How Long Does Exposed e-liquid Remain Toxic?

[Wallace_Frampton]

Trying to get some sense of the dangers of e-liquid and/or nicotine in terms of touch. Say for example a vial of e-liquid gets dumped on a coffee table and there's a toddler in the house somewhere. How long does it take the nicotine in the puddle on the coffee table to "decompose"? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks?

Does the nicotine evaporate away, leaving behind the (is it called "base"?) propylene glycol, etc... or does it all evaporate away together?

Is it a "thing" within the vaping culture to always make sure to keep your e-liquid capped? {MODERATED}

Has anyone dumped some on themselves? If so, what happened? Nothing, chemical burns, trip to hospital, increased heart rate, etc... Also is nicotine water soluble? What's the clean-up procedure for nicotine/e-liquid spills. I assume you don't need a hazmat suit. Do you need gloves?

 

[LisaR]

I don't think the nicotine just evaporates away in minutes/hours/days, but the strength of it will degrade over time. The PG/VG it's in will evaporate, because they are mostly water, and leave a residue. As far as spills, if you're talking pre-mixed between 0-24mg/ml e-liquid, just wipe it up well. Then wash the sponge well, or throw away the paper towel, or whatever. Anyone who has been vaping awhile will eventually spill e-liquid on themselves. You just wash it off. Nothing happens. Possibly a little will absorb into your system, and you will need to vape less later. If you are talking about high concentrations for DIY, however, you need to be more careful. If you are using 100mg/ml, or maybe even higher, you can definitely get nic-sick and should wear gloves when working with it/cleaning spills. I don't know if the nicotine itself is water soluble (I suspect it is), but the PG and/or VG base definitely is.

 

[Lannie]

I've heard that up to a level ABOVE what most people vape, the nicotine concentration is NOT toxic. It might be when you get up over 100mg/ml, but I've also heard anything under 200mg/ml is safe. Who knows? Nobody would vape that high a concentration in the first place. (Although I've also recently seen video evidence of something called "nut jobs" where stupid young males of the human species intentionally try to hurt themselves in a delicate place. Maybe THEY would be that stupid.)

If there are children in the house, why would you not wipe up a spill right away? I know you're probably asking in a theoretical sense, but no sane person would just LEAVE something like that spilled on their coffee table, even if they didn't have kids. And if anyone wants to tell me that there actually ARE people that stupid, please keep that information to yourselves. I might have a meltdown... Of course, the aforementioned nut-jobbers might do that, but hopefully, they've already rendered themselves incapable of procreating, and there would be no children at risk. (Please, tell me it's so...)

~Lannie

 

[Wallace_Frampton]

I know you're probably asking in a theoretical sense, but no sane person would just LEAVE something like that spilled on their coffee table, even if they didn't have kids.

I'm anticipating and trying to get ahead of the stupidity I'm going to encounter when fighting with Wikipedia editors and administrators.

 

[man00ver]

I hate to disagree with LisaR, but that e-liquid puddle on the coffee table is not going to decompose in any meaningful way until you wipe it up. It won't evaporate (there is very little if any water in e-liquid), and the nicotine won't diminish by more than a percentage point or two, even if you left it there for months.

It should be kept capped, just like you'd cap your toothpaste when you're not dispensing it. It's not really dangerous on the skin, or even to taste a few drops, but you wouldn't want to soak in a bath of it or drink down the bottle. Of course you don't want kids or pets to be licking it up, so get out the rag and clean up! And put that bottle out of reach!

Nicotine itself is not properly water-soluble, though it mixes well with water at higher temperatures. A warm rag and a little dish soap will mop it up just fine. Maybe a blast of Windex if you're feeling overly cautious (it's alcohol-soluble).

 

[Wow1420]

I would not count on the nic oxidizing quickly enough to be benign to a toddler.
An adult, getting some on their skin, well, all they need to do is wash it off.

About Nicotine toxicity --
Nicotine lethal dose in humans: a common argument by regulatory authorities, based on poor science
How much nicotine kills a human? Tracing back the generally accepted lethal dose to dubious self-experiments in the nineteenth century - Springer

 

[Wow1420]

Madvapes also did an informal test of nic oxidation over time
Madvapes Blog - Nicotine Concentration Over Time

 

[sparkky1]

I'm anticipating and trying to get ahead of the stupidity I'm going to encounter when fighting with Wikipedia editors and administrators.

What administrators would that be ?

