health alert . . .

[hokeyhydro]

Many moons ago I built a cedar strip dinghy. Surface planed Western Red Cedar boards, ripped strips, ran strips through router for bead & cove profile, assembled boat and then scraped and sanded and sanded some more. Early on this project I realized WRC dust was tearing me up - sore throat and nasal passages, coughing and hacking. So I began wearing an N95 respirator - problem solved. Lesson learned?

Maybe not. Flash forward to couple weeks ago. I decide to build WRC strip rudder for a CS-15. Oops, last respirator is toast, in the trash. Hey, it's only a couple boards. Surface plane, rip strips, laminate same. Next couple days I feel like crap and slide into sneezing, coughing, and mondo mucus production. I visit Doc. He sez bronchial infection but since my mucus is clear it must be viral. Great. I check out of work for a week and lay around in nap mode, assisted by cough medicine with a prodigious amount of codeine.

All well, so I venture out to the garage. 1 1/14" thick rudder blank (set for NACA 0010 foil) needs to be thinned up top to fit cheek blocks. Okay, I grab the router, dial it in and proceed to chew the WRC down to the design 3/4" thickness. That evening me hacking and coughing again and Milady sez I need to go back to Doc cause I'm still sick. Then a brilliant light comes on in my tiny brain . . . Western Red Cedar . . . no respirator.

Color me stupid. Picked up a 10 pack of respirators this morning.

[Gordy Hill]

Thanks for sharing that Hoke.

[Scott Dunsworth]

About ten years ago I used cedar tongue and groove closet lining to panel the inside of my sun porch. It made me very sick cutting all that in an 15x15 enclosed room. I have also notice the the cypress dust bothers me to a lesser degree.

I have heard that black locust dust is highly toxic.

Nun of this dust should bother us because isn't it all organically grown.

Scott

[HonestKen]

Some plants have evolved biologically to grow thorns or form alkaloid/acid compounds that cause skin irritation, digestive tract problems or nerve problems to protect their leaves or fruit from being eaten.

Cedar has evolved to have irritating wood dust to protect itself from boatbuilders!

Seriously though, being as sensitive as you are to the dust as you are, you should spend a few extra bucks and get a good quality respirator with repacable cartriges. They are more comfortabe to wear and will do better job of keeping the cear dust from sneaking in arould the edges of the mask. A better respirator is really not that much more expensive considering how miserable exposure to the dust has been for you. Wear it for any epoxy sanding as well so as not to develop a sensitivity to that, which would be a boatbuilders nightmare.

Be well!!

Ken

[hokeyhydro]

N 95 respirators seem to work for me when I have the good sense to wear one, and that has become #1 rule in the shop. I have a twin cartridge respirator I use for organic solvents AKA painting, never tried it for dust but I think I can get "socks" for it to catch dust.

Methinks I have dodged epoxy sensitivity so far. Been working with WEST for more'n 20 years. My previous couple dozen builds were outboard racing hydroplanes and wood used was sitka until it got expensive, okoume plywood, and after sitka obeche for frame lumber. I think obeche is a mahogany - pale light, soft and easy to machine. Obeche dented easily (soft) and probably sucked for rot resistance but is was used for internal frames and stringers in the race boats and soaked with WEST. Light was right for race boats. However, when planing, ripping and sanding obeche created an enormous amount of fine dust. I used respirators with that wood as well. The dust never seemed to adversely affect me but it was annoying. Anyhow, decades of slopping epoxy and no problems. Maybe because I wear gloves. Epoxy is a bugger to dig out from under fingernails . . .

[Howard]

I've always heard of people getting nose bleeds from sanding teak. Other than that, I never paid too much attention to sawdust. So upon seeing this, did a google search and some interesting stuff turned up. Apparently, wood dust allergic reactions are common. Also, a big difference between a termite like us chewing up wood with a wood plane or saw, vs. the fine dust that comes from sanding. I guess I never noticed the sanding dust too much as I almost always do my sanding with one of two random orbital sanders, both of which I always use attached to my shop vac to suck up the dust. I did it to keep the dust from flying around and getting into and onto everything.

I've also done the same thing while sanding epoxy. As I understand it, a lot of the allergic reactions to epoxy is not to the epoxy itself, but to the additives used to alter the properties of the basic epoxy. But the fumes and smell can do the damage as well as any dust.....that is just an extension of the general epoxy reaction.....another source of exposure. Then there are all the various fillers.......cabosil being the one I can think of, where the powder easily becomes airborne and inhaled. Even sawdust used as a thickening agent. On a regular basis, it's best to always use gloves, use in a well ventilated area and if additives are involved, use some type of mask.

The nasty thing about epoxy is once you develop an allergy to it, I hear it's for life. No getting over that.....so it's best to avoid it in the first place.

[Hirilonde]

Cedar has evolved to have irritating wood dust to protect itself from boatbuilders!

Yeah, being organic doesn't mean a chemical is good. And any dust in the lungs, even if not toxic is not a good idea. Wearing a dust filter is good for everyone and those who have sensitivities should consider a respirator.

[Lombard]

With enough exposure any wood can become toxic. I know other bow builders that have developed such a sensitivity to woods like Yew, Cedar, and Ipe, that they can no longer work with them, without harsh allergic reactions. One man actually went into respetory arrest working with Ipe, and if not for the prompt action of his wife, would have met God.

[Scott Dunsworth]

When I mentioned organic I was doing so as a joke I see so many advertisers for companies say our product is organic. Well I'm not big on chemicals but they try to make out Organic as non toxic. There are a lot of organic items out there that will kill you dead. Try eating some of the 100% organic mushrooms the world has and see where you end up. I sometimes think the advertisers are trying to change the definition of organic to mean wholesome and good for you. All it really means is man made chemicals aren't used. There are a hell of a lot of natural chemicals that are just as poisonous. There even 100% organic cigarettes out there that will kill you just the same as a Marlboro.

As for the shop dust we really shouldn't ignore it. I have a old furnace cage blower I have been planning to build a cheap air cleaner with. My plan was to build a box for it with a pre filter on two sides then a hepa filter on the inside. Then mount the unit on the ceiling. Even using dust collectors on the tools if you look around the shop a tremendous amount of the very small particles are floating around.

In fact it's to cold to work in the barn today so I may go out and build that air cleaner.

Scott

[Ken_Potts]

It's really worth knowing what the dangers of epoxy are when we use the stuff all the time. The data sheets are freely available and are eye-openers. Here are some: http://www.westsystem.com/ss/material-safety-data-sheets/

It doesn't take long to scan the relevant sheets and decide what sort of protective gear is appropriate even if (especially if) you've already used a lot of epoxy. Exposure to some of the materials is cumulative.

[Steve W]

This is a great warning.

You get one body, usually starting with working ears, eyes, fingers, etc. Nothing in this world is as versatile and better designed. Unfortunately too many of us take it for granted.

I can't tell you how many farmers I knew when I was younger who ran straight pipes on tractors. And playing in bands, guys who turned up there stage monitors to unbearable levels. Most of these guys have hearing aids now.

And who needs sunscreen? I worked with a guy who had the buckles on his overalls burn his skin. He thought it was cool. Just heard he had melenoma. It goes on and on.

I take risks for things that are exciting, but why take a risk on something as mundane as sanding or planing or handling epoxy?

A respirator, safety glasses and hearing protection every time you turn on a machine, or at least a respirator when you are hand sanding is just common sense.

Please be careful.

Take Care,

Steve