Thread: Equivalent Dangers to MDF Dust

Very unlikely that you will have lasting effects from just a couple of hours exposure. Nevertheless, it's a good idea to research the timber you are working with before you jump straight in and expose yourself to its pitfalls.
In an enclosed area, working with any timber for a sustained period of time is not a sensible thing to do. There are some timbers that are renown for causing problems if you breathe in the fine dust they create while sanding or sawing.
Sanding and routing causes very fine dust and this can certainly be dangerous. I feel you have learned your lesson. I wouldn't be unduly worried in your circumstances.

Originally Posted by milersixty

Obviously I now realize the type of protection required to work with the stuff but my question is what are some comparable exposures? Is that the equivalent of smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes? Twice as much regular saw dust? I don't believe it would be comparable to asbestos or silica dust.

No one knows the comparable exposure because no serious testing/research has been done on MDF. The other issue is that like smoking it effects different people in different ways. I lost my sense of smell for 6 weeks working with MDF outside. I'm not paranoid about it, I still use it but I have a 3HP DC attached to my shed which can vent the shed very quickly to the outside so if I do make some MDF dust it's mostly gone within a few minutes.

Originally Posted by milersixty

Obviously I now realize the type of protection required to work with the stuff but my question is what are some comparable exposures? Is that the equivalent of smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes? Twice as much regular saw dust?

I don't think it is helpful to think this way because it can lead to complacency. Also, being a smoker or exposure to cigarette smoke can increase the health risk from exposure to wood dusts
many wood dusts can cause adverse health effects, partially as a result of the resins, oils and minerals within the timber. Some people are more susceptable than others to particular timbers and I've heard of people who experience an adverse reaction to Huon Pine (say) but are OK with Blackwood and other people who have the opposite reaction.
It might be best to think in terms of minimal exposure

I don't believe it would be comparable to asbestos or silica dust.

if you mean you wont contract silicosis, asbestosis or mesothilioma you're probably right.
But if you mean you wont die of a cancer traceable to exposure to MDF dust, well ...

A medical doctor said that while he cannot guarantee nothing bad would come of it, not to worry because the warnings are meant for repeated exposure over a longer period.

maybe, maybe not,
the issue is both with the glue binding the fibres together and the fibres themselves.
I believe the glue issue decreases as the time between manufacture and use of the MDF increases.

An equivalent danger would be wood dust from softwood or hardwood species.
(Wood dust is classified as Group 1 - carcinogenic to humans)

http://www.ufpi.com/literature/wooddust-165.pdf

http://www.ewp.asn.au/library/tut_pa...st_q_and_a.pdf
"Health effects associated with wood dust arising from machining MDF are no different from those arising from machining other wood products."

Thanks everyone for their insight, I appreciate it. After reading everyone's input and insight as well as doing my own research my thoughts are as follows. First, I believe that MDF dust being as fine as it is has the affect of getting more of it in your lungs as opposed to other species. Since all wood dusts are cancer causing this obviously isn't a good thing. Compounding that, you are getting a high exposure to the chemicals in the resin, such as formaldahyde, etc...

As someone mentioned above is the effect smoking has on cilia and the lungs since cilia sweeps fluids and foreign particles out of the airway so that they stay out of the lungs.

Luckily I am not a smoker and believe that my lungs will be able to remove some but not all of the particles and I don't think that 10 hours of MDF dust exposure will cause cancer in someone who leads in otherwise healthy lifestyle. Sometimes one bad experience can actually be better for your health as it makes you more safety conscience here on out.