 

[sonicdsl]

Another source of information:
The Great Nicotine Myth



(and also, OP is edited... please see this link: Why we don't allow drug talk | E-Cigarette Forum )

 

[Wallace_Frampton]

Madvapes also did an informal test of nic oxidation over time

Another source of information:

(and also, OP is edited... please see this link:

Thanks, I'll read all the links.

 

[Wallace_Frampton]

What administrators would that be ?

I meant wikipedia administrators, and no I'm not going to name anyone.

 

[USACelt]

Darwin, Please rescue us!!!!!!!
Last time I spilled something I wiped it up and disposed of it accordingly, I think that was whiskey or something like that.

 

[stevegmu]

It's pretty dangerous, especially around toddlers. The local poison control center may be a good resource if you have concerns about hazards and toxicity...

 

[N2Vapor]

Trying to get some sense of the dangers of e-liquid and/or nicotine in terms of touch. Say for example a vial of e-liquid gets dumped on a coffee table and there's a toddler in the house somewhere. How long does it take the nicotine in the puddle on the coffee table to "decompose"? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks?

Does the nicotine evaporate away, leaving behind the (is it called "base"?) propylene glycol, etc... or does it all evaporate away together?

Is it a "thing" within the vaping culture to always make sure to keep your e-liquid capped? {MODERATED}

Has anyone dumped some on themselves? If so, what happened? Nothing, chemical burns, trip to hospital, increased heart rate, etc... Also is nicotine water soluble? What's the clean-up procedure for nicotine/e-liquid spills. I assume you don't need a hazmat suit. Do you need gloves?

Its good for extremely dry skin also ,
Vg made from vegetables is skin care pg is synthetic version its only the nicotine u have to worry about and its mixed in to your juice ,so its diluted
I found data for glyceren its save ,
Rub it all over u its like very good for skin ...also key ingrediant in soap ,shampoo ,conditioner ,all kinds of products u already use ,also great sex lube,

 

[payne1226]

Rub it all over u its like very good for skin ...also key ingrediant in soap ,shampoo ,conditioner ,all kinds of products u already use ,also great sex lube,

I'm going to have to rest the sex lube theory!! haha permitting the wife's approval

 

[VNeil]

I handle 100mg nic all the time, for DIY juice prep, and do not wear gloves. Many people here do the same. If I get some on my fingers, as I usually do, from handling the measuring syringe, I wash it off whenever it's convenient. I've put 1ml or so on the palm of my hand and left it there until I got bored. Had no effect on me. I think my tolerance is higher than some other people. I've heard people say they get a warm sensation, or even a burning sensation (but not an actual burn) from skin contact with 100mg. Some even say they get headaches or nausea from the fumes but I never did. Tolerance varies widely so it wouldn't hurt to use nitrile gloves, at least for anything over 24mg, until you learn your tolerance. Nic isn't water, nor is it arsenic. It is somewhere in between.

If you have a toddler or small child you would definitely want to keep any nic juice away from them and not do experiments in the interests of science.

You can assume the nic in any spilled juice will remain longer than you let it sit there (it would take at least days, or weeks to even start to degrade). I keep my bottles capped, especially glass dropper bottles. Although plastic dropper bottles I might leave uncapped for dripping. If you just occasionally load a tank then you may want to cap the bottles just to keep things clean.

 

[Wallace_Frampton]

You can assume the nic in any spilled juice will remain longer than you let it sit there (it would take at least days, or weeks to even start to degrade). I keep my bottles capped, especially glass dropper bottles. Although plastic dropper bottles I might leave uncapped for dripping. If you just occasionally load a tank then you may want to cap the bottles just to keep things clean.

I read a white paper a couple of days ago that talks about the scarcity of any recent studies on the toxicity of nicotine, and in fact they claim it's probable the (ballpark figure) 40 to 60 mg toxicity level being quoted today in medical journals may actually be "sourced" from self-research done by doctors in the late 1800's. They gave themselves nicotine, documented what the results of their tests were, and predicted how much more nicotine they would have to give themselves before it killed them, wrote that figure down and then that figure became the official "this much nicotine will kill a person" figure. It's a secondary avenue for me right now. At this point I've got about 20 links that I need to research in order to get up to speed on vaping, etc... and haven't the time to chase this one down, but this is definitely a question that needs a high quality answer.

