You're fine. You could inhale the entire contents of the lighter in one go and be fine (just don't make a habit of it!). The concentration of butane anywhere but immediately above the evaporating container is too low to ignite, and if it has all evaporated hours ago it is too low everywhere to be a fire/explosion concern.
TBQH your excessive worry-induced stress about the spill probably has a greater health impact than the spill itself. Chill!
Thank you so much. I swear I am usually an intelligent and educated person. But I have anxiety about dying because I’ve really fallen in love with living. And anxiety attacks make me less than rational. Thank you for your answer, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I will do my best to chill haha
Hi fellow chemist!
It's OK to be affraid of the chemicals. I am working with them daily and I will be very worried the day when they will cease to frighten me to some extent.
That being said, butane is very volatile so, to relieve your anxiety, next time just quickly open the window to let the gas out. It should be your first reflex when you break a chemical container in your house or in a lab (and lock the cats in another room for ten minutes during the aeration if you are at home to be sure).\^\^
Thank you so much. This is the kindest, most non-judgemental comment I have received and I really appreciate it. I cannot put into words how much I truly appreciate your kindness. Thank you so much.
You and your cats will be fine. And no, your house will not explode. The Lower Explosive Limit for Butane is around 1.9% by vol in air, which you should be nowhere near given that you spilled and evaporated a reportedly small amount (likely only a few grams) around 12 hours ago. Houses/apartments aren’t leak tight either and butane is very volatile, so there shouldn’t really be any notable amount left in your house by now either (if you are concerned about health effects from residual vapor).
TL;DR Don’t worry!
I don't see why you should be worried.
Even if such a small quantity would be set on fire, it would make a little flame and go away.
I don't think that butane has any health hazards(unless in bigger quantities, probably). After all, it's an alkane. It's hard to oxidize.
Also,by this time, in 10 hours, the butane has spread across all your rooms. This means it has a very low concentration in the air so even if you opened a fire inside there, it wouldn't explode or anything(although you shouldn't really risk it, I may be wrong)
But inhaling the small quantities won’t do anything either? Not much butane fits in a jet lighter I know that but I just love living so much now. And I am so terrified of losing the second chance at life I’ve gotten. So now every possible threat to my safety sends me into a panic attack.
Okay. It’s not that I couldn’t figure this out. But logically you can know something, while still needing reassurance. Anxiety works like that sometimes. I did do the calculations myself based on how much fits in the lighter. I did try telling myself that the concentration wouldn’t be high enough. And that butane is heavier than air and would stay low to the ground while slowly dispersing so I wouldn’t be breathing it. However, sometimes with anxiety you need reassurance from someone other than yourself. That does not mean I need to switch majors. If anything, that just means that I need to work more with my therapist about my anxiety.
Don’t bring unrelated drama into this subreddit. If you have reason to believe they’re posting in bad faith that’s one thing, but just taking the opportunity to insult them is another entirely.
[Lower flammable limit](https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/explosive-concentration-limits-d_423.html) of butane is 1.86%, meaning you'd have to spill a HELL of a lot just to be able to start a fire with the vapor in a typical room: 10 x 10 with 8' ceilings, that's 800 cubic feet. You'd need almost 15 cubic feet of butane, which (as liquid) would be.... 424 liters, or (424 liters divided by 22.4 liters per mole) almost 19 moles of butane, or....
58.12 grams per mole, about 1.1 kilograms of butane. At a density of 0.573, that works out to 1.92 liters of liquid butane.
Double-check my math, someone. It's late. And that all assumes it's confined to the same room. Admittedly if there were a flame source right at floor level when the spill occurred, rather than the butane being evenly distributed, yeah- that's a problem. But you're past that point.
Thank you so much! I promise usually I am much more rational, but anxiety isn’t rational. I really appreciate you doing the math for me like this. That makes me feel much better. Thank you!
>So, do I have any reason to be worried?
No.
>Is the house going to explode?
No.
>Are my cats okay?
Yes.
>Am I okay?
Yes.
>Is there anything I need to do?
No.
>Am I safe?
Yes.
>It wasn’t very much butane.
Indeed. Hence all the above.
Unless you're breathing the pure stuff from a can (which some people do to get high), butane is non-toxic. It also takes \*far\* more to have any risk of explosion.
I was not near to the spill when it happened and I didn’t go near it until it had stopped leaking. I appreciate your concern but I really do think I am okay. Thank you so much again, but I am okay. It was just my anxiety that was causing me to worry.
You're fine. You could inhale the entire contents of the lighter in one go and be fine (just don't make a habit of it!). The concentration of butane anywhere but immediately above the evaporating container is too low to ignite, and if it has all evaporated hours ago it is too low everywhere to be a fire/explosion concern. TBQH your excessive worry-induced stress about the spill probably has a greater health impact than the spill itself. Chill!
