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A Drink in the Lab

One of my colleagues in my chemistry had arrived on an exchange from over-seas. As an individual with a love for alcohol and the ability to stomach 70% alcohol, she thought she would try the 100% pure ethanol that we keep for our experiments. Upon pulling a shot glass out, she grabbed a bottle from the ethanol cabinet and poured herself some of the clear, colourless, odourless liquid. After ingesting it, she noticed the flavour was quite different from alcohol, so she spun the bottle around to read the label, which read “Chloroform”. Indeed we have always kept both Chloroform and Ethanol in the same cabinet (this is just one instance of chemicals that have identical appearances). Immediately after, she and another colleague ran to my office to alert me to what had happened and we performed the necessary treatments. While she did not eliminate herself from the gene pool, she is definitely an at risk survivor.

Submitted on 09/14/2018

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Self Observation, August 2018


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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Drinking pure ethanol is harmful enough that I'd consider it worthy of an HM. But confusing it with another liquid that is toxic is downright foolish. When chloroform is metabolized it results in phosgene, which is highly toxic. She's lucky she survived. Thanks!


Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
THIS is why you ALWAYS check labels! Nevermind that ethanol is a (mild) poison in its own right. I suspect "necessary treatments" included extensive use of emetics. Thanks!