Question: Have you worked with anything toxic

Jennifer Carroll answered on 20 Mar 2020: last edited 20 Mar 2020 11:29 am

I worked with hydrogen fluride (HF) as part of my master project… You know the stuff they use in Breaking Bad to dispose of a body. I had to be really careful, use special pipettes and work in a special fume hood. I was developing new materials for absorbing strontium and caesium from water using ion exchange.

At work now, there are hazardous chemicals used at the power station. Things like hydrazine to maintain water chemistry in the boilers and then there is the fuel. But these aren’t things I handle. I might go into areas where there are chemicals used, but it’s all on the industrial scale so is automated and in tanks and pipes.