• Question: What is the most dangerous material you've worked with?

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      Asked by KingFU! to Rob on 12 Mar 2015.
      • Photo: Robert Woolfson

        Robert Woolfson answered on 12 Mar 2015:

        I’ve worked with some pretty nasty stuff over the years but my least favourite, and possibly one of the most dangerous chemicals in the world, is hydrofluoric acid (HF).

        If you get a drop on your skin, you don’t feel it for a few hours and then it passes through your skin and attacks your nerves. Apparently it’s the worst pain imaginable. It also eats the calcium that makes up your bones.

        However, it also gets into your blood and attacks the calcium there. That’s a massive problem as calcium helps control our hearts. The HF takes away the calcium in blood and gives you a heart attack if it’s not treated immediately.

        It’s terrifying stuff, and I’ve only had to work with it one but I swore I’d never do it again.

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