Inhaling battery acid dust...not a good idea (auto, best, buy)
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I was changing a fuse in the panel in the engine bay on my Impala and noticed the white dust forming around the post on the battery, so I grabbed my wire brush and went to work. I got all the dust about off when a gust of wind kicked up. Instantly I got a metallic taste in my mouth and throat burned a little. My chest still aches a little. Not sure if it's the dust doing it or my mind racing with fear. If I am dead tomorrow, it's been fun talking with you folks on here. If I live, that's the last damn time I work around a battery without a mask and goggles. Stupid me.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kentuckydad95
I was changing a fuse in the panel in the engine bay on my Impala and noticed the white dust forming around the post on the battery, so I grabbed my wire brush and went to work. I got all the dust about off when a gust of wind kicked up. Instantly I got a metallic taste in my mouth and throat burned a little. My chest still aches a little. Not sure if it's the dust doing it or my mind racing with fear. If I am dead tomorrow, it's been fun talking with you folks on here. If I live, that's the last damn time I work around a battery without a mask and goggles. Stupid me.
FYI, the little felt rings do an OK job at keeping that dust from getting too bad. Better than that, though, is to use the protective spray. You can buy a can at any auto parts store and it'll last your forever since you use so little.
Well, lung passageways are a one-way street. The acidic dust particles probably passed through the bronchial tree until they eventually reached the level of the terminal bronchioles which, in turn, feed into the alveolar sacs. The alveolar sacs are made up of grape-like clusters of thin walled alveoli, from which O2 molecules diffuse through the alveoli walls into the surrounding bloodstream. As the acidic acid particles are too large to diffuse through the alveoli walls, the battery acid particles will most likely end up in the alveolar sacs — forever. And as you stated that your chest hurt afterwards, that is probably what happened. Foreign matter in large quantities in the alveoli sometimes leads to mesothelioma and/or pleural fibrosis. It is the same mechanism that causes black lung in coal miners, white lung in bakers (caused by flour dust), and asbestos-lung in insulation installers.
But since you can't undo what has been done, I wouldn't worry about it. Just don't do it again. Have a good one.
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