Sulfuric acid vapor is dangerous and highly corrosive, causing severe burns and respiratory problems. Exposure can occur in industrial settings, laboratory accidents, and contact with ruptured batteries. Legal limits for exposure exist, but chronic exposure can still lead to health issues and an increased risk of cancer. Victims should be removed from the source and given medical attention immediately.
Sulfuric acid vapor is sulfuric acid (H2SO4) which is in a gaseous state but has a low enough temperature that it can be condensed into a liquid by pressure changes without temperature changes. People can be exposed to dangerous levels of vapor from things like working on an industrial site where sulfuric acid is used and coming into contact with ruptured automobile batteries and laboratory accidents. Sulfuric acid is highly corrosive and exposure to its vapors poses a serious health hazard. Victims should be removed from the source of the vapor, removed to fresh air and given medical attention as quickly as possible.
Particularly dangerous to living things, sulfuric acid is highly reactive with water and produces a great deal of heat as it reacts with it as well as being corrosive enough to burn human skin and flesh. Consequently, the damage caused by the initial corrosive effects is compounded by further damage from intense heat during exposure and subsequent dehydration of damaged tissue. According to U.S. workplace regulations, the legal limit for airborne sulfuric acid vapor levels in the workplace is 1 milligram of acid per cubic foot. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, an organization that produces widely used guidelines for safe chemical exposure, also provides an upper safe limit for prolonged workplace exposure of milligrams per cubic meter and an exposure short-term safe maximum of 3 milligrams per cubic meter.
If inhaled, sulfuric acid vapor can cause severe chemical burns inside the mouth, nose and respiratory tract, resulting in pain and difficulty breathing. It can also cause a buildup of fluid, called edema, in the lungs, airways, or voice box. chemical pneumonia or inflammation of the lungs; and pulmonary spasms. These symptoms can be fatal if they affect breathing enough to cause respiratory failure.
Even if not inhaled, the vapor is dangerous. Skin contact can cause painful blisters, burns, and necrosis. Contact with the eyes can cause irritation, burning or blurred vision and, if severe enough, can cause permanent damage to the victim’s sense of vision.
In addition to the damage from a single incident of concentrated exposure, repeated exposure over time to low levels of sulfuric acid vapor can cause chronic inflammation of the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. When inhaled or exhaled through the mouth, it can also cause dental erosion. Frequent exposure to low-level sulfuric acid vapors is also associated with an increased risk of lung and respiratory cancer.
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