Author: Eliza Douglas   Date Posted: March 9, 2021 

Safety is something we often take for granted until something goes wrong. At Sydney Solvents, we’re committed to promoting safety and ensuring that everyone who uses our products does so safely. Recently, we’ve expanded our product range to include gloves and other essential safety equipment. The following information comes from our 24-hour emergency response line, 1800 127 406. While it’s not directly related to one of our products, it highlights how quickly situations can escalate. The Poisons Information Centre, reachable at 13 11 26, is another valuable resource worth exploring. On our website, you can find the relevant safety data sheets (SDS) right beneath the main image of each product. --- A call came into our ChemCall number, 1800 127 406. It lasted around 15 minutes, and here are the details: The caller was making homemade alcohol for brewing purposes using yeast, sugar, and water. Unfortunately, they had been exposed via inhalation. **Problem:** They were producing ethanol using yeast, sugar, and water to create cleaning solvents. They referenced an online guide on how to make cleaning solvents and followed safety instructions, which recommended gloves and eye protection—but not respiratory protection. As a result, they hadn’t been wearing a respirator. Over the past two weeks, they noticed their voice fading gradually, though it did return. This morning, they woke up vomiting what appeared to be a large amount of blood. **Action:** I asked the caller some probing questions to get a clearer picture. - **Confined Space:** Yes. - **Ventilation:** Poor. - **Could they smell off-gassing?** Yes, constantly. - **Did they feel lightheaded?** Most of the time. - **Were they feeling sick?** Constantly. - **Had they taken breaks outside?** No, they remained present during every batch. The caller admitted they hadn’t yet understood the distinction between ethanol and methanol until today, after experiencing this incident. I explained that distilling ethanol often results in impurities, including methanol, which is highly toxic—especially harmful to women and developing fetuses. When asked whether they distilled the product once or re-distilled it, they confirmed it was a single distillation. This meant a significant portion of the product remained impure, with a high concentration of methanol. Online guides suggested discarding the first 50 mL as methanol, but there were no tests confirming the quality of the remaining product. I advised them to review the safety data sheets (SDS) for both ethanol and methanol and to seek immediate medical attention. It’s likely they’ve been slowly poisoning themselves, potentially damaging their lungs and impairing oxygen transfer due to repeated exposure to alcohols without proper ventilation. I urged them to follow the expert advice closely and halt production until they could conduct a thorough review of their practices with professional guidance. It wasn’t until I mentioned they might be "huffing" ethanol continuously—putting themselves at risk of serious harm—that they fully grasped the gravity of the situation. We briefly discussed flammability concerns, and by then, they were paying close attention. **Conclusion:** This young man has clearly been inhaling significant amounts of alcohol in a confined space over the past two weeks. He’s fortunate to still be alive. Curiously, he found our ChemCall number through a Google search for a Sydney Solvents SDS, which listed our emergency advice line. ---

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