Timbers turning, dust/exposure health issues

[robutacion]

Hi everyone,

Very often I read about people allergies and breathing problems when working with some types of timbers. This can be a quite serious problem to some of us so, I run into some interesting information provided on a woodturners site in the UK, reflecting their search on common timbers they use. A large of those timber species are the same here in Australia, and if nothing else, it will give some important information to those people with known allergies and at the same time will probably explain what some people can experience after handling some of these timbers.

I hope this list will answer some questions among us!

http://www.orchard-woodturners.org.uk/wood2.htm

Cheers:2tsup:
RBTCO

[SawDustSniffer]

cheers for that , especially for the nasopharyngeal cancer listings
have a mate who is sick as a dog lately , been wood working ( commercial artist ) for 10 years , all ways used salvaged indo illegal fishing boat scraps and west system glues

the worst reaction i have had was to "Iron Bark" ,sneezing fits , coughing ,throat dilation and that was with paper mask on , went out and bought a full face helmet and 20m of vacuum tube with a blower ,fixed that problem

i think Ubeaut should have a "read this warning" to all wood workers including MSDS's of glues i would help post a few of the MSDS's i have on epoxies
not that anyone one would blame UBEAUT for there dust inhaling practices , personaly i think Craftwood "MDF" is the worst ( the glue )

[aak]

Hi RBTCO,

That is timely info for me and most probably other newbies to woodturning will benefit from it too. I intended to post a new thread on dangerous materials to health when it comes to woodturning when I saw your thread.

So, I thought maybe it would be better to post my question here. I was wondering if the experienced and knowledgable members of the forum could add to this list. Both timbers that are not on the list as yet and other materials that could cause a health risk whether breathing or handling? It probably would be a good thing to make the list a sticky, if that is the right expression.

Personally, I do not mind using a face shield, but do not really like using a respirator. It makes me sweat, fogs up my glasses and as such a general nuisance. However, my health is also important. I would prefer to make an educated decision on when I could avoid using the respirator without taking major risks. Using glues like CA, routing and or turning MDF I use it, but there could be many other occassions when I should have it on.

Your thoughts and recommendations would be most appreciated.

Regards
Andy

[SawDustSniffer]

CCA treated pine isn't on there either ( Copper Logs )
C.C.A = Copper , Chromium , Arsenic :oo:
termites must be smarter then humans , they wont touch the stuff
i like the little white crystals that grow out of CCA on the "Councils play grounds " ummm tasty

[BobL]

i think Ubeaut should have a "read this warning" to all wood workers including MSDS's of glues i would help post a few of the MSDS's i have on epoxies
not that anyone one would blame UBEAUT for there dust inhaling practices , personaly i think Craftwood "MDF" is the worst ( the glue )

Sorry, I disagree - this is a forum for the reasonable and open discussion of issues raised by members. The owner or admins should not be responisble for the provision of any specific information relating to safety or otherwise. Members should be responsible for their own safety. The forum is a great place to raise safety issues without alarmist and fear-mongering posts. Posting links to MSDS sheets is fine, asking Ubeat to do it is probably not.

As soon as this website starts providing warnings for the use of something we'd have to provide warnings on and recommended ways on everything. How to use power tools? How about hand tools? What about what PPE to wear in the shed? Fire extinguishers, safe escape routes, how to tie things to your roof, your personal safety plan, etc. And even though one would hope not someone might still blame the forum owners because they misread the official safety advice provided.

[ubeaut]

i think Ubeaut should have a "read this warning" to all wood workers including MSDS's of glues i would help post a few of the MSDS's i have on epoxies
not that anyone one would blame UBEAUT for there dust inhaling practices , personaly i think Craftwood "MDF" is the worst ( the glue )

UBEAUT is well aware of the problems with dust as shown in our BADWOODS (http://www.ubeaut.com.au/badwood.htm) link http://www.ubeaut.com.au/badwood.htm which has been on line since 1998 and is more relevant to Australian woodworkers as it is based more on the available timbers in Australia. I have often told people in here about the problems of wood dust and have posted the first sentence from Badwoods here a number of times. Here it is again:

In Australia all wood dust is now classified as carcinogenic (liable to cause cancer)

As for MSDS's there are a number of repositories for these and all manufacturers will, or at least should, supply them upon request. It's up to the end user to to make themselves aware of the problems with finishes and other chemicals etc used in woodwork. It's not hard all you have to do is ask when you buy a product. Most sellers have MSDS's .

