While going through a closet I came across an old MagLite d cell flashlight. The body of the light is in excellent condition, but when i opened it up i found that it was stored with the batteries in it. Two of the three batteries were corroded and one was leaking a white gel like substance. I did my best to clean the interior of the flashlight and got most of it clean. The spring in the bottom has done corrosion from the gel that will not clean up.
After weeping all the goop off i three away the paper towels and washed my hands. My question is, is the gel goop that was leaking from the batteries “dangerous”? No, I’m not thinking if eating it or anything, but i really don’t know if that stuff is safe to handle. I’m not dead And my skin didn’t melt off so my thinking is that the stuff is harmless. Am I right?
What a coincidence - I was helping my son get ready for his AP Chemistry exam earlier this evening, and just reviewed the last chapter on electrochemistry with him, which includes a section on batteries.
Anyway, the substance is definitely not harmless. If your battery was an alkaline battery (the most common battery these days), the substance that leaked out was potassium hydroxide (KOH), which is very corrosive. It’s quite similar to the active ingredient in Drano. You don’t really want to get this stuff on your hands, and if you do, you want to wash them thoroughly. It can result in anything from mild skin irritation to serious chemical burns, depending on the concentration and time of exposure.