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just wondering if I've poisoned myself. I was doing something silly and the 10A fuse exploded in my multimeter with the glass cylinder and alloy dust shattering and splattering making a mess on the PCB it was housed on. I have touched the dust and don't remember washing my hands before carrying on with life. I did wipe my hands though. so I may have contaminated other areas I touched and at worst, ingested some.

Would anyone know if the fuse had lead in it or not? It was a fast acting 10A fuse rated for 250V (F10AL250V)

Thanks everyone

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Brand would be important, but they should have a MDS like this: eaton.com/content/dam/eaton/products/electronic-components/… \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 3:05
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    \$\begingroup\$ Lead is mainly an issue for children. Relax. It's poisonous true, but it's not cyanide. Everybody (mostly) on this site plays with lead (solder) everyday yet we're still breathing. \$\endgroup\$
    – Kyle B
    Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 3:40
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    \$\begingroup\$ I wouldn't worry. This was a one-off event and there are countless other sources of undesirables in the environment that surrounds you. If you are interested in seeing what's going on in the US, for example, see Ravalli et al. 2021, Sociodemographic disparities in uranium and other metals in community water systems across the US, 2006-2011. Or visit the Columbia University Drinking Water Dashboard. You will find that uranium and a bevy of other poisons are in the commonly available water supplies. And that's chronic. Not acute. \$\endgroup\$
    – jonk
    Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 3:44
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    \$\begingroup\$ Thanks y'all. I did consult the retailer for the brand but they said no idea. True, it's not cyanide. It's just that I've been struggling with my studies lately and thought it affected my brain as a lot of research suggests. Might just be having a bad week. Thanks jonk \$\endgroup\$
    – Cen d
    Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 5:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Cend Yeah. I think the two things are unrelated, unless it's psychosomatic. I think you'll be fine if you just put this out of mind for a bit. It's far more likely that the struggle has to do with variations in the teaching, or the pace of the teaching, or the parts of the curriculum you are involved in right now. I think we all have smoother learning periods and slower ones, as we perceive them at the time. But in hindsight we can then often see why the slower ones weren't slower, so much as biting off more at the time. Best wishes! \$\endgroup\$
    – jonk
    Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 23:44

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You will be fine. Unlike kids growing up in old houses (pre-1980s) where the white pigment is lead oxide instead of titanium dioxide. The lead oxide sheds off as lead oxide dust as the latex or alkyd paint oxidizes and peels off the walls. Or they put there mouth on the windowsill as they look out the window and unknowingly bite into the wood and moisten the paint with their saliva. Even new coats of paint don't permanently encapsulate old lead-based paint. The new latex paints tend to peel off of the alkyd-based lead paint and expose old lead.

Those kids are surrounded by the lead dust.

Other kids in inner cities playing in playgrounds and parks built before the 1980s are also exposed regularly as the soil is pretty contaminated with lead oxide. In this case, the lead oxide was delivered as an aerosol of fine powder coming from automotive exhaust as tetraethyl lead was the anti-knock additive used from the 1930s to 1970s. Ethyl Corporation was the major manufacturer. They created a new company, NewMarket Corporation (traded as "NEU") and made Ethyl Corporation a subsidiary - some people suspect that it was to hide the name Ethyl Corporation from investors.

Anyhow, your little exposure to metal vapor won't lower your IQ nearly as much as the kids who unknowingly interact with lead on a daily basis. After all, we don't even know what alloy was used in the specific fuse you blew. Many different alloys are used in fuses.

Final note: The FDA claims there is no "safe" level of lead exposure and any measurable concentration of lead is bad. But bad is a relative term, after all, it's not bad enough to ban landlords from renting buildings containing lead paint to families with young kids. No special precautions are taken when demolishing buildings painted with lead paint - no effort needs to be made to control the dust fall-out into surrounding parks and playgrounds or homes. I'm sure you'll be fine - (remember, fine is a relative term).

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Are you sure those people turned out okay? "Our economic system feeds lead to children so rich people can get richer, therefore lead isn't that bad" isn't really convincing. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 10:33
  • \$\begingroup\$ Of course I'm not sure. But the OP is certainly better off than they are - and the question was about the OP. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Apr 8, 2022 at 12:13

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