"Receptors" is a little bit of a mis-statement...there's an enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase, that breaks down alcohol. Ethanol (liquor alcohol) and Antifreeze differ only by the fact that there's an extra -OH group on the Antifreeze, so it's a "double alcohol" so to speak. When it's metabolized, it makes a lot of nasty byproducts that can tear through your cells and cell proteins.

Giving the animal some liquor means that ethanol, which fits "better" in the enzyme than ethylene glycol, will take up that enzyme for a longer period of time and keep the antifreeze from metabolizing into the deadly poisons.

Good claification of the use of ethanol as a treatment.

I'm still of the opinion that the danger from a pinhole leak in the heater core is way overstated. If I recall correctly, ethylene glycol has a boiling point around 170F. The spray from a heater core isn't going to stay that hot in a car you can sit in. It would rapidly condense and become a liquid, probably before it left the plastic that houses the heater core.

The only way that I can see that you would have gaseous ethylene glycol in the interior of your car is if it were a black car, with the windows rolled up, parked all day in the sun in South Texas. Oops. Excuse me while I go roll down the windows.

__________________
1983 300SD "Guderian"
1987 MR2
2015 Camry
2015 Chevy Spark
2006 Hyundai Tucson

so what do you all do with your old antifreeze after doing a coolant flush?????

I got your link whunter but am still unsure whether going to an EPA approved recycling station is the norm, just curious.

__________________
JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS

As far as I know we've never deliberately flushed it out of anything. Usually it finds a way to leak out, blow out, boil out, etc, before the day is over.

When we do have to drain something and don't feel like putting it back in, we save the dirty stuff and run it in the other dirty stuff - for example, the old 1960s riding lawn mower that really is hanging on by threads and doesn't care. Plenty of stuff like that around that we're just running until it finally dies that takes care of the old stuff.

We only really have it when we've had to work on something though or have had a leak that required draining it out.


On another subject, great advice on the alcohol. We called the vet last time one of the mini schnauzers got into the stuff, probably didn't drink more than a tablespoon or two. Vet said give the dog some wine and call if she gets sick. Never got sick or even saw the vet that time.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

Great. Now, how about for those of us who don't have other dirty stuff like old 1960s riding lawn mowers? I'm sure people who live on farms never have to dispose of much of anything; I, however--like many of you I'm guessing--don't live on a farm. Just a dude, driving a MB, want to do a coolant flush, need to know what to do with the drained old coolant. Common enough, eh?

__________________
JBG
1985 TD wagon, 228k
running on grease since 3.07
AUSTIN, TEXAS

Take it to a local auto shop.
They have tanks for waste coolant disposal.

Very good question.
http://www.google.com/search?q=waste+antifreeze+disposal&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

One dog I had loved sparkling wine. If you put a glass in front of him he would do a little dance, snort some up his nose, and then take a drink. He did that until one time he got really wasted and fell down a flight of stairs. From that day forward he was a teetotaler--never touched a drop again: very smart dog!

__________________
Rev. Dr. G. Church of the SubGenius
It doesn't take a genius

LOL funny story.

__________________
1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

I wasn't saying I thought everybody in the world ought to have an old lawn mower to run the stuff in... you said "what do ya'll do with it" and I answered. Obviously the same solution doesn't work for everybody.

Some local garbage drop-off sites (or landfills) have hazardous materials disposal facilities. I know ours has a tank or two for petroleum stuff... oil, gas, and stuff... but I don't know about antifreeze. Might be worth checking at wherever you take your garbage to.

__________________


~Michael S.~
Past cars:

1986 300SDL
1987 300SDL
1982 240D
1982 300SD


Current:

1987 300SDL

I found the following excerpt in a document that poison control centers use to tell callers what to do. It indicates that the ethylene glycol concentrations that would be required to result in a dangerous serum level of ethylene glycol after a total of 24 hours would be 600mg/m3. Howerver, this concentration is so irritating that people wouldn't tolerate it for more than a few minutes.

This is not to say that there might not be ill effects from chronic exposure, but it seems unlikely that you are going to die from being in a car with a leaky radiator core.

As for propylene glycol, it seems to get added to soda that you buy in soda machines to keep it from freezing.

