Chemical Exposure!

[Stadtjunky]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to read this! I'm student chemist (only 21), and last week I got exposed to alot of methyl iodide when I spilt some dissolved in DCM onto my hand, although I was wearing nitrile gloves I think the chemical passed straight through, I had some skin irritation the next day. Now, after reading up so much about MeI, I'm paranoid that I'll get cancer. Am I being reasonable in worrying about getting cancer because of this exposure?

I seen a doctor, he says it's unlikely, but isn't it also extremely unlikely that someone would have this sort of accident?

Many, many thanks,

John

By the way, it was about 15 mL I split on my gloves (which stayed on my hands for like 6 -7 seconds), the 15 mL was mostly DCM, but about 1 mL was pure MeI

[Bonnie]

I'd trust a doctor over a bunch of strangers on the internet, but that's just me.

[alexdestin]

Risks, most chemists agree with is overvalued. Of course, there are medications that should be handled with extreme caution, but temporary, and involuntary exposure to small amounts of most chemicals used in laboratories is not dangerous.