Risks are associated with almost all kinds of chemicals whether they are using for industrial purpose or for household. Some chemicals are hazardous and require extra attention and care while dealing and Caustic soda or Sodium Hydroxide is one of them. Chemically caustic soda is represented as NaOH having the strong base and thus uses as strong chemical base in various industries. The chemical is easily soluble in water, methanol and ethanol and its alkali form is actively absorbs carbon dioxide and moisture present in air. Caustic soda is widely used in several industries such as pulp, paper, soaps, drinking water, textile and detergent making companies. In addition this substance also found in other manufacturing plants like in the production of cell phone or rayon, natural gas and petroleum gas processing, making of adhesives, sodium hypochlorite stabilization process and even in some chemical processes to control the pH value of chemicals. Physically the chemical is available in its solution form, whitish solid, flakes, pellets and granules forms.
Industrially, sodium hydroxide is produced as a 50% solution varying with its manufacturing process. It is white in color and non aqueous alkaline solution that is highly reactive substance. However the lye (sodium hydroxide or caustic soda) is not readily flammable but evolve heat when combined with water and forms an exothermic solution. With the varying concentrations, this chemical substance is used in its solution form or pure solid form depending on the requirement. Caustic soda is considered as a very essential chemical in chemistry world but at the same time substance is very dangerous and requires extra caution to handle.
According to the reports of some cases of caustic soda inhalation, it has been proven that this substance has the ability to irritate the respiratory lining. Moreover it can also make you suffer from lung injury known as pulmonary edema. Some workers that exposed with this chemical complained to have the problem in breathing and tightness in chest etc. As this substance is highly corrosive, it should not come in contact with any part of human body. Burning, scarring and ulceration are some issues that have been noticed during the skin exposure. During exposure the possibility with eye contact increase and the main symptom of having the eye injury with this exposure is damage of cornea that may results in loss of vision.
As we already said, lye is highly corrosive substance it is likely to corrode everything that comes in its path and may even results in more serious condition. Hemorrhage and perforation may occur in some severe cases and sometimes results in death. When it comes to skin contact, skin may become dry, inflamed and cracked. Therefore it's good to adopt safety measures while dealing with such hazardous chemical, especially workers who are dealing with it are advisable to wear uniform and gloves to cover themselves.
