• Question: What’s the most dangerous substance you’ve ever worked with?

    • Keywords:
      • Search for related information:
      Asked by Allen to Anais, katy, Lauren, Richard, Stuart on 9 Mar 2016.
      • Photo: Lauren Laing

        Lauren Laing answered on 9 Mar 2016:

        I think the most toxic chemical is probably copper. It isn’t very toxic in low concentrations, in fact it is what we call an essential element, which means that we need it in our diets to be fit and well. But at high concentrations is is very bad for us, so I just make sure I wear gloves and a lab coat when I work with copper.

        Another chemical I sometimes use which isn’t very nice, is chloroform. This is used in the process of extracting DNA and I am very careful when I work with this.

      • Photo: Richard Friend

        Richard Friend answered on 9 Mar 2016:

        I’ve worked with some drugs that are really toxic, where tiny amounts could do serious harm if you breathed them in – the protective kit we have to wear when working with them is really hot after a while! These drugs were to treat cancer. Sadly because they’re really toxic the effects of the drug often feels worse than the illness itself.

      • Photo: Stuart Atkinson

        Stuart Atkinson answered on 9 Mar 2016:

        It has to be dimethylmercury. Mercury you will probably know is toxic. It’s a metal but it is unusual in being a liquid. Ask your grandparents about it and they’ll probably tell you they were given blobs of it to play with and roll around the desk in class.

        When I was in school they showed it to us and we were only allowed to poke a 50p that was floating on top of it! Now you’re probably not even allowed to look at it!

        Liquid mercury itself is not too problematic. It’ll tend to either pass straight through the body, or become an insoluble compound before its passed out. You could probably stick your hand in it and be okay, although I wouldn’t recommend it. However, organic compounds of mercury, like dimethylmercury, are extremely toxic and need very careful handling. Fortunately I don’t come across it very often.

    Comments