From: rcpj@panix.com   
      
   In article ,   
   Howard   wrote:   
   >   
   >The mix is one pound lye to five gallons of water, which appears to be a   
   >standard ratio on other sites as well.   
      
   That amounts to a roughly 0.5 molar solution, which is pretty caustic but   
   not overwhelmingly so: that is, a splash on unprotected skin can be rinsed   
   off immediately without any serious damage (at most a sunburn-like redness   
   without blistering or worse) but it will cause a painful, often severe   
   burn if left for a few minutes.   
      
   It is crucial to have immediate access to plenty of running water, just in   
   case, but also not to panic unduly: it is not nearly as aggressive as a   
   concentrated strong acid or concentrated (30%) hydrogen peroxide.   
      
   That said, strong heat (such as the self-cleaning oven already suggested,   
   or simply direct heating on a charcoal fire or gas stove with exhaust fan)   
   followed by scrubbing with a wire brush is a safer alternative --as long   
   as you make sure that everything cools down to room temperature before you   
   handle it!   
      
   Pierre   
   --   
   Pierre Jelenc	   
   		The Gigometer		www.gigometer.com   
                   The NYC Beer Guide      www.nycbeer.org   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)