METHANOL

Methanol is made from the distillation of wood. Synonyms are methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood spirits, or curbinol. Methanol is used primarily in antifreeze compounds, paints, cements, inks, varnishes, shellacs, wood strippers, windshield wiper solvents, gasoline antifreeze and as a solvent in dyes. It is also used as a fuel in Sterno (4% methanol), home heating oil extenders, and may be added to gasoline in place of ethanol to make gasohol.

Methanol is highly toxic and readily absorbed from a routes of exposure. Symptoms include malaise, headache, dizziness, confusion, abdominal cramps with excruciating pain and tenderness, stupor, weakness, and acidosis. When methanol is swallowed, formaldehyde metabolically generated. This formaldehyde is more toxic than the methanol itself. Blindness and death may occur following ingestion.

When using any product which contains methanol, be certain to wear gloves. Provide adequate ventilation, making sure that vapors are blowing away from you. To dispose of products that contain methanol, save for a household hazardous waste collection rather than flushing them down the drain or throwing them in the trash.

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