Gasoline fume detection

I have no clue.

There are flammable gas detectors. Check with anyone selling safety equipment. I see these in magazines at work, but I don't have any info in front of me. I'd bet a Google search will find what you need. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net

Oregon Scientific sells a VOC meter " Air Quality monitor " for 100$

Don, Visit your local boating supply store. They should sell devices that will detect gasoline fumes. These are usually installed in the engine compartment of recreational boats to detect fumes prior to starting the engine.

I wouldn't worry about it unless you have the enviro MTBE additives. The hydrocarbons are pretty harmless, you can drink them.

Total bullshit. Dangerous bullshit, at that.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

Right. Wonder how he explains kids dying from huffing gasoline?

I said *drink* it, not inhale it in significant concentrations.

In fact, petroleum hydrocarbons are sold as medicines to be swallowed.

Knowledgeable people disagree.

Hydrocarbon "poisoning" is actually due to aspiration pneumonia from accidental ingestion, not swallowing per se.

See "HYDROCARBON POISONING" in the _Merck Manual_ at:

"... the light aliphatics are very not toxic, as humans would encounter them."

You probably have ingestible petroleum products in your medicine cabinet.

I don't think so. And you certainly don't fit that category. Try looking up the MSDS on some of the more common gasoline hydrocarbons, n-heptane for example, or isooctane. The authors of those documents seem to feel that the substances are harmful if swallowed.

I didn't find that phrase in that document, but I did find this one:

"Every year the ingestion of petroleum distillates (eg, gasoline, kerosene, paint thinners) and halogenated hydrocarbons (eg, carbon tetrachloride, ethylene dichloride) is responsible for > 25,000 poisonings in children < 5 yr."

And therefore it is safe to drink the hydrocarbons in gasoline? What an astonishing leap of illogic.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

If you can smell it, it isn't good, you need fresh air ventilation. If you can see the leaking of gasoline on the floor, you have too much in the air so you need to fix the motorcycles or put them elsewhere, for safety and health reasons. It probably won't kill you right away, but if you keep breathing low levels for a period of time you could develop severe asthma and you don't want that.

An MSDS as an indicator of toxicity? The CYA documents that make water a toxic substance?

If you can't comprehend what it clearly says, then maybe you shouldn't be attempting an analysis.

No, I never said anything about "safe". There is a substantial risk of aspiration to the lungs. The hazard down the esophagus is small. That is why accidental ingestion should not be treated by inducing vomiting. People drink the heavier hydrocarbons all the time.

Don't be squeamish. Limits of detectibility are always much lower than limits of acceptable industrial exposure, even by strict OSHA standards.

Please supply a reference for that utterly ridiculous claim.

I notice you snipped out the part that I quoted, that shows clearly that you have no idea what you're talking about. That's OK, I'll restore it:

"Every year, the ingestion of petroleum distillates (eg, gasoline, kerosene, paint thinners) and halogenated hydrocarbons (eg, carbon tetrachloride, ethylene dichloride) is responsible for > 25,000 poisonings in children < 5 yr."

Maybe that meets your definition of "pretty harmless", but I think that most of the rest of the world would disagree.

Liar. You said "The hydrocarbons are pretty harmless, you can drink them."

OK, which is it? They're "pretty harmless", or "there is a substantial risk of aspiration"? Make up your mind.

Not true. Vomiting should not be induced because the vomitus may be aspirated, and the hazard in the lungs is even greater than the hazard in the GI tract. That does *not* mean that the hazard in the GI tract is insignificant, only that the hazard in the respiratory system is far greater.

And it does not mean that, once swallowed, it's OK to leave it there, either.

Try an experiment: call the poison control hotline and tell them your kid just swallowed a pint of gasoline. See what they tell you to do.

Absolute nonsense.

Well, maybe *you* do... that would explain some of your goofy ideas...

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

Doug,

I believe that I've seen some pretty humorous MSDS' for water in the past. My first google hit yielded this for DI water:

Health Hazards Acute and Chronic NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION IN MFR DATABASE REGARDING TOXIC EFFECTS OF WATER FOR HUMANS. HOWEVER, IN LIGHT OF GOOD INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE, EXPOSURE TO ANY CHEMICAL SHOULD BE KEPT TO A MINIMUM. First Aid INHALED-ALLOW VICTIM TO REST IN A WELL-VENTILATED AREA. EYES-FLUSH WITH WATER FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES, KEEP KIDS OPEN. INGESTION-REMOVE DENTURES IF ANY. IF CONSCIOUS, GIVE 1-2 GLASSES WATER OR MILK THEN INDUCE VOMITING. SEEK MEDICCAL ATTENTI ON Stability Indicator/Materials to Avoid: YES NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOUND BY MANUFACTURER IN THEIR DATABASE REGARDING REACTIVITY OF WATER.

MSDS' need to be interpreted by thinking beings, not functionaries.

RB

Doug Miller wrote:

The explosion may get you before the fumes do. Gasoline is toxic to most of the organs in your body - brain, liver, kidneys, etc.

Got a space heater in the garage? Ever do work that produces sparks? Plug in a tool that may produce sparks?

The government MSDS for water is pretty famous, look it up yourself.

Your errors are unworthy of further response.

Just as I thought... you can't back up your nonsense.

-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

Stop twisting my statements. Your breeding will tell.

"Pretty harmless" refers to the toxicity of low-concentration vapor.

"Not safe" refers to the hazard of aspiration pneumonia from ingestion.

Not too bad down the esophagus, but can kill you down the trachea. Like water.