So going back to my original question: If all reasonable precautions are taken (eg. fume cupboard, PPE), is this process safe?
- The answer is yes?
I haven't had any issues managing Cl and NOx exposure so I assume my lab etiquette/housekeeping standards are acceptable.
I have found an interesting paper titled: TOXICITY OF PLATINUM AND PLATINUM COMPOUNDS (WITH SUMMARIES FOR OTHER PGMs)
- I will read through this and report back with any conclusions.
I aim to implement a permanent procedure for PGM refining that's why I am fully investigating the safety/viability of the process.
Thanks in advance for your responses,
huggy
To be honest, in the process I suggested and described above, you actually DOES produce PGM salts, but they are in solution, nicely contained, and minimal contact is necessary to be made with them.
Things of concern are outgas from inquartation - as bubbling associated with dissolution ALWAYS create aerosol of that same solution. So it need to be considered and minimized. I do it either by prolonging the way the aerosol need to pass before leaving the vessel (eg filling the beaker only to say 1/4 of the way full, or adding reflux condenser on the top of the apparatus), or simply (and much more efficiently than other options) setting bubbler or anything similar (washbottle etc.) to scrubb the aerosols which come out of the system into the water.
Apart of properly using PPE (gloves, hood, goggles), make sure that you does not touch/contamine more apparatus or places (desk of fumehood, bottles with acids, stannous test bottle etc.) with gloves that you ALREADY wear, which could possibly be contamined with these harmful solutions. This is quite common mistake people made, including myself sometimes.
You happily work in the hood, all PPE in place, feeling safe, happily transfering liquids, heating (touching the buttons of magnetic stirplate with your gloves), filtering, testing with stannous.. - and all you touch is with the SAME gloves you handle harmful solutions.
The ultimate thing that de-mask this error/behaviour is working with silver nitrate solutions 
Because silver nitrate on your skin quickly converts to silver chloride (from chloride salts in your sweat) which is light sensitive and stains your skin brown or even grayish-black upon exposure to light. And I can assure you, that if you aren´t fully aware of what I said above, your hands will have some brownish marks day after finishing silver batch my colleagues even had theyre forheads stained as they wiped their sweat with hand, which handled beakers or buckets..Buchner funnels, which were accidentally touched with gloves with AgNO3 residues. Even if you think about it, fully aware, taking caution, it can happen, as we, people, do make mistakes.
Key is to mitigate them as much as possible. Fact is, one or two exposures to very very little ammounts of Pt salts probably does not do anything terribly bad regarding your health. At least, if you aren´t that "fortunate" one, who will be very sensitive. Important is to reduce the exposure to the lowest minimum possible. Because with these compounds, effect is cumullative and unfortunately, irreversible. Even gloves cannot assure you nothing will penetrate through them, they only gave you time to put them off
Take it seriously, but does not let these warnings to scare you too much - because if you are fully aware of possible bad outcomes, you can do maximum to mitigate the risk. Plan all processes in advance, think about worst-case scenarios to be prepared for possible accidents, use catchpan or any vessel for the case of spill etc... And you will be okay
It comes with practice. If someone is used to thorough lab-safety practice, he can responsibly work even with phosgene, carbonyls, or osmates - and will be perfectly fine. But someone jumps head first to the first refining venture in his life - catalytic converters...
And usually it does not work well at all. With possible poisonings and all other bad things associated. I advise anyone who want to work with PGMs to build up confidence and practice with gold and silver first. It has reasons
Be safe.
orvi
