Alcohol (that's right, I said alcohol)

I have to laugh at life's ironies sometimes. Case in point. I play softball with some friends from work, in a work league that consists of my company and our sister company (though it's mostly people from our sister company). The normal MO is to play a game, and then enjoy victory/drown-our-sorrows beverages. Said beverages usually include, but are not limited to, beer, some crazy alcoholic pick-me-up type drink, Gatorade, and bottled water. Needless to say, my choice is always Gatorade or water. My friends drink the other stuff. We had a game last night which was a rough one. We were up for nearly the entire game, and lost it at the end. Such is life, right? We cracked open the ice chest and re-hydrated at the bleachers as the next game started. I headed home to dinner.

When I got to work this morning, I had some cell culture to do. I cleaned our biohazard hood with ethanol, as usual. As I sometimes do, I read the warning label on the squirt bottle that holds the ethanol. To use said ethanol, the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE in lab jargon) is goggles or a face shield, a lab coat or apron, a fume hood, and the proper gloves. The list of target organs includes the eyes, skin, respiratory system, central nervous system, liver, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys and cardiovascular system.

So outside of work, my friends can drink whatever concentration of the stuff they want to, but when I get to work, I have to put on all sorts of PPE in order to just use it to clean the hood. Huh. I looked up the MSDS for ethanol out of curiosity. Below is the first aid section:

Eyes: Get medical aid. Gently lift eyelids and flush continuously with water.
Skin: Get medical aid. Wash clothing before reuse. Flush skin with plenty of soap and water.
Ingestion: Do not induce vomiting. If victim is conscious and alert, give 2-4 cupfuls of milk or water. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. Get medical aid.
Inhalation: Remove from exposure and move to fresh air immediately. If not breathing, give artificial respiration. If breathing is difficult, give oxygen. Get medical aid. Do NOT use mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Notes to Physician: Treat symptomatically and supportively. Persons with skin or eye disorders or liver, kidney, chronic respiratory diseases, or central and peripheral nervous sytem diseases may be at increased risk from exposure to this substance.
Antidote: None reported.

Here is the link if you're curious about the rest of the information.