Acetone storage thoughts

[pendragon1998]

I'm thinking that I've been doing something stupid. I've got two half-full acetone cans like the one below. I've been storing them in the closet, and for months now, I've occasionally heard a little metallic pop, similar to the sound you hear when you squeeze the cans gently. It's been in the back of my mind, but I have kept ignoring it. I finally paid more attention to it tonight, and what I think is going on is that the acetone is slowly evaporating. As the pressure in the can slowly goes down and down, the can eventually burps - the metallic pop - and then the process repeats.

 

This means that I've got two little cans of acetone in my office that are slowly releasing acetone into the air we're breathing. I haven't noticed any ill effects - it's probably a very small amount that is escaping - but tomorrow I'm moving those cans to an outdoor-vented storage space. I don't need to go and get cancer in 20 years or something.

 

 

[Bugmann1974]

Here is an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for acetone...

 

http://www.purdue.edu/REM/home/booklets/Acetone%20MSDS.pdf

 

I would worry more about fumes igniting than breathing small amounts though.

[TomB]

I doubt you are evaporating the acetone out of the storage container as long as the container is not damaged and is closed properly. More likely, you have a temperature change in the room and the acetone is expanding and contracting in the container, which will cause the sound.

[coinman23885-migration]

This means that I've got two little cans of acetone in my office that are slowly releasing acetone into the air we're breathing. I haven't noticed any ill effects - it's probably a very small amount that is escaping - but tomorrow I'm moving those cans to an outdoor-vented storage space. I don't need to go and get cancer in 20 years or something.

 

First of all, as Tom B. points out, temperature differences can cause acetone to evaporate and re-condense in the can producing noises, and in the absence of abrasions or a broken seal, I do not believe that you have been exposed to acetone. Even if you had, the exposure would have been minimal.

 

Nevertheless I understand your concern for you and your family (and/or coworkers), and I write from personal experience to help provide a sense of security. I have used acetone on a regular basis, as it is a common organic solvent used in undergraduate and industrial chemistry labs. Fortunately for you, unlike a lot of other organic solvents, acetone is relatively benign. It is not regarded as being carcinogenic nor is it mutagenic (mutation inducing - including those that are relatively benign and non-carcinogenic). Current research has shown that it does not appear to be a chronic neurotoxin either.

 

With that being said, OSHA has set permissible exposure levels for people who work in the chemical industry who are exposed to acetone on a regular basis. OSHA has set this limit at 1,000 parts per million (ppm) per 8 hour work shift. Breathing concentrations as low as 1,000 ppm causes significant irritation of the eyes and throat in less than 1 hour. Since you have not noticed any of these effects, it is clear that you are below the threshold amount. Besides, the limits provided by OSHA and other agencies are for those who are exposed well above the threshold limit for long periods of times (years and years).

 

As a final aside and attempt to assuage your fears, it is notable that acetone is a basic product of human metabolic processes and in amounts of up to 5-8 mg/L, it has been safe when present in beverages and food. In summation, you can relax.

 

I hope this helps. Although I am not a physician, I do have a solid background in chemistry. Feel free to PM me.

[michael]

totally 100% agree with tom

[SWNGC]

You may come to regret having these cans in your closet in the event of a home fire - LOVING the outdoor storage site idea...

[pendragon1998]

I doubt you are evaporating the acetone out of the storage container as long as the container is not damaged and is closed properly. More likely, you have a temperature change in the room and the acetone is expanding and contracting in the container, which will cause the sound.

 

 

I should have thought of that Tom - I've been out of chemistry classes for too long. PV=nRT

 

I was kind of being a little melodramatic about the cancer risk, but I don't want to expose myself to something I don't need to. I usually use the stuff outside when I do use it, or at the least in a well-ventillated room.

[$ilverHawk]

Don't forget about rapid changes in barometric pressure ie. a storm front passing through. When higher pressure returns you would get flexing of walls of the container--and the "pop" sound.

 

Carl