Chemical Burns: The Acid Test

The modern age has gifted us with hundreds of different chemicals, each with different purposes and safety instructions. Many of these chemicals are incredibly useful, which is why we are willing to risk using them despite their inherent dangers. Thankfully, manufacturers provide us with detailed information through MSDS sheets. Unfortunately, very few in the general public are aware of their existence or know how to find the important information on them.

Though it is a requirement that jobs provide you with this information, few actually do more than just hang a few signs on the wall, and the few that do even that much rarely provide their employee with much direction regarding how to put the information to use. Safety training regarding the use of dangerous chemicals is sadly lacking in many fields. Despite the long history of chemical accidents, most employers are content to just cross their fingers and hope for the best.

Spirit Aerosystems is the most recent company to have an employee suffer a chemical burn. Distressingly, the burn was suffered to the face, meaning a strong likelihood that the individual will suffer some form of disfigurement for the rest of their life. Even then the person was lucky that the damage was localized.

There are a variety of substances employees are regularly exposed to that can cause serious burns, including:

• Cleaning products
• Bleach
• Ammonia-based substances
• Acids, including battery acid and acids used for etching

In its own sad way it makes sense that employers are rarely interested in providing proper training. They rarely suffer any consequences when one of their employees is injured. If you or a loved one has suffered a chemical burn due to exposure at work, please contact a lawyer to help insure that proper training protocols are followed in the future and that you can obtain the treatments you need.