Safety First: A Recent Case of aDichloromethane Injection Injury

The Chemistry Safety Committee would like to draw your attention to a recent article published in ACS Central Science that details a significant injury and long-term disability from an inadvertent injection of dichloromethane with a recently used syringe needle:

Vidal, S. Safety First: A Recent Case of a Dichloromethane Injection Injury. ACS Cent. Sci. 2020, 6, 83–86, DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.0c00100.

As pointed out in the article, injection of even very small quantities of routinely used organic solvents can result in a severe and irreversible injury.

The injury described in the article resulted from a finger prick with a recently used syringe needle with the plunger fully depressed. Less than 100 µL (two drops) of dichloromethane was injected. As graphically shown by photographs in the article, necrosis developed in the area around the puncture wound within 2 hours of the injury. Rather than performing an amputation, the attending surgeon elected to perform an extensive removal of the nearby dead flesh followed by a skin graft to close the wound. The student has not yet regained full use of the injured finger.

The Safety Committee would like to remind all students and staff to be familiar with the hazards associated with all chemicals involved in their work, even those that are commonly used. In addition to being a significant eye and skin irritant along with being internally toxic, dichloromethane is particularly dangerous owing to its being carcinogenic.

The Materials Safety Data Sheet for commonly used chemicals is available from the Chemistry Department's safety webpage (https://www.chemistry.msu.edu/safety/), at the following link (requires authentication with Chemistry Department credentials):

https://db.ehs.msu.edu/MSDS/search.htm

One should also review the response expected upon injury in a Chemistry laboratory:

https://www.chemistry.msu.edu/safety/in-case-of-injury/

 

Respond immediately to a solvent injection by calling 911 for assistance. 

Lastly, the Chemistry Safety Committee encourages discussion of this issue and of related hazards in the laboratory. Questions can be brought to the attention of any member of the committee or to David Hurst (322A Chemistry, CEM.safety@msu.edu), the EHS Chemistry Safety Officer. Contact information for the committee and for Mr. Hurst is listed at the following link,

 

https://www.chemistry.msu.edu/safety/ehs-chemistry-safety-officer-and-safety-committee/