I've been asked to approve a COSHH assessment for Sulphuric Acid, the MSDS contains the following advice regarding first aid if vapours are inhaled, this has been transferred across into the COSHH assessment; "If not breathing, induce artificial respiration with a respiratory medical device; do not use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if victim ingested or inhaled the substance. Immediate medical attention is required" Our First aid kits contain the normal sort of mouth shield to prevent infection - however I don't think this is what is meant by this statement? Can anyone provide a suitable link to a device? Everything I can find seems to be oxygen fed!

You'll probably be looking for some sort of manual bag/mask ventilation device - but I'm pretty sure you need at the very least a BLS qualification to use such. I would also take note of Ron's comments to ensure your going down the right path with this one.

Principles of COSHH would suggest you buy in a lesser concentration. If needed, you can purchase assay quality.

I am suggesting buying in a less concentrated form. I have done a little check and we have around 10L of concentrated sulphuric in the building 7.5L of it in the stores. However, assuming there is some reason we have to continue storing 98%, I'm guessing labs far and wide have similar quantities, I would say it is foreseeable that there may be some sort of accident perhaps in the warehouse or lab where someone is unconscious and some acid is spilt (and therefore fumes may be inhaled) albeit that the likelihood is low. So - do other labs have a "respiratory medical device" available who handle conc. Sulphuric? Our COSHH template asks people to consider what first aid measures might be needed and the person doing the assessment has transposed this from the MSDS, which seems reasonable? It's a pretty low risk we'll have a fire involving it too but we've still made sure we have appropriate extinguishers.

The respiratory hazard is not the first thing I would worry about. There is a serious risk of burns both to them and the first aider. Lots of water on hand please. Get them out of there very quickly. However, what is the probability of someone falling unconscious while carrying the stuff - almost nil. No, is the short answer. We had oxygen, but not specifically for this purpose and we were not anticipating using it for sulphuric acid. We had a lot more than 10 litres, although in any one lab there would probably only be one Winchester. Incidentally, if you are worried about people dropping the bottles you can get the stuff supplied in bottles with a coating that is so strong that you can bounce the bottles around on concrete and they won't break or leak. As for fire - it isn't going to contribute to the fire so, all other things being equal, water is the thing. Don't forget that data sheets tend to go for the worst case scenario (just read the one for sodium chloride and you will see what I mean). They also stray beyond the first aid scenario and get into the physician's domain. If you have someone who is experiencing difficulty in breathing for whatever reason you get the priority on a 999 call, and the rapid response vehicle will be with you very quickly. However, they will want you to have made it safe for them, so your first priority is to get the casualty away from the acid and to dilute any contaminants on them.

Thanks All I think we will probably not worry about having these devices on site, we have experienced scientific staff who are used to handling acids - it's just that measures like this are finding their way off MSDS's into our COSHH assessments and I don't think we should be referring to first aid procedures in our assessment that we don't have the equipment to actually perform!