In the most concentrated areas, he says, it could be compared to products you would clean your kitchen with, causing dry or cracked skin, or - in cases of prolonged contact - it can "lift off the top layer of your skin".

BBC: How toxic is Hungary's red sludge?

The skin above her collarbone had the clean, smoky, late-October smell of candle wax.

NEWYORKER: Semi-Charmed Life

To clean DNA, scientists then struggled for a couple of days--and many still do, working with skin-scorching chemicals.

FORBES: Gold Digger