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Chewbacca[_2_]

wrote:
On 19 Jul,
andrew@a17 (Andrew Gabriel) wrote:

which reminds me -- another potential source of hydrofluoric acid
which firemen need to be aware of is the fluoroelastomer synthetic
rubber used to make things like rubber door seals in cars. In certain
specific conditions in a fire, they produce hydrofluoric acid when
burned. This presents a nasty hidden danger for anyone handling a
vehicle after a fire.

Was it 'viton' used for gaskets/O rings that has similar properties in fires?
We had to stop using it at work several years ago.

Correct - It's fluorinated rubbers such as viton that decompose at high
temperature to produce HF.
They are also expensive, so would be very surprised if used for door
seals. O rings might be.

Used to work with a guy that had had a tiny drip of HF acid on his hand.
He had a hole about 4mm diameter and about 4mm deep in his hand. It
had been like that for 20 years. It never closed up....