Many people think that the verge washer, although cheaper than the one in the store, is more harmful to health. In support of this version, they recall that antifreezes in Europe do not contain methanol, but methanol. And they are harmless only because they contain no more than 4% methanol. In our country, the proportion of toxic alcohol in the liquid from the roadside can reach more than 30%.
The maximum allowable concentration of methanol in the air is 0.5–1 mg/m³ (for isopropyl alcohol – 10 mg/m³, for ethanol – 5 mg/m³), which means, say unbelieving car owners, to exceed the maximum allowable concentration ( MPC) of methanol in the car when using counterfeit products it is still possible. What if the toxic liquid also accidentally ends up in the cabin?
Expert opinion
Mikhail Kolodochkincolumnist “Behind the wheel”:
– I quote the decision of the state health doctor No. 4 of May 23, 2000, which gave rise to an impasse. There is not a word in it that methanol is harmful to motorists! Rather, it states that:
“The use of methanol-based windshield washer fluids for its intended purpose has no harmful effect on human health, which is confirmed by the many years of practice of its use abroad and the absence of poisoning in our country.”
Let me also remind you that the reason for the ban is “the low culture of certain parts of the population”. This is said about those who drink liquid for washing toilets and other household chemicals.
So methanol rings, such as gasoline or antifreeze, do not need to be taken orally – these liquids are intended for a different use. By the way, all winter washing machines do not contain pure alcohol at all: the percentage determines the freezing point of the windshield washer fluid. The more alcohol, the more frost the washing machine can withstand – both methanol and isopropyl or ethanol.
And more about the concentration and MPC. It is still a matter of a solution of some alcohol. And for liquids designed for severe frost – degrees above 30 – the methanol concentration can be lower than the same isopropyl. And the MPC of such a liquid with methanol will also be lower. In other words, in practice, methanol is safer than the “official” washing machine products currently sold.
When using methanol, the maximum allowable concentration in the operator’s working area is reached after approximately five minutes of continuous washing with isopropanol – after 5-10 seconds.
As for the “accidentally spilled liquid”, I emphasize that methanol only becomes a poison when it enters the stomach, and nothing else!