However the fact that they have an MSDS doesn't necessarily mean the info contained in it is completely correct. I know of one manufacturer who freely admitted to me that they made up their own MSDS as the went along. This used a lot of very high aromatics in their products. High aromatics can cause all sorts of problems over time including kidney failure, paranoia, and worse. None of this was mentioned in their MSDS's and after a number of years I actually noticed that at least one of the directors appeared to become more paranoid and mentally affected, presumabely by their own product.

Anyhow.... The responsibility rests squarely on the shoulders of the end user for their own health and safety and this includes learning the correct and safe use not only of chemicals etc but also of machinery, power and hand tools, etc, etc, etc.

UBEAUT

[robutacion]

Hi peoples,

Now, my intention on providing the link to this information origin (location), is not to promote or provoke "paranoia", panic or fear. This is just the work of another(s) wood-workers in relation to the issue of timbers less health friendly. Most of the information provided is found here and there (fragmented) but not all together in a easy access & reading format. Actually the person that put it all together is contactable on that web site (link provided above). Anyone with suggestions of other timbers that could or should be part of that list, can contact this person I believe, as is nothing on the site asking for not to!

In relation to MSDS's, this is an interesting issue, one which I had some work done in the pass. The thing is, when someone manufactures a product (with possible risks), laws require that the manufacturer produces an assessment study with the products composition, risks and safety measures, they them consolidate all this data and create what we know as the product MSDS. The product can not be sold to the public without this MSDS's being complete, BUT, and I repeat BUT, these MSDS's do not have to be provided with the product (warnings signs, yes but that's it) to the customers nor the manufacturer has to let the consumer know they exist and are available. The customer/consumer is the one that "HAS", "IS RESPONSIBLE" to know that any product has a MSDS or also known as the "fact sheet", and that this document "HAS" to be "freely" available and "immediately" provided, upon request, (fax, email, post, etc).
Now, I wasn't the one to make these rules, nor I agree with the way it's all done but, this is where the consumer get's "done" in the eyes of the law. In resume, is all very simple, the manufacturer doesn't tell it all, otherwise the product wouldn't sell, the consumer assumes that if was dangerous it wouldn't be for sale so easily, nor he/she waste time reading the label, as most are false advertising or just bull...!, resulting also in failing of taking some notice on some manufacturers labels that actually give some useful information, then the $#%t its the fan, and them...???
The fellow with a black vest and a funny curly white hair, gives you a hard time because you should have known better, bla bla bla bla, then if you're lucky, get you a little money for you to shut-up and go away..., so that everyone can get back to "business" again!
This may all look familiar with most of us but, on the other hand and taking into consideration that every coin has two sides, how many people really spend the time researching for each and every product they wish to use, request all the MSDS's and follow all the instructions , line by line?
Is a sad fact that so many products that we have been using for so long, and we though safe, end-up causing us so many problems, as is a reality that 99.9% of what you are surrounded with every single day, end-up killing you!
the question is, how fast or how slow?

So paranoia, is not the answer, stop living is not the answer either, being too cautious can transform you in a "butterfly", not being cautious at all will get you a non-return ticket to the "other side", quick smart so, if you were born with strong genes a powerful immune system, a strong body and with some lucky stars around you, you may reach old age, regardless if you work with timbers or not!

Now, is this the answer for your problems? probably not...! but the way I see it, sure answers a lot of my questions...!

In any case, I reckon the pain of knowing, is a lot better than the pain of not knowing...!:o

Take care, be safe!

Cheers:2tsup:
RBTCO

[aak]

Well said RBTCO:2tsup:

Regards
Andy