Kays Medical is helping to revolutionise safety in one of the most dangerous sports in the world.

Kays Medical is providing the Formula One team, Force India, with Hexafluorine™ - a product that neutralises the deadly hydrofluoric acid that can be emitted from the Viton seals and tubing in and around the engine when a vehicle bursts into flames.

Contact with hydrofluoric acid is potentially lethal. Just a small amount of contact with the skin can cause severe burns and, left for any period of time, can cause hypocalcemia leading to cardiac arrest.

Kays' Hexafluorine™ product has just been demonstrated as part of a new specialist F1 training course run by the West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS). A steel model of a Formula One car complete with dummy driver was set alight, the pit crew put out the fire out and then sprayed Hexafluorine™ on to both the vehicle and the dummy using extinguishers. The car was then safe to handle and any acid on the driver fully neutralised.

Firefighter is WMFS Fire Ground Operative Mark Cotteril 

National sales and marketing manager David King said: “Hexafluorine™ is a unique emergency first aid treatment for hydrofluoric acid. It works by neutralising the acid and fluorides and, at the same time, absorbing any that has penetrated the skin or the eye.

(L-R) Force India mechanic, David King National Sales & Marketing   Manager of Kays Medical, and Business Safety Manager Clive Williams 

“We were delighted to work with Force India and the West Midlands Fire Service on this important training. Kays has been supplying Force India with Hexafluorine™ as an effective first aid emergency treatment for hydrofluoric acid splashes on the skin and eyes, and its sister product Diphoterene is widely used in a number of industries to neutralise all other dangerous chemicals. The application of Hexafluorine™ on hard surfaces is a new approach and we believe a large number of different industries will benefit.”

Steve Martin health and safety officer for Force India said: “We are constantly striving to innovate and find new ways to reduce the risks associated with our industry. The Motorsport Fire Response Training day demonstrated the effectiveness of Hexafluorine™ in combating the dangers of exposure to hydrofluoric acid and its use is now integral to our first aid protocol.”

(standing) Force India mechanics, (front L-R) WMFS Business Safety   Manager Clive Williams and WMFS Watch Manager Mark Ralston 

Hexafluorine information sheet