Cleaning parts precaution!

Tom Wesenberg

Tom Wesenberg

Well-known member
Yesterday a 17 year old boy died after he was sprayed with jet fuel at the Blaine airport. I was just there on Saturday for the old planes fly-in. He phoned his girlfriend and told her he got sprayed with diesel fuel, and a short time later he died.

When I was 12 I used a 3 foot piece of old garden hose to syphon a gallon of gas from our John Deere H to use in my 1950 Studebaker field car. I swallowed a mouthfull and thought I was going to die. I was gasping for air and spit a lot, then ran to the house and ate some toast, but nothing would get rid of the awful taste. It took about 3 days to wear off.

Isn't jet fuel about the same thing as diesel?

I usually use diesel or gas to clean parts of oil and grease.
 
Jet fuel is more similar to kerosene. That's scary. I have a gallon in my parts-cleaning tub, but haven't begun to clean everything up yet. Did he ingest a mouthful, or just dermal exposure(in his eyes)?
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
When I was 12 I used a 3 foot piece of old garden hose to syphon a gallon of gas from our John Deere H to use in my 1950 Studebaker field car. I swallowed a mouthfull and thought I was going to die.
Click to expand...

You were real lucky. I've been told it only takes 4 ounces to kill you. Glad you're still with us.

Another thing that can get you is brake cleaner. If you heat it, it turns into phosgene gas (yes, the stuff they used in WW1). From now on, I only buy the non-chlorinated version.

Steve
 
Back in the 60's we used a "sniffer" to find Freon leaks, R-12, it ran off a propane tank that was lit, breathing that stuff was Phosgene gas according to the Teacher! Dudley
 
"He phoned his girlfriend and told her he got sprayed with diesel fuel, and a short time later he died." "Isn't jet fuel about the same thing as diesel?"


Not to split hairs about this tragic event, but jet fuel is refined Kerosene, or JP-1. Close to the same thing.

Hummmmm, a short time later he died??? I'm inclined to be a skeptic about this. Did he drown? Thousands of people have been drenched with various fuels, few die. What's the rest of the story?

Maybe instead of call the GF he should have showered by the emergency aeroport shower...we have one at Cherryland Aeroport where I'm now working at cutting grass.

skip.
 
Jet fuel has nitromethane in it but I seriously doubt that was the problem.
Has to be other circumstances.
 
From reading the report on the net it sounds like he may have taken a full shot of it in the face.
Teen fuel handler dies at Anoka County-Blaine Airport


BY KASSIE PETERMANN • SUN NEWSPAPERS

Published: Tuesday, May 25, 2010 12:52 PM CDT
A 17-year-old Anoka-County Airport fuel handler was found dead at work Friday night, May 21.



Patrick Marzitelli, a junior at White Bear Lake High School, worked for Cirrus Flight Operations.

A co-worker found Marzitelli and called 911. Paramedics declared Marzitelli dead at the scene.

According to media reports, Marzitelli sent a text to his girlfriend that said, "I just got blasted with some jet fuel." She responded by asking if he was OK, and he said he was coughing and wheezing but thought he would be OK.

This accident is under investigation.
 
I thought there must be more to the story also, so I went to Google and read that they found him with his face on the fill hole of the fuel truck. It almost sounds like "huffing" is what they call it I believe. Need to wait for the full investigation.
 
New of a boy growing up, he was 15 using a hose to suck start a syphon from a gas tank, swallowed some amount, lukily his father was an EMT he found him unconscious a few seconds later, he survived, but was never quite right.
 
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