Are the fumes from Epoxy and Finish harmful? I build rods on my kitchen table, and naturally, the doors and windows are closed in the winter. Am I killing my lungs?

not as much as if you smoked probably the same as walking down the side of a busy road.. over time possibly yes you could delop some kind of allergy depending how much you do couple of rods a week you probly be ok but cliff may want to jump in here and give the full medical side ( over to you cliff)

There are no fumes from epoxy. Maybe an aroma, but not fumes. The only real danger with epoxy is getting it on your skin if you happen to be sensitive to it. And, even those who aren't sensitive to it can become sensitive to it with continued contact. Always a good idea to keep it off your person.

Other finishes, Permagloss for example, have pretty hot solvents in them and should be used with good ventilation. I can't say that occasional vapors are going to hurt you but they're not going to help you either. Consult any warnings on the product packaging and try to comply.


........

There are several recent threads on this subject. Go back a few pages and look. Cliff has already sent much time
posting some very interesting facts.

Raymond Adams
Eventually, all things merge, and a river runs through it..

Recent post [www.rodbuilding.org]

the loss of brain cells is such a slow process you will never notice the difference. you won't remember how you did it.

I agree with Larry. I am too old for it to kill me.......I will die of something else first. No seriously, if you don't have pulmonary (COPD, ASTHMA, CHF, etc.) epoxies are pretty safe. Like Mr. Kirkman said when I work with perma gloss I have to wear a mask because of pulmonary problems. Just be careful. All you guys have fun at the show.

Big John
Rio Hondo, Texas
Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting

Bruce - Let your common sense be your guide, and your body's response to the air in the room. If you can smell it, you are breathing it in. If it gives you a headache, you need more fresh air circulation. With rod-building materials, the odorless stuff is pretty harmless. Just watch out for particulate inhalation when sanding or cutting graphite or fiberglass.

As far as sheer quantity is concerned, you are more likely to get the largest dose of inhalables from the alcohol vapors used for your rod & brush clean-ups than anything else, IMO. You may want to place those paper towels used in alcohol clean-up into a one-gallon heavy-duty zip-lock freezer bag, and then put it into your trash can. Keep the bag ZIPPED CLOSED between additions. If you do not contain those vapors somehow, they will just evaporate into the room air. A few ounces of evaporated alcohol can completely saturate the air volume in an 8' x 10' room with 8' ceilings (which is ~ 20,000 liters) with ethanol vapor. Isopropyl alcohol is even worse, IMO, and I have given myself a headache a couple of hours later too many times because I was in too much of a rush to bag it. Later, it dawns on you why you feel a little bleary. DUH...!!!...,

Bruce, open the window for 5 minutes if you have to. Or step outside for 5 minutes. If it smells like a dry cleaner or glue factory to you when you return, you know you need more ventilation and more frequent breaks to clear out the vapors in your blood which are reaching your brain. This is the same thing as when an anesthesiologist uses special gases to induce sedation during surgery.

Do wear disposable gloves for messy work-up or clean-up jobs, to prevent skin contact. Erik Kunz, Certified Industrial Hygienist, recommends NITRILE gloves, if you can find them. Latex (powder-less) gloves may be easier to find and still be sufficient.

More ventilation, more liquid-vapor containment, and more fresh-air breaks will help prevent over-exposure to vapors. And let you enjoy your rod-building projects SAFELY. ... IMO, ...Have fun, ... -Cliff Hall+++



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2006 07:00PM by Cliff Hall.

Bruce and all:

The odors from the various solvent vapors in Permagloss are noticeable at fairly low concentrations, i.e. 2-25 parts per million. However, the use of Permagloss is seldom over 5 to 10 milliliters at any one time. In a closed room, the concentration of these solvent vapors is well below the threshold for damage in the body. For example, Methanol, a common solvent in finishes, has a strong, pungent odor noticable at very low concentrations in air. However, it's threshold level for beginning damage to the human body is about 200 parts per million. This equates to about 9 milliliters of pure Methyl alcohol in your kitchen air. (I made some assumptions on the size of the kitchen on this one.). The amount of finish normally used is well below this level, so the amount of solvent in air is not a real problem. Besides, we do not get exposed to it any where near the 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week level that OSHA uses to define workplace exposure. Bottom line: no real problem.

Doug Weber
Weber Rod Works

P.S. - THANK YOU -Allen Forsdyke, Ray Adams, and Bob Crook - for directing the Reader to this other recently Posted information on epoxy allergy & safety. And special "Thanks to you, Bob, for so conveniently providing the RBO Link. ... I think this level of documentation is starting to catch on ! -Cliff+++

P.S.S - And Thanks, Doug Weber, for providing some math and numbers to help gauge the extent of exposure, which is, as you suggest, below cause for concern.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/09/2006 07:03PM by Cliff Hall.