Allen

Although many in the UK have seen the slides of injuries caused by the
acids, I would not wish to use these pages to elaborate on them, after all
they are someone's medical history.

Will say that the three or four slides showing horrendous burning to the
legs were not as a result of beekeeping. Instead they were the result of an
ACCIDENT that occurred whilst offloading the carboys (glass containers if
that is an English word) from a lorry. Isn't that what you were describing
in your previous mailing, offloading the modern plastic containers (which
presumably can still split) and using a fork lift truck (do these modern
aids in lifting remove you from the 'splash zone'?).

I think I am an expert on accidents having served the final years of my
service working with a London coroner, literally hundreds are the cases that
I have investigated where someone got out of bed one morning totally unaware
of the ACCIDENT that lay ahead of them. Not suggesting we should all stay in
bed (not a bad idea if it doesn't stop raining over here) but surely we must
be aware of the dangers of this lethal substance - and lethal it surely is.
For my presentation it was not too difficult to get hold of fatal accident
records, and I easily found documentary evidence of, I think it was, 18
deaths caused as the direct result of formic acid. None of the deceased were
beekeepers, my concern is that one should not join these statistics.

These hazardous chemicals might be alright when used in a laboratory but as
for walking across the rough ground of an orchard carrying a Nassenheider
evaporator which if I remember correctly contains about 500cc of 65%
dilution formic acid (just from memory, have not checked my figures), no
that is one potential accident which I most certainly will try to avoid. The
instructions for these evaporators state, "Wear safety gloves and safety
glasses while working with formic acid, do not inhale the vapour".

That is for the 65% dilution Allen, were you taking these precautions when
you were handling the concentrated stuff?

But moving on a bit. I was totally in support of the formic acid pads known
as Illertissener Milbenplatte or IMP pads which were licensed for use in
Germany. Whatever happened to these as I considered they were the safest
method of using formic acid. (These were produced commercially in 'safe'
conditions and consisted of an absorbent board onto which the chemical was
poured. The whole was then sealed in a thick polythene bag. It was not until
the beekeeper was at the hive side that he drilled, using a sharp piece of
1/2" water pipe, four or five holes through the polythene to allow the
escape of the vapours. A home-made version known as the Kramer plates were
also suggested but again the beekeeper had to pour the hazardous substance
onto the board.)

Like all these chemicals they are temperature dependant, alright for you
fellows over there who cannot understand why Shropshire sheep have thick
woollen coats, but a bit unpredictable for us in the UK.

My sympathies are with the commercial beekeeper, whether they are UK with
hundreds, or US with thousands of colonies, varroa control cannot be easy.
But before continuing down your formic acid path Allen may I inform you of
what I consider is the greatest cause of ACCIDENTS - tiredness, so when you
are trundling towards the umpteenth hive please bear this in mind.

Keep safe and keep well - and use your Bayvarol or Apistan strips
responsibly (I am now, not that I ever did abuse them, just made a
suggestion which was like putting a spark to a can of petrol. Which reminds
me, that was one ACCIDENT I was involved in, destroying colonies UK style
for AFB. One spark from the nearby burning hives and woof!! - I was lucky).

Ken Hoare