An Environmental Question

[Nikki Stone 1]

I'm looking for DUers with some knowledge of the toxic effects of burning antifreeze on human beings. I googled antifreeze and toxin and get lots of information on ingesting it, but I am looking for the effects of breathing in the fumes as the antifreeze is burning off. I have a friend who might actually be in this situation, so it's not an idle question.

Thanks in advance,

Nikki

[Wilms]

1. They should consider going to a "Burn Unit".

They're more equipped to deal with burns than a hospital.

Go now!

[Nikki Stone 1]

2. Suppose a person were breathing in the fumes from an old car that

was having radiator problems. What might be expected?

[Solon]

4. If he wants to be safe, two things are needed...

a charcoal breathing mask with goggles, and being in a well ventilated area, bring a fan to blow the fumes away, etc.

[punpirate]

6. That isn't "burning" the antifreeze...

... it's gassing off as steam, and a fair amount of that gas would be water vapor. I think you'd have to breathe in quite a bit to have any deleterious effects, and in open air, I don't think the concentrations would be particularly high.

The principal injury comes from ingestion, because a metabolite of ethylene glycol forms glycolic acid in the liver, which then causes extreme acidosis and precipitation of other compounds which can cause kidney failure.

Signs to watch for are mental instability and rapid breathing (indicating severe acidosis).

[Nikki Stone 1]

7. Thanks. This is what I was looking for. I posted this late last night

when I was too tired to think straight.

My friend is driving around a car with chronic radiator problems, and a very pronounced smell inside the car that gets worse when the engine is turned on. I myself smelled antifreeze last night.

This friend has been getting chronic headaches and problems that she associates with a previous liver ailment. Your mention of the liver concerns me for that reason. She has also had some shortness of breath.

When I was in her car last night, I had a headache within minutes which stopped about 5 minutes after I got out of the car. My friend is in this car a lot of hours during the day and I think there may be a connection between the car problems and hers. It doesn't help that she doesn't have much money and the mechanic comes cheap.

[punpirate]

8. Because it's winter time...

... the first thing I would suspect, if you smell it inside the car, is a small leak in the heater core. You can usually determine if that's so by putting the heater fan on high and setting the heat range to high and the vent to defrost. If the heater core is leaking, there will likely be a light, slippery-feeling film on the inside of the windshield, and the windshield will fog up a bit from the water in the coolant.

Still, this has to be a minor leak, because the car simply wouldn't run for long without coolant. A big leak would not permit her to drive in it all day.

Remember that ethylene glycol is an alcohol, so it's more apt to cause inattentiveness at first than headaches. The real health problems are associated with drinking it--the metabolites that result in injury are the result of the digestive system working in combination with the liver.

If you are both getting headaches after being in the car after a short while, keep the windows open, and have the exhaust system checked. There may be a small coolant leak somewhere that's leading you to believe the problem is associated with antifreeze, but the car may actually have an exhaust leak that's seeping into the passenger compartment.

Hope that helps.

[sam sarrha]

3. i think you mean 'Boiling off'... if it is inside of you its bad, deadly,

as to how much .. i would err on the side of caution.. any is to much, if you breath it in it tastes sweet.

it will ruin your kidneys

consult a doctor, there is probably an amount you can tollerate but it is probably small.. call the poision control center, it is in you phone book

[livvy]

5. I found this....

http://library.cbest.chevron.com/lubes/ehlchevmsdsv9.nsf/a37a566cb6e34c88882569cf0002e997/9de096333d12be12882569b500129674?OpenDocument

I found it googling antifreeze fumes