Phosgene (COCl2) Accident, during melting old Lead.

[WalterWhite]

Hi everyone, I guess, this is the right section to share my almost deadly experience, that I made 30 hours ago.
And I want to share it, as a warning for everyone else.
Few days ago, I bought me a small electric Lead/Tin-Melter and wanted to clean up my old lead, which I got for cheap, by melting and pouring it into new ingots.
The old leadfoil had few spots of Paint on it, but that never has been a problem for a cleaning melt, but this time, some also had a very small, filmlike residue, of a grayish polymere stuff, because it seems to come from a roof. What it exactly is, I don't know. I didnt bother about that and dropped it into the melting pot, which wasn't the first time, by the way, I did it earlier already some times, but I was using a gas torch, not an electric melter, like this time.
But then, a bit of smoke came out and there was also a very strange and intense smell in the air, that I never smelled before in my life, which I would describe, as similar to old dust, from a vacuumcleaner or something, a stiffling smell and and it fitted to what the smell of Phosgene is described like.
Also I realized an immediate burning in the eyes and on the skin, and an alkaline like taste in the mouth. I had the windows open before starting, but it was still produced enough, to breathe in some of that shit. I realized, it was some very toxic shit going on here and I escaped from the area, as fast as I could.
After some research, I am almost sure now, that I accidentally produced small amounts of Phosgene by melting old lead, with residues of chlorinated hydrocarbons on it.
I didn't develop the toxic pulmonary edema, even while I realized a burning feeling in the respiratory tract for a many hours after that, but I am quite sure, it was fucking close and I had more luck than brain in this case, not to kill myself.
I hope, this will help someone, who also has the task of melting old lead, to be aware of this danger and to take the right safety precautions before. It wouldn't have happened to me, if I had that information before, at least... but I never read about it anywhere.
It's not always the explosive stuff, that can kill. Don't underestimate the danger of poisons, that can develop accidentally due to pyrolysis.

Edited Thursday at 12:47 PM by WalterWhite

[ThunderEx]

Shit, I'm glad you're ok! Gases can be treacherous for sure. Thanks for sharing.

[WalterWhite]

2 hours ago, ThunderEx said:

Shit, I'm glad you're ok! Gases can be treacherous for sure. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you also, it's around 45 hours ago, but am still suffering from a burning in the throat und lungs. But at least I can still breathe, what is not the case if one gets the fatal dose. 

[WalterWhite]

This is the same type of lead, with the deadly residues on it, in case someone asks, how it looked like. Nothing spectacular, just a very thin layer, not thicker than a bit of dust and it felt a bit like fine sand. But I guess, the simple PVC from a cable, that would produce HCl under normal conditions, can also produce Phosgene, if the Pyrolysis is going on in molten Lead, because there it is protected from air and the Temperature around 300°C is almost ideal for Phosgene generation. In case of an open burner flame, directed to the lead, it may have broken down the Phosgene again directly.