Many times, we don't think twice about substituting one cleaner for another in order to get a job out when our cleaner of choice is unavailable. This article gives a first hand account of how things can go very wrong in such instances......
'Brake Cleaner = Phosgene' Article......
http://www.brewracingframes.com/id75.htm
So keep this in mind when using cleaners...... Especially those that will be applied to a surface you will heat by cutting or welding.
Safety First,
Harry
Brake Cleaner = Phosgene (when heated)
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Yeah, phosgene is pretty nasty stuff, Dodge Freak. You know, when I was younger, I never thought much about chemicals in the workplace and that sort of thing. About all I knew was never to allow pure oxygen from an oxy-acetylene cutting rig to come into contact with oil (explosion hazard) and never to lay acetylene bottles on their side (always stand them up) because they were packed with pourous asbestos and acetone to stabilize the acetylene and when laid on their side, can become unstable if the acetone comes out of suspension, especially when near empty.
Working in construction when PVC pipe first came out, we used to use PVC pipe cleaner (the chemical that you must clean and prep PVC pipe with prior to applying PVC glue and inserting the pipe into the fitting)...... As hand cleaner to remove the glue from our hands. Did that at NASA in 1970 and an engineer passing by freaked out and gave us an impropmptu lecture on how PVC cleaner contains MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) and acetone and how it is absorbed through your skin on contact and into your lungs in vapour form and what it does once it is in your blood stream.
Well needless to say, I didn't do that (use the stuff for hand cleaner) anymore! Now of days, plumbing codes require the use of PVC cleaner having purple dye so that plumbing inspectors can verify that the plumber or pipefitter used cleaner before gluing the pipe joint together (its a 'solvent weld' joint...... The cleaner contains the solvent and the glue contains the remainder of what is needed to 'weld' the surface-softened plastic pieces together).
When I am assembling an engine, transmission or rear end...... I like to wipe off and degrease the gasket mating surfaces priour to assembly, whether installing the gaskets dry or using a sealant. If I don't have any acetone, I will use clear PVC cleaner (you can still get both the clear and the 'code approved' cleaner having purple dye at most hardware stores). The cans have a round absorbent applicator ball under the cap which makes it easy to apply and it quickly dries.
And yes, I have used brake parts cleaner for cleaning gasket surfaces as well when I had neither acetone nor clear PVC pipe cleaner on hand. The formulation of the brake cleaner seems to have changed some, though...... The old stuff not only cleaned better...... It was so potent that you could use it to spray wasps and hornets...... They'd drop out of flight on contact and die immediately...... Plus it was cheaper than hornet spray. But with the new EPA approved brake parts cleaner, after knocking them out of the air...... I have to follow up by quickly stepping on them and crushing them under my work boot, as they are only momentarily stunned and will get up and fly again once the cleaner dries. And believe me...... Once you tick off a hornet or wasp, you do not want to be in the shop with them nearby when they can fly again.
But I digress. The point made by the fellow who was exposed to phosgene gas whilst welding a surface cleaned with brake parts cleaner that had not thoroughly dried in a couple of pitted areas...... Was never to heat the stuff in liquid form...... For when heated and transformed into a vapour, it contains phosgene gas.
Phosgene gas was one of the chemical warfare agents used in the 1st World War and later banned by international treaty in 1925 (though many nations still have and use chemical weapons to this day). My Dad served in that war and was badly burned with mustard gas. He was nearly 50 when I came along (I am soon to be 62, G-d willing). I recall that folks working in the UN office building in New York freaked out a few years back when they found samples of phosgene gas and sarin gas stored in their building. The samples were brought back from Iraq by their inspectors and were sourced from amongst Saddam Hussein's chemical warfare agents.
As long as we are touching on this subject, I might mention that PVC pipe and vinyl floor coverings containing PVC will produce not only phosgene, but dioxin (the active chemical agent in Agent Orange), hydrogen cyanide and lots of other nasty stuff when burned. It was phosgene gas and cyanide gas that killed most of the victims of the infamous MGM Grand fire. Most of those victims were dead before the flames reached them. That fire and others are what prompted most building, HVAC and plumbing codes to ban PVC pipe from new fire rated commercial structures where the space above the drop ceiling is used as an open return air plenum (cheaper to install return air grates without ducting and use that space as a plenum than to install both supply and return air ducting in large buildings).
But...... Having said that and having worked in construction...... And in plan review and inspection for several city and county agencies as well over the years...... I have seen various methods of firewall penetration and other construction methods employed (and approved by several governing inspection authorities) involving the use of PVC pipe in such structures in recent years in order to cut construction costs...... And frankly, I am not convinced that these construction methods would prevent a recurrence of what happened at the MGM Grand fire back in 1980. So my advice to anyone frequenting such buildings would be (immediately upon entering) to make yourself aware of various escape routes not requiring the use of elevators...... And if there is a fire, to take it upon yourself to get yourself and as many of the other occupants as you can...... Out of the building as quickly as possible...... Whether told to evacuate or not. Better safe than sorry.
I'll post a few links related to phosgene gas below......
