RE: accidents happen; safety kits in the garage

["Ian Lomax" <sfalfisto@domain.elided>]

i've been meaning to get a couple fire extinguishers (yes, i know, long
overdue) out there.  some oil dry, but no real safety gear.  the house
shower is close by if needed.

here's a tip, if you spill a large amount of something dangerous, oh, say
gasoline... call the fire department.  they usually have large amounts of
absorbent, and would rather use that then have to hose down your burning
house.  a friend used their services after somehow spilling a few gallons of
gas in his garage.

work safely,
ian "just finished replacing the o2 sensor on the 164, under the car with
jackstands, a safey jack, goggles and gloves" lomax

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-alfa@domain.elided [mailto:owner-alfa@domain.elided]On Behalf Of
Tessie McMillan
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 7:11 PM
To: alfa-digest@domain.elided
Subject: accidents happen; safety kits in the garage


The stars don't seem to be sending me the right signals this week. I had
hoped for Friday to be my first day back on the track since having
surgery in January (and being confined to a "no driving" order for six
months). However, it seems that I am encountering obstacle after obstacle.

The most recent one involves my brake master cylinder failing
[somewhat catastrophically] under pressure when I was bleeding my brakes
this afternoon.

I was using the Power Bleeder, had checked the seals at low
pressure, upped the pressure, started bleeding, stopped for some reason to
get something, and suddenly it seemed like the ceiling had opened up and
was pouring down blue fluid. The plastic on the top half of the master
cylinder just started to crack and give way. Brake fluid spewed
everywhere (at 20 psi I can tell you it goes at least 15 feet): onto my
car, the fenders, all over the engine bay, all over the floor, ALL OVER
MY DOGGIE (who wasn't anywhere near this whole escapade), all over my
tools, the walls, my project car (which thankfully was under a cover)....
I was scared because the fluid is a poison and it eats through paint in
nothing flat, but I didn't immediately know what to do to rectify the
situation.

Well, I've just sat down after cleaning up for 2-1/2 hours straight. Lucy
(my doggie) has had several warm and cold water rinses and can't figure
out why I'm so panicked about getting her clean. I've put the
wheels back on the car and backed it into the driveway, hosed the car
down, hosed the engine down, and hosed the garage floor down several times
(well, as best you can when you've got zilch for water pressure on a 95
degree day).

The sounds my car makes (this is my non Alfa, but it could easily be my
Alfa -- I bled her brakes last week!) are pretty awful, but I think we'll
live, and tomorrow we'll limp over to my mechanic to get a new master
cylinder... and maybe a new V-belt, sigh....

What I'm focused on now is safety in the garage. Specifically, what kind
of spill kits you'd have around, what kind of safety gear and safety
equipment you'd have. As I was hosing the floor down I had plenty of time
to think about this. A few years ago I worked in a clinical laboratory at
the UW; we had our share of lab accidents (I got tripped into one
involving sulfuric acid, myself) but we also had a reasonable assemblage
of safety equipment and emergency stations. When I had the attack of the
sulfuric acid, I jumped into a nearby sink and started hosing myself down
with the water nozzle, and a coworker came along and dumped a gallon of
sodium bicarb onto me. I was wearing a labcoat, and it and my clothes
and shoes ended up shredded by the acid, and I suffered only minor burns.
But in the average garage, would you need this kind of response?
(safety clothes, safety shower and neutralizer). Would a spill kit
(zeolite or something of that nature) be better for certain kinds of
spills? I always wear protective glasses in the garage, no matter what I
do, and usually gloves -- although more from vanity than anything else.
I'm curious as to what your safety equipment/clothing/procedures run to.

Now to go check on Lucy again.

Take care, and those of you in the Seattle area I'll see you in Bremerton
on Friday (although I guess I won't be driving!)

Tess
Bellevue, WA U.S.A.
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