Chemistry is fun but the job
is definitely not
for the faint-hearted. Working inside the laboratory exposes a person to
a long list of hazards that endangers a person's life. One typical
example is performing analysis that involves heating of perchloric acid.
More often that not, chemists perform analysis that involves perchloric acid inside a general purpose fume hood. However,
such kinds of analysis demands a specialized fume hood with a wash-down system.
Perchloric
acid is a powerful oxidizing, strong acid useful for certain analytical
procedures, but carries potential dangers due to the
formation of perchlorate salts within the fume hood, ductwork, and fan components. When heated, perchlorate acid vaporizes, then condenses to form metallic perchlorates. Its salts are extremely shock sensitive which can explode with very little disturbance.
The solution
To prevent the formation of perchloric salts and to eliminate the risk of explosion, a specialized Perchloric fume hood equipped with wash-down capabilities should be used to remove the built-up explosive perchlorate salts within the exhaust system.
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