting killed.
Really hope this is a troll.
[Edited on 13-12-2018 by Vomaturge]
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Harper
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i have 60 mesh PuO2. wanna trade bro??
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MrHomeScientist
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This is clearly a kid that googled "most dangerous chemical" and is just trying to troll.
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nora_summers
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Can we move this to detritus already?
Obvious troll is obvious.
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Tsjerk
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239PuO2 that is I hope?
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DoctorOfPhilosophy
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Before this gets thrown in detritus, maybe we can explore the possibility of reacting the PuO2 with the Hg(CH3)2 to make a novel compound?
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morganbw
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Maybe a little sic? But if this is a true post the poster may already be dead albeit (within a year) give or take and clueless.
I do not think that a normal school lab (including grad school) would have this. I suspect it would only be in a research lab doing work with metal
poisonings or possibly as a standard (CDC level) to test against such.
I really hope the OP is trolling, if not trolling then lucky, or death may be coming.
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TheMrbunGee
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Just mix them and put in automatic sprayer in bedroom.. Sweet smelling dreams..
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Tsjerk
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Plutonium 239 unfortunately only gives of alpha radiation without any neutrons, which isn't really transmutagenic.
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