Best regards,
Harry
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=32501
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62098
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/po ... ar_one.htm
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-weapons/gas.htm
http://www.thelearningcentre.org/ww1/sect2_p1.htm
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/phosgene/basics/facts.asp
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/30/un.gas/index.html
http://www.vlib.us/medical/Atlas/lung/lung.htm
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2009/04/08 ... -21262445/
http://annhyg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/co ... ct/28/1/49
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7464068
http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/pv ... e/bad.html
http://www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/NYS_ ... vit_js.pdf
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cach ... l=en&gl=us
http://books.google.com/books?id=RhzOkM ... 3F&f=false
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM_Grand_fire
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:PDV ... clnk&gl=us
Working in construction when PVC pipe first came out, we used to use PVC pipe cleaner (the chemical that you must clean and prep PVC pipe with prior to applying PVC glue and inserting the pipe into the fitting)...... As hand cleaner to remove the glue from our hands. Did that at NASA in 1970 and an engineer passing by freaked out and gave us an impropmptu lecture on how PVC cleaner contains MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) and acetone and how it is absorbed through your skin on contact and into your lungs in vapour form and what it does once it is in your blood stream.
Well needless to say, I didn't do that (use the stuff for hand cleaner) anymore! Now of days, plumbing codes require the use of PVC cleaner having purple dye so that plumbing inspectors can verify that the plumber or pipefitter used cleaner before gluing the pipe joint together (its a 'solvent weld' joint...... The cleaner contains the solvent and the glue contains the remainder of what is needed to 'weld' the surface-softened plastic pieces together).
When I am assembling an engine, transmission or rear end...... I like to wipe off and degrease the gasket mating surfaces priour to assembly, whether installing the gaskets dry or using a sealant. If I don't have any acetone, I will use clear PVC cleaner (you can still get both the clear and the 'code approved' cleaner having purple dye at most hardware stores). The cans have a round absorbent applicator ball under the cap which makes it easy to apply and it quickly dries.
And yes, I have used brake parts cleaner for cleaning gasket surfaces as well when I had neither acetone nor clear PVC pipe cleaner on hand. The formulation of the brake cleaner seems to have changed some, though...... The old stuff not only cleaned better...... It was so potent that you could use it to spray wasps and hornets...... They'd drop out of flight on contact and die immediately...... Plus it was cheaper than hornet spray. But with the new EPA approved brake parts cleaner, after knocking them out of the air...... I have to follow up by quickly stepping on them and crushing them under my work boot, as they are only momentarily stunned and will get up and fly again once the cleaner dries. And believe me...... Once you tick off a hornet or wasp, you do not want to be in the shop with them nearby when they can fly again.
But I digress. The point made by the fellow who was exposed to phosgene gas whilst welding a surface cleaned with brake parts cleaner that had not thoroughly dried in a couple of pitted areas...... Was never to heat the stuff in liquid form...... For when heated and transformed into a vapour, it contains phosgene gas.
Phosgene gas was one of the chemical warfare agents used in the 1st World War and later banned by international treaty in 1925 (though many nations still have and use chemical weapons to this day). My Dad served in that war and was badly burned with mustard gas. He was nearly 50 when I came along (I am soon to be 62, G-d willing). I recall that folks working in the UN office building in New York freaked out a few years back when they found samples of phosgene gas and sarin gas stored in their building. The samples were brought back from Iraq by their inspectors and were sourced from amongst Saddam Hussein's chemical warfare agents.
As long as we are touching on this subject, I might mention that PVC pipe and vinyl floor coverings containing PVC will produce not only phosgene, but dioxin (the active chemical agent in Agent Orange), hydrogen cyanide and lots of other nasty stuff when burned. It was phosgene gas and cyanide gas that killed most of the victims of the infamous MGM Grand fire. Most of those victims were dead before the flames reached them. That fire and others are what prompted most building, HVAC and plumbing codes to ban PVC pipe from new fire rated commercial structures where the space above the drop ceiling is used as an open return air plenum (cheaper to install return air grates without ducting and use that space as a plenum than to install both supply and return air ducting in large buildings).
But...... Having said that and having worked in construction...... And in plan review and inspection for several city and county agencies as well over the years...... I have seen various methods of firewall penetration and other construction methods employed (and approved by several governing inspection authorities) involving the use of PVC pipe in such structures in recent years in order to cut construction costs...... And frankly, I am not convinced that these construction methods would prevent a recurrence of what happened at the MGM Grand fire back in 1980. So my advice to anyone frequenting such buildings would be (immediately upon entering) to make yourself aware of various escape routes not requiring the use of elevators...... And if there is a fire, to take it upon yourself to get yourself and as many of the other occupants as you can...... Out of the building as quickly as possible...... Whether told to evacuate or not. Better safe than sorry.
I'll post a few links related to phosgene gas below......
Best regards,
Harry
http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?t=32501
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=62098
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/po ... ar_one.htm
http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-weapons/gas.htm
http://www.thelearningcentre.org/ww1/sect2_p1.htm
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/phosgene/basics/facts.asp
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/30/un.gas/index.html
http://www.vlib.us/medical/Atlas/lung/lung.htm
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2009/04/08 ... -21262445/
http://annhyg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/co ... ct/28/1/49
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7464068
http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/pv ... e/bad.html
http://www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/NYS_ ... vit_js.pdf
http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cach ... l=en&gl=us
http://books.google.com/books?id=RhzOkM ... 3F&f=false
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGM_Grand_fire
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:PDV ... clnk&gl=us