Gloves should be made of plastic or vinyl. Pull back long hair to avoid unintentional contact with the acid.
For eye splashes, keep your eyelids open moving your eyes up, down, and side to side to properly flush them. For skin splashes, immerse the area of skin under running water for the full 15 minutes.
Make sure the container can hold at least twice the volume of solution as the amount of acid you have. This allows you enough space for diluting and neutralizing the acid. Take care not to spill any of the acid if you have to transfer it to a larger container.
The amount of water needed to dilute the acid is dependent upon how concentrated your solution is. The more concentrated, the more water you will need. You can calculate the exact amount by following the steps in how to dilute an acid. Never add water directly to the acid, this can cause the water to quickly boil and splash the acid. Take care not to spill any of the acid as you dilute it.
Dip the end of the pH strip into the solution. The strip will change color based on pH. Remove the strip and compare the color to the pH chart supplied with the strips. The color that matches the strip is the pH of your solution. The lower the pH of the acid, the more neutralizing solution you will need.
Follow the instructions on the container of lye to make your sodium hydroxide solution. Milk of magnesia does not need to be altered and can be used directly to neutralize the acid.
Alternatively, you can use a universal indicator solution. The liquid will change color according to pH. [7] X Research source Add the salt solution until the indicator changes to the color around the range of pH 7. 0. If you go beyond the neutral range, slowly add a dilute acidic solution to get the pH back down to at least 7. 4.
Highly toxic acids are hazardous waste. There are separate disposal rules for them in each state. Remember to check them. [9] X Expert Source Gregory Cade, JDEnvironmental & Occupational Law Attorney Expert Interview. 13 October 2021.
If you have different containers of the same acid with different compounds dissolved in it, keep them in separate containers as they must be disposed of separately.
