As a user of consumable products on the PE-Biosystems 433 peptide
synthesizer, I feel compelled to alert the general public of a potential
hazard.
Today, while setting up to synthesize, I opened a new bottle of
Dichloromethane. I placed the bottle on the synthesizer cart (Didn't put it
in the container; my mistake!) and toggled the switch to pressurize the
bottle. As I turned away to fetch the next reagent, the bottle exploded
releasing 4l of DCM into the lab along with shards of glass.
The bottle, (this is information from the HAZMAT crew) had a hole in the
side approximately 2-4cm in diameter near the bottom where the corrugated
portion becomes smooth again.
This COULD be a materials defect in the glass from the manufacturer. This
COULD have resulted from improperly storing the reagent. (I may have
"clinked" 2 bottles together weakening both) This COULD be an isolated
incident. (I've used > 3000 bottles through my career; this is a first)
My intention is to alert the users base at large, not to cause a panic or a
safety recall of every bottle. Just use a little caution and don't take
your bottle changes for granted.