I was trying to use my Mag-Lite a few minutes ago, and it wouldn’t turn on. Strange; I’ve had the thing for about ten years and it’s never once failed, except when the batteries died.
So I opened it up; batteries still in there. I switched the bulb; no help. Hmm.
I took out the batteries and was checking them out, and the only unusual thing I could discern was that one of them seemed to be covered in Vaseline or something. It got all over my hand, and I was thinking, “Who on earth would put Vaseline into my flashlight?” when I noticed a distinct burning sensation on that hand.
I immediately thought “chemical burn,” and while I vaguely remembered something about treating them with baking soda instead of water, I figured (a) best to do this RIGHT NOW and (b) I don’t have any baking soda anyway, so I washed both hands very thoroughly with soap and water. The goo seems to be off my skin, but there’s still some burning and tingling and pinkness.
So:
Is this a chemical burn?
How potent are the acids inside a D-cell battery?
Is it going to get worse if I don’t do something else about it quickly? (This happened like five minutes ago, and of course my first thought was to ask the SDMB.)
What about where I wiped the battery on my shirt; is the shirt going to disintegrate?
I’d say yes, it’s a chemical burn caused by leaking battery acid. It shouldn’t get any worse now that it’s been neutralized. I don’t know what the pH of battery acid is, so don’t know if it will disintegrate your shirt or not, but I guess by now, you’ll have an answer to that yourself.
IANAD, and I’ve never had an acid based burn(I have been burned by lye, which is a base) but if it was minor and you cleaned it quickly, you should be fine. soap contains base so that probably neutralized the acid.
Just a suggestion, but I think the local poison control center would be a better place to ask than IMHO. You can find them in the phone book – or just call 911. I think that this situation warrants that level of urgency. That is, no-one would fault you for calling 911.
I’m trying to figure out what exactly would burn you in a battery. Alkaline batteries are apparently made of “manganese dioxide (the active ingredient), carbon black (for electrical conductivity and moisture absorption), and zinc chloride electrolyte (which assists the chemical reaction).”
The carbon should have no effect, so that leaves the two ionic compounds. Magnesium dioxide is a peroxide, which I guess could react with moisture exothermically (the UN calls it an oxidizer) but I bet it’s the zinc chloride as well. ZnCl2 is hygroscopic ( and a UN corrosive), so there’s another nasty compound. Anyone got more ideas? Sorry, I couldn’t get easy access to the MSDS, so I just put what Chemfinder kicked out.
Be sure and clean up the Mag-Lite, too. If these were alkaline batteries, I don’t know that baking soda is the best neutralizer – vinegar might be better. Soap and water is what Eveready recommends on the MSDS for all the batteries I checked.
Crap – I don’t have an excuse, because I previewed, but I missed asterion’s post entirely. Here are Eveready’s MSDS’s.
This is what they recommend for jackelope:
Skin Contact: Contents of an open battery can cause skin irritation and/or chemical burns. Remove contaminated clothing and wash skin with soap and water. If a chemical burn occurs or if irritation persists, seek medical attention.
I think it’s the potassium hydroxide that is the culprit here.
Thanks for the replies, all. The situation seems to be much better now. The Mag-lite is cleaned out, my skin seems to be fine aside from some extreme dryness and a bit of residual stinging, and the shirt (which I’m still wearing) is fine.
I’ve been self-medicating with Monday Night Football and scotch to soothe the emotional trauma. It appears tragedy has once again been averted thanks to the tireless efforts of the SDMB.
Not to nitpick (well, I am ) but isn’t a dry cell battery (such as one used in a mag-light) a base, not an acid? It uses alkaline, and as I understand it, alkalosis is a process that is the opposite of acidosis. I could be wrong, though.
