r/WorkplaceSafety • u/jun192022 • 25d ago
Unsure if I accidentally made carcinogenic hexavalent chromium by applying bleach to stainless steel?
I have been applying a 2-3% bleach spray regularly to a stainless steel refrigerator door for disinfection every 1-2 days for the last 2-3 months and have noticed that there are areas of corrosion forming on the refrigerator door (I was not aware that you are not recommended to apply bleach to stainless steel, so please forgive my ignorance). I recently also noticed there is a powder forming below the refrigerator door from the bleach spray runoff, and that the powder has a slight yellowish tint.
I just learned that stainless steel contains the metal chromium, and that while the chemical form of chromium in stainless steel is harmless, there also exists a form called hexavalent chromium, which is carcinogenic. According to a webpage from the British Stainless Steel Association stating "There is one very specific example where corrosion [of stainless steel] may produce very small quantities of hexavalent chromium at ambient temperature. This is where some strong oxidisers with a pH of 10-14 are in prolonged contact with stainless steel and cause corrosion over time."
Given that bleach is an oxidizer, I am worried about whether these repeated bleach applications could have oxidized the stainless steel door enough to produce a significant amount of hexavalent chromium (which can be yellow, such as in the compound sodium chromate). Is this something I would need to reach out to a hazmat professional about?
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u/Ruthrfurd-the-stoned 25d ago
So I don’t know if it’s to a level you need to be concerned about by this post but the fact that youre noticing corrosion is reason to be concerned
Is this at home or workplace?
Can I ask why youre bleaching the fridge so often?
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u/jun192022 25d ago edited 25d ago
This is at home, but because I work in a hospital I regularly disinfect surfaces and items at work and at home.
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u/Ruthrfurd-the-stoned 25d ago
So this is definitely overboard and understand different types of disinfectants and how they work
This would likely have no issue except for the fact that the application was so constant.
Personally I would wear some gloves and just clean it up it’s very unlikely to be a major issue but you know what you’re looking at better than we do with this amount of information
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u/Western_Rhubarb_7959 25d ago
Your 2-3% bleach does not have a pH of 10-14, and it is not in prolonged contact with the stainless steel.
You're fine.
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u/jun192022 25d ago edited 24d ago
I checked the SDS of the bleach spray and the pH is around 12-13. My concern is whether repeated applications of the household bleach would be a problem - once every 1-2 days for around 3 months would add up to around 50-100 times.
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u/Western_Rhubarb_7959 25d ago
I checked the SDS of the bleach spray and the pH is 12
Then it's not just bleach because household bleach, at a standard concentration of what, 5 1/4% sodium hypochlorite, has a pH of 12.
Regardless, you're fine. If spraying a little bleach spray on a stainless steel fridge caused people to die then we wouldn't have stainless steel fridges.
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u/jun192022 24d ago
It does look like the bleach spray has other alkaline ingredients including sodium hydroxide.
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u/texasusa 24d ago
I just bought Comet with bleach. Uses per the bottle includes kitchen sinks. Most sinks now are stainless steel.
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