Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2012 09:29:32 -0700
Reply-To: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Don Hanson <dhanson928@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: [NVC] Cleaning up epoxy mess?
In-Reply-To: <4ff99f59.42a8320a.73b4.ffffaf1c@mx.google.com>
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On Sun, Jul 8, 2012 at 7:55 AM, Max Wellhouse <dimwittedmoose@cfu.net>wrote:
> David: It's my understanding that the hardener is the "sensitizer "
> and the resin is fairly innocous, at least with the Gougeon
> stuff. I've been "intimaely" involved with Gougeon Resin for over 20
> years and have yet to have an allergic issue.
>
This thread is way off topic and we'll be told to shut up soon, most
likely...
But I, too, have extensive exposure to many 'sensitizing' agents like
epoxy, cedar dust, normal fiberglass, etc from many years in the
boatbuilding and carpentry trades...
You want to take the best precautions possible when working around any of
this stuff.... Just because you have "yet to have any negative reaction" to
something that does not mean you aren't harming your insides. I worked
around Cedar for many years doing fine finish work, being pretty "casual"
with precautions about what I'd always heard..."you can develop a bad
reaction to the dust of Cedar if you aren't careful"....Sure enough, I
suddenly began wheezing badly whenever I even smelled Cedar and I now must
wear a full chemical spray mask in order to work with or even near it.
Epoxy and Cedar, combined, that really sets me off. A hot batch of WEST
Epoxy will send me wheezing and gasping for breath if I am not super
careful now...In past years, I could use it anywhere anytime and feel
nothing alarming...
People in the boat business were all Ga Ga about Linear Polyurathane
paints when they first came around in the 80s and yards were spraying it on
boats all over, with all the guys just wearing normal masks....there were
fatalities and who knows how much un-detected damage to yard worker people
before it was determined that wearing a fresh air supply painting mask was
necessary to spray that paint and being in the same room, un-protected
could be fatal.
You really do want to minimize the exposure you have around your Vanagon
when working with chemicals...When I was young and dumb, I used to wash my
whole upper body with Acetone after building a surfboard, sand all
afternoon with no mask, thinking..."That stuff won't hurt ME"...but it
will. Take a few seconds and put on the latex gloves, put a fan in your
shop to move out the exhaust gas, don't wash your hands in gasoline...
Don Hanson
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