How bad is an accidental discharge of 8 grams of Lanaset dye into a septic system?
How bad is an accidental discharge of 8 grams of Lanaset dye into a septic system?
Name:
Pamela
Lanaset Dyes are among the very best dyes for hand-dyeing wool, silk, angora, mohair, and most nylons. You will also need: citric acid, sodium acetate, Glauber salt, Albegal SET, and Synthrapol.
Buy from
Paradise Fibers
Shibori: Creating Color and Texture on Silk
by Karren Brito
Country or region: U.S.
Message: I have accidentally dumped four to six ounces of a stock solution of Pro Chemical's Sun Yellow Sabraset down the drain into my rural septic system. It was made from a ten gram jar mixed into eight ounces of water. The MSDS on the ProChem site says of this color "Use care to minimize the amount of colored material to reach the sewer." Your site says of this color "No toxic metal." I am a 65 year old retired college professor and I entreat your opinion: How grievous do you perceive this mistake to be?
Not grievous at all. I would not be concerned about any damage occurring from this mistake, which you are unlikely to make frequently. You've accidentally discarded between 5 and 8 grams of this dye into your septic system. This is not a large amount, especially given that it's not a particularly toxic dye.
You've already looked at the sources I would consult. My notes on "Which Lanaset dye colors are pure, rather than mixtures?", indicate that this is a mixture of two reactive dyes, whose CAS numbers are 70247-70-0 and 72479-28-8; the total amount of dye is somewhere between 15% and 25% of the dye powder mixture, by weight. The MSDS [PDF] shows that this Lanaset type dye is not very toxic, given an LD50 that is not determined, but known to be greater than 2g/kg; that is, the dosage at which there is a 50% chance of a fatal poisoning is known to be above that, though we don't know how much above it. A 70-kilogram person would have to consume 140 grams of this dye (or about 5 ounces), all at once, for an exposure on that level.
The MSDS also says, reassuringly, that "Discarded product is not a hazardous waste" — unlike, for example, housepaint or used motor oil. It's far less toxic than such ordinary household products as household bleach. As far as fish are concerned, the LC50 is known to be no less than 500 milligrams per liter of water; 8 grams of dye dye would have needed to be diluted with 16 liters of water to reach this level. That's four gallons. You will probably want to be sure to put at least twice this amount of water today, say 8 or 10 gallons, into your septic tank, including the amount of water that flows from your toilets, shower, sink, and washing machine, in order to dilute the dye and minimize any effects on the microbes in your system. (If you have an old 5-gallon-per-flush toilet, that would be only a total of two flushes, though modern models may use little more than one gallon per flush.)
PRO Chemical and Dye's Studio Safety Guidelines are a good set of rules to consult about their dyes. They also have a good technical support department, which you can contact through their website or by telephoning 1-508-676-3838. I predict that they, too, will say that this was not a horrible mistake, and that no significant degree of harm will have been done to the environment or to your septic system by the disposal of this quantity of dye powder. The situation can be very different, and much more serious, if large quantities consisting of kilograms of dye are discarded without proper treatment by large textile factories.
You might also be interested in reading an earlier question about disposing of chromium-containing dyes, although the dye you are using does not contain chromium. See the October 6, 2006 entry in this blog .
(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)
—ADVERTISEMENTS—
Lanaset Dyes
Lanaset Dyes are among the very best dyes for hand-dyeing wool, silk, angora, mohair, and most nylons. You will also need: citric acid, sodium acetate, Glauber salt, Albegal SET, and Synthrapol.
Buy from
Paradise Fibers
—ADVERTISEMENTS—
Books that explain how to use Lanaset dyes
Shibori: Creating Color and Texture on Silk
by Karren Brito
Color in Spinning
by Deb Menz
mixing your own colors with Lanaset dyes
Country or region: U.S.
Message: I have accidentally dumped four to six ounces of a stock solution of Pro Chemical's Sun Yellow Sabraset down the drain into my rural septic system. It was made from a ten gram jar mixed into eight ounces of water. The MSDS on the ProChem site says of this color "Use care to minimize the amount of colored material to reach the sewer." Your site says of this color "No toxic metal." I am a 65 year old retired college professor and I entreat your opinion: How grievous do you perceive this mistake to be?
Not grievous at all. I would not be concerned about any damage occurring from this mistake, which you are unlikely to make frequently. You've accidentally discarded between 5 and 8 grams of this dye into your septic system. This is not a large amount, especially given that it's not a particularly toxic dye.
You've already looked at the sources I would consult. My notes on "Which Lanaset dye colors are pure, rather than mixtures?", indicate that this is a mixture of two reactive dyes, whose CAS numbers are 70247-70-0 and 72479-28-8; the total amount of dye is somewhere between 15% and 25% of the dye powder mixture, by weight. The MSDS [PDF] shows that this Lanaset type dye is not very toxic, given an LD50 that is not determined, but known to be greater than 2g/kg; that is, the dosage at which there is a 50% chance of a fatal poisoning is known to be above that, though we don't know how much above it. A 70-kilogram person would have to consume 140 grams of this dye (or about 5 ounces), all at once, for an exposure on that level.
The MSDS also says, reassuringly, that "Discarded product is not a hazardous waste" — unlike, for example, housepaint or used motor oil. It's far less toxic than such ordinary household products as household bleach. As far as fish are concerned, the LC50 is known to be no less than 500 milligrams per liter of water; 8 grams of dye dye would have needed to be diluted with 16 liters of water to reach this level. That's four gallons. You will probably want to be sure to put at least twice this amount of water today, say 8 or 10 gallons, into your septic tank, including the amount of water that flows from your toilets, shower, sink, and washing machine, in order to dilute the dye and minimize any effects on the microbes in your system. (If you have an old 5-gallon-per-flush toilet, that would be only a total of two flushes, though modern models may use little more than one gallon per flush.)
PRO Chemical and Dye's Studio Safety Guidelines are a good set of rules to consult about their dyes. They also have a good technical support department, which you can contact through their website or by telephoning 1-508-676-3838. I predict that they, too, will say that this was not a horrible mistake, and that no significant degree of harm will have been done to the environment or to your septic system by the disposal of this quantity of dye powder. The situation can be very different, and much more serious, if large quantities consisting of kilograms of dye are discarded without proper treatment by large textile factories.
You might also be interested in reading an earlier question about disposing of chromium-containing dyes, although the dye you are using does not contain chromium. See the October 6, 2006 entry in this blog .
(Please help support this web site. Thank you.)
Posted: Sunday - July 04, 2010 at 03:09 PM
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Published On: Aug 29, 2012 02:48 PM
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Published On: Aug 29, 2012 02:48 PM