If you want to look at the whole document, here is the link:
http://www.aapcc.org/FinalizedPMGdlns/ethylene%20glycol%20guideline.pdf

"One controlled study of ethylene glycol vapor exposure in
humans has been published (level 2b). Twenty male prisoner
volunteers were placed in an enclosed room for 20–22 hours
per day for 30 days. Aerosolized ethylene glycol (1–5 m
droplets) was continuously vented into the room. A control
group of 14 prison volunteers were kept in another room of the
same building. A peak air concentration of 188 mg/m3 was
tolerated for only 15 minutes and 244 mg/m3 for only 1–
2 minutes due to mucous membrane irritation. An air
concentration of 308 mg/m3 was completely intolerable. The
mean weekly air concentration of ethylene glycol ranged from
17 to 49 mg/m3. There were no differences in the urine or
serum ethylene glycol concentrations, serum bicarbonate
concentration, and serum electrolytes between the exposed
and control groups. The serum ethylene glycol ranged from
9.4 to 18.2 mg/dL for the exposure group and 8 to 21.0 mg/dL
in the control group (41).
Increasing the air concentration by almost two-fold was not
associated with an increase in serum or urine ethylene glycol
concentration in the study group. Symptoms of nose and throat
irritation, slight headache, and low backache were reported.
No renal impairment or metabolic abnormalities were noted.
One possible limitation of the study is the accuracy of the
serum and urine ethylene glycol concentrations.
Mice and rats were exposed to ethylene glycol vapor
concentration of 400 mg/m3 for 8 hours/day for up to
16 weeks and did not demonstrate any histological evidence
of toxicity. Ethylene glycol blood concentrations were not
measured (42).
Based on pharmacokinetic assumptions, an exposure to an
ethylene glycol concentration of 600 mg/m3 for more than 24
hours would be required to achieve a serum concentration of
30 mg/dL in an adult (43). Humans do not tolerate this vapor
concentration due to mucous membrane irritation (41). The
panel concluded that exposure to ethylene glycol vapor can
result in mucus membrane irritation but has not been reported
to cause systemic toxicity."

Education


.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
https://whunter.carrd.co/

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
2003 Volvo V70

https://www.boldegoist.com/

one of the deadly metabolites in ethylene glycol poisoning is oxalic acid which directly destroys the kidneys. Oxalic acid is also the acive ingrediant in 'Bartenders Friend' (or something like that) - the copper cleaner sold over the counter.

Personally I use a mixture of flour, salt and vinegar and it actually does a better job than Bar tenders friend.

__________________
dtf
1994 E320 Wagon (Died @ 308,669 miles)
1995 E300 Diesel (228,000)
1999 E300 Turbodiesel ( died @ 255,000)
2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 AC 4X4 (115,000 miles) rusted frame - sold to chop shop
2011 Audi A4 Avant (165,000 miles) Seized engine - donated to Salvation Army
BMW 330 xi 6 speed manual (175,034 miles)
2014 E350 4Matic Wagon 128,000 miles
2018 Dodge Ram 21,000 miles

For the last few years, manufacturers of antifreeze have been adding bittering agents to make the stuff less palatable:

Antifreeze manufacturers agree to add bittering agent to make products unpalatable to animals and humans

This is a good reason to us US-made brands, rather than imported products.

You can also use propylene glycol based antifreeze, which is less toxic.

Barkeeper's Friend.

I use baking soda (a salt) myself for cleaning porcelain and cast iron tubs and what not. It does wonders, way better than any commercial abrasive cleaner. For copper, indeed salt and vinegar, or lemon juice, works well.

Regarding exposure to coolant - it's definitely one of my least favorite automotive fluids to work with. I dread any time I have to drain the block on one of mine. There's no neat way to do it.

__________________
1979 300D 040 Black on Black - 1985 300D Maaco job (sadly sprayed over 199 Black Pearl Metallic) on Palamino

http://i.imgur.com/LslW733.jpg

The Baja Arizona Oil Burners Send a message if you'd like to join the fun
Left to Right - UberWasser, Iridium, Stuttgart-->Seattle,, mannys9130

Visit the W123 page on iFixit for over 70 helpful DIY guides!