LN2 accident

[bluezero5]

Just thought I post this here, so we all remember safety first.

a student of mine was doing regular LN2 work, he does so regularly, however time time, a pipe from the can leaked, and had LN2 spilled all over his trousers... You can imagine what that can cause.

as he's just a student, I am now going to help him with all the medical I can get for him to be sure he gets the best treatment. But still, do remember all, safety first.. and accidents 'can' happen.

 

[BeepBeep2]

Severe frostbite?

Sounds really bad.

 

[bluezero5]

yeah, lucky is that it wasn't on the foot or anything.
but a good percentage of his skin on his thighs needs to be fixed.. after everything settles.. it is pretty bad.

 

[Neuromancer]

LOL at smokeU.

Obviously at the kid that got hurt it is not funny. And IT is shame when kids play with dangerous things.

I like many others am interested in the story though. How does one burn their thighs with Ln2 by accident?

 

[BeepBeep2]

Easy, spill LN2, soaks in pants, pants are -196 for several minutes.

I've gotten burned with LN2 before on my fingers (small spots from splashing), took several weeks for fingers to turn back to normal.

 

[bluezero5]

Pics or it didn't happen.

I wont be entertaining this.
we are talking a real accident, and I care not what you think.
I won't post pics of my student's damage skin for the sake for you to believe.

if you don't believe it can happen, just go try pour some on yourself then.



For Neuromancer:
Direct skin contact with liquid nitrogen will cause severe frostbite (cryogenic "burns"). This may happen almost instantly on contact, or after a second or more, depending on the form of liquid nitrogen. Bulk liquid nitrogen causes less rapid freezing than a spray of nitrogen mist (such as is used to freeze certain skin growths in the practice of dermatology). The extra surface area provided by nitrogen-soaked materials is also important, with soaked clothing or cotton causing far more rapid damage than a spill of direct liquid to skin. Full "contact" between naked skin and large collected-droplets or pools of liquid nitrogen may be prevented for a second or two, by a layer of insulating gas from the Leidenfrost effect. This may give the skin a second of protection from nitrogen bulk liquid. However, liquid nitrogen applied to skin in mists, and on fabrics, bypasses this effect, and causes local frostbite immediately.
-source wikipedia

Easy, spill LN2, soaks in pants, pants are -196 for several minutes.

I've gotten burned with LN2 before on my fingers (small spots from splashing), took several weeks for fingers to turn back to normal.

yeah.. it can be quite painful too.
doubling gloves and all that is always required..
but still, bad things can happen once a while..

 

[Shell]

How did a leaky pipe result in LN2 falling onto him, general rule with hazardous liquids, never get underneath them.

 

[Conumdrum]

Hope he heals well. Things happen no matter how careful you try to be.

 

[jazon1]

man that sounds painful hope everything works out for him i would assume they are going to have to do skin graphing..

 

[RollingThunder]

We are not entertaining the tactless posts asking for photos. It's not a joking matter guys. If LN2 spills onto clothes it does not evaporate quickly so imagine the consequemces of even a short exposure.

 

[Janus67]

That is awful. I hope for a full recovery by your student.

I also am curious though, did the pipe leak and shoot sideways right at him? When I've been filling LN2 the hose is wrapped in insulation and points straight down/slightly away so I can fill my thermos.

 

[bluezero5]

How did a leaky pipe result in LN2 falling onto him, general rule with hazardous liquids, never get underneath them.

i wasn't in the room, but I was told this was what happened.
Josh (my student) was on the floor fixing some wires, then an object on the shelf adjacent to tank fell off, hitting the pipe-pot-setup hard enough to cause leakage. My student was already trying to escape as fast as he can, but the few seconds was all that it took.

That is awful. I hope for a full recovery by your student.

I also am curious though, did the pipe leak and shoot sideways right at him? When I've been filling LN2 the hose is wrapped in insulation and points straight down/slightly away so I can fill my thermos.

the pipe is well insulated, and we checked there was no damaged. It was near the joint of the pipe-pot setup we had that gave up and caused the leakage.
In short, we would have never expected it to happen like that, it was a terrible accident caused by a heavy object dropping on it.

man that sounds painful hope everything works out for him i would assume they are going to have to do skin graphing..

my understanding is it will be likely be required.


well, I suppose the main take away is..
you can be doing everything right, but must always always take extra care near LN2.

becareful guys! but experiment on !!!

 

[jazon1]

yea ive seen some pretty brutal accidents with acids at a prototype circuit company i used to work for but never one from LN2.

it just seams no matter how careful you are with dangerous chemicals accidents are bound to happen,almost all that i have seen have been caused by faulty equipment and a few from ignorance.

Ive found that whenever handling dangerous materials expect and prepare for the worst and work with it accordingly.

 

[txus.palacios]

When I saw the thread name, I thought "Forty bucks say a motherboard is dead, let's see what happens and laugh a little".

But, after reading this, man... I know that $#!7 happens, but, wow, it really shocks when it's someone you know. I can't help but wish Josh the best, and hope he recovers!

 

[Rotary]

well the good news is that it didn't hit his manhood parts, thats what I would care the most.

 

[ChanceCoats123]

man that sounds painful hope everything works out for him i would assume they are going to have to do skin graphing..

Lol, it's called skin grafting. It's taken from somewhere else on the body and grafted onto a new place. They don't graph his skin.

In all seriousness, that accident sounds horrible, and VERY unlucky (with the dropping object). Did he attempt to remove the pants/underwear? I don't know about you guys, but I can get a pair of pants off right quick when there is a bug in them, or possibly if they are soaked in -196*C liquid.

 

[bluezero5]

Josh (my student) is quite hardcore, he was benching when it happened. When I rushed to the hospital after I knew what happened, his first question was, '.. what was the score?' (referring to his super-pi 32m).. tough kid.

and yes, lucky that nothing 'above' the thigh was in contact.. thank god. and I already got him a good doctor that's on his way over. I hope he will get a full recovery. Thanks for the kind words folks, I will show Josh this page next time I visit him.

 

[txus.palacios]

Josh (my student) is quite hardcore, he was benching when it happened. When I rushed to the hospital after I knew what happened, his first question was, '.. what was the score?' (referring to his super-pi 32m).. tough kid.

and yes, lucky that nothing 'above' the thigh was in contact.. thank god. and I already got him a good doctor that's on his way over. I hope he will get a full recovery. Thanks for the kind words folks, I will show Josh this page next time I visit him.

I hope he got some nice boints .

I think the benching team might be interested on him.

 

[Automata]

RT had to delete two posts and I just removed another. Keep the discussion respectful and tasteful.

 

[RJARRRPCGP]

Lol, it's called skin grafting. It's taken from somewhere else on the body and grafted onto a new place. They don't graph his skin.

In all seriousness, that accident sounds horrible, and VERY unlucky (with the dropping object). Did he attempt to remove the pants/underwear? I don't know about you guys, but I can get a pair of pants off right quick when there is a bug in them, or possibly if they are soaked in -196*C liquid.

Yep, it's like being stranded in January when naked.

Especially northern Alaska and parts of Canada!