 

[VNeil]

I read a white paper a couple of days ago that talks about the scarcity of any recent studies on the toxicity of nicotine, and in fact they claim it's probable the (ballpark figure) 40 to 60 mg toxicity level being quoted today in medical journals may actually be "sourced" from self-research done by doctors in the late 1800's. They gave themselves nicotine, documented what the results of their tests were, and predicted how much more nicotine they would have to give themselves before it killed them, wrote that figure down and then that figure became the official "this much nicotine will kill a person" figure. It's a secondary avenue for me right now. At this point I've got about 20 links that I need to research in order to get up to speed on vaping, etc... and haven't the time to chase this one down, but this is definitely a question that needs a high quality answer.

Based on some articles here, the real number is thought to be somewhere between 500mg and 1000mg OR HIGHER. No one seems to know the basis of that LD50 number. This article says probably 20x that 60mg LD50 number...

Nicotine Propaganda

I think I would have to use it as a skin care treatment (100mg concentrate) to even start having serious problems, but that is just my guess as to the "skin contact toxicity" issue. If you put a couple ml of VG or PG on the palm of your hand, what happens? Does it get sucked right in? No, it sits there . I don't think anything changes if it has up to 10% nicotine in it (100mg) and in fact I mentioned I already tested that on myself.

I'd have to drink it to really have a problem, I can't think of any other way to have a problem. But the problem with this is that I've seen a number of 10x in terms of variances in nic tolerance from person to person and maybe I'm on the high side, maybe I'm off he charts (in theory in principle...who knows?).

So I just came to the conclusion that people are generally way overly cautious when talking about it. Which is good, in that no one ever got hurt being overly cautious handling chemicals. OTOH a lot of people are afraid to do DIY, even with 24mg nic that they could vape straight up, without any effect worse than a headache or nausea if they are low tolerance 3mg users.

Most people have trouble threading needles like this... it's just the way it is.

if I had children, or my cats paid more attention to my juice components, then I would be far more cautious because dose makes the poison, and body weight determines that dose.

I really think politics has a lot to do with this. Certain people like the current LD50 number because they want nic to appear scary and toxic and bad for you... so they can tax it.

This is an interesting read....

Caffeine Overdose Symptoms: Signs, Cases, Prevention

According to that, many people have OD'd on caffeine, some fatally. Note the specific case studies. Of course, you never hear much about that. I'm not sure anyone has managed to fatally OD on DIY nic yet*, and if it happened it would be headline news for a month. That's politics and propaganda.

* In a documented case, not some media blip that was never well substantiated.

 

[Lannie]

I handle 100mg nic all the time, for DIY juice prep, and do not wear gloves. Many people here do the same. If I get some on my fingers, as I usually do, from handling the measuring syringe, I wash it off whenever it's convenient. I've put 1ml or so on the palm of my hand and left it there until I got bored. Had no effect on me. I think my tolerance is higher than some other people. I've heard people say they get a warm sensation, or even a burning sensation (but not an actual burn) from skin contact with 100mg. Some even say they get headaches or nausea from the fumes but I never did. Tolerance varies widely so it wouldn't hurt to use nitrile gloves, at least for anything over 24mg, until you learn your tolerance. Nic isn't water, nor is it arsenic. It is somewhere in between.

If you have a toddler or small child you would definitely want to keep any nic juice away from them and not do experiments in the interests of science.

You can assume the nic in any spilled juice will remain longer than you let it sit there (it would take at least days, or weeks to even start to degrade). I keep my bottles capped, especially glass dropper bottles. Although plastic dropper bottles I might leave uncapped for dripping. If you just occasionally load a tank then you may want to cap the bottles just to keep things clean.

I use 100mg/ml for my DIY mixing also, and I don't use gloves or anything. Of course, I'm careful not to spill it or slop it all over myself, either. Somewhere I thought I heard someone say that nicotine patches had 100mg in them, but I looked up Nicoderm just now and their strongest is only 24 mg, and that's supposed to last you 24 hours. WTH? No wonder those patches don't work! That would be like vaping one or two milliliters of juice a day and expecting it to keep you from smoking. Well, maybe someone who only smokes at parties, but not a two-pack-a-day smoker for sure! I'm glad I never tried those - it would have been a total waste of money for me.

~Lannie

 

[dave51]

If spilled any cleaning solution that breaks up oil based material(grease from cooking) will dissolve nicotine
It will dissolve in water
As far as how much harm it can do to children it can be very deadly especially babies they have never been in contact with any form of nicotine