Hidi formamide – it can cause cancer! But we are very careful and wear personal protective clothing like gloves and white coats to prevent us coming into contact with the many hazardous chemicals we use every day.
Loads of them, but the most dangerous would have been a chemical called:
Osmium tetroxide OsO4
I used it as a stain for electron microscopy
OsO4 is highly poisonous, even at low exposure levels, and must be handled with appropriate precautions. In particular, inhalation at concentrations well below those at which a smell can be perceived can lead to pulmonary edema and subsequent death. Noticeable symptoms can take hours to appear after exposure.
OsO4 also stains the human cornea, which can lead to blindness if proper safety precautions are not observed. The permissible exposure limit for osmium(VIII) oxide (8 hour time-weighted average) is 200 µg/m3.[7] Osmium(VIII) oxide can penetrate plastics and therefore is stored in glass under refrigeration.[14]
Comments