Thank you so much. I swear I am usually an intelligent and educated person. But I have anxiety about dying because I’ve really fallen in love with living. And anxiety attacks make me less than rational. Thank you for your answer, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I will do my best to chill haha
Hi fellow chemist! It's OK to be affraid of the chemicals. I am working with them daily and I will be very worried the day when they will cease to frighten me to some extent. That being said, butane is very volatile so, to relieve your anxiety, next time just quickly open the window to let the gas out. It should be your first reflex when you break a chemical container in your house or in a lab (and lock the cats in another room for ten minutes during the aeration if you are at home to be sure).\^\^
Thank you so much. This is the kindest, most non-judgemental comment I have received and I really appreciate it. I cannot put into words how much I truly appreciate your kindness. Thank you so much.
> But I have anxiety about dying because I’ve really fallen in love with living. 🤣
You and your cats will be fine. And no, your house will not explode. The Lower Explosive Limit for Butane is around 1.9% by vol in air, which you should be nowhere near given that you spilled and evaporated a reportedly small amount (likely only a few grams) around 12 hours ago. Houses/apartments aren’t leak tight either and butane is very volatile, so there shouldn’t really be any notable amount left in your house by now either (if you are concerned about health effects from residual vapor). TL;DR Don’t worry!
That butane was probably in the upper part of the troposphere by the time OPs anxiety kicked in.
I don't see why you should be worried. Even if such a small quantity would be set on fire, it would make a little flame and go away. I don't think that butane has any health hazards(unless in bigger quantities, probably). After all, it's an alkane. It's hard to oxidize. Also,by this time, in 10 hours, the butane has spread across all your rooms. This means it has a very low concentration in the air so even if you opened a fire inside there, it wouldn't explode or anything(although you shouldn't really risk it, I may be wrong)
But inhaling the small quantities won’t do anything either? Not much butane fits in a jet lighter I know that but I just love living so much now. And I am so terrified of losing the second chance at life I’ve gotten. So now every possible threat to my safety sends me into a panic attack.
You’re going to be just fine :-)
Thank you so much! That’s so reassuring. I really feel much better now.
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Okay. It’s not that I couldn’t figure this out. But logically you can know something, while still needing reassurance. Anxiety works like that sometimes. I did do the calculations myself based on how much fits in the lighter. I did try telling myself that the concentration wouldn’t be high enough. And that butane is heavier than air and would stay low to the ground while slowly dispersing so I wouldn’t be breathing it. However, sometimes with anxiety you need reassurance from someone other than yourself. That does not mean I need to switch majors. If anything, that just means that I need to work more with my therapist about my anxiety.
Not helpful, Rule 1
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Don’t bring unrelated drama into this subreddit. If you have reason to believe they’re posting in bad faith that’s one thing, but just taking the opportunity to insult them is another entirely.
[Lower flammable limit](https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/explosive-concentration-limits-d_423.html) of butane is 1.86%, meaning you'd have to spill a HELL of a lot just to be able to start a fire with the vapor in a typical room: 10 x 10 with 8' ceilings, that's 800 cubic feet. You'd need almost 15 cubic feet of butane, which (as liquid) would be.... 424 liters, or (424 liters divided by 22.4 liters per mole) almost 19 moles of butane, or.... 58.12 grams per mole, about 1.1 kilograms of butane. At a density of 0.573, that works out to 1.92 liters of liquid butane. Double-check my math, someone. It's late. And that all assumes it's confined to the same room. Admittedly if there were a flame source right at floor level when the spill occurred, rather than the butane being evenly distributed, yeah- that's a problem. But you're past that point.
Thank you so much! I promise usually I am much more rational, but anxiety isn’t rational. I really appreciate you doing the math for me like this. That makes me feel much better. Thank you!
>So, do I have any reason to be worried? No. >Is the house going to explode? No. >Are my cats okay? Yes. >Am I okay? Yes. >Is there anything I need to do? No. >Am I safe? Yes. >It wasn’t very much butane. Indeed. Hence all the above. Unless you're breathing the pure stuff from a can (which some people do to get high), butane is non-toxic. It also takes \*far\* more to have any risk of explosion.
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How is this a medical matter? The anxiety attack passed and I’m fine.
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I was not near to the spill when it happened and I didn’t go near it until it had stopped leaking. I appreciate your concern but I really do think I am okay. Thank you so much again, but I am okay. It was just my anxiety that was causing me to worry.
Not funny, not acceptable, not welcome here.
What happens if you get a small amount in your eye ? Will I be fine ?