Toluene is it really safe?

[Brett Dikeman]

At 10:12 AM -0800 4/3/03, Ron Wainwright wrote:

>and
>from all accounts it seems safe

"Safe" isn't the first word that comes to mind :-)

http://www.temarry.com/MSDS/Toluene_msds.htm

I've seen worse.  Exposure limits are 50ppm per 8 hours, roughly-
that tends towards the 'safer' end of the scale, from what I
know(anyone in occupational safety, please feel free to correct me.)
Then again, if you bought a new car, the chemicals given off by the
plastics etc are 35 times above the exposure limit- benzene in
particular is a nasty item.  Try googling for "new car smell" and
"chemical", and see if you don't leave the windows open on your new
car for a good week :-)

Before anyone gets uppity and says "oh, toluene, it's safe, 'cause
it's in gas!":

http://omega.cc.umb.edu/~ehs/unleadmsds.htm

Skip down to "Health Hazard Data".  Note "YES" after all three
classifications of carcinogenicity...among other things.

   MTBE, now added in most gas(from 1 to 15%), is rather nasty...it's
been proven to readily contaminate drinking water, and causes kidney
disease and all sorts of other fun things.  But hey, thank the
government for requiring it to 'lower emissions.'

Just your friendly "if you didn't have anything better to worry
about" message :-)

Brett
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"They that give up essential liberty to obtain temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Ben Franklin
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