Well the flammable version contains a not so pleasant cocktail of VOCs that cause cancer and neurological damage. Toluene, Xylene, Methanol, Hexane and others to name a few. These are just as bad in their own way, despite not causing the release of phosgene when burned. Please be careful with these substances, even if not around open flames. They can be absorbed through your skin too.
Profiguy's above comment #40 is to be taken seriously.
A good idea to eliminate breathing vapors is to have proper ventilation going.
A cheap box fan is worth the trouble to set up if you'd like to stay healthy.
That motor cleaning that I did was done outdoors, wind blowing away from me.
A good idea to eliminate breathing vapors is to have proper ventilation going.
A cheap box fan is worth the trouble to set up if you'd like to stay healthy.
That motor cleaning that I did was done outdoors, wind blowing away from me.
Ya know, at 69 years old, that's the least of my worries.
I don't have any breathing or related issues.
I feel fine.
But of course, someone's got to chime in just because that photo has a lousy pack of cigs in it.
Makes me consider improving my prfessional (and hobby) equipment / working habits…
I work as a painter and thus often have to sand (or wash with chemical compounds) any kinds of old surfaces…
Luckily, leaded paint isn’t around anymore, but titanium is totally common, and even asbestos still is an issue (usually taken care of before my appearance)
@wiseoldtech »lucky to have skated by with their health« matches pretty good on this one, too. (Me smoking too, TBH)
I work as a painter and thus often have to sand (or wash with chemical compounds) any kinds of old surfaces…
Luckily, leaded paint isn’t around anymore, but titanium is totally common, and even asbestos still is an issue (usually taken care of before my appearance)
@wiseoldtech »lucky to have skated by with their health« matches pretty good on this one, too. (Me smoking too, TBH)
I use the flammable kind to clean oil and grease off of my hands... That or Diesel/gasoline... I then wash my hands with Fast Orange and then dish soap. I'm glad I don't work on my car often anymore.
A drip of Lacquer Thinner on the back of the knee burns though... Like using Pert Plus on your scrotum.
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Just use mineral oil/baby oil. It easily cuts through almost anything, probably more than those you mention.
Those of us who maintained equipment of nearly any kind in the 60's through the early 80's were exposed to all sorts of nasties, chemical and otherwise. Whether or not the risks were known to upper management at the time will probably never be known, though they did take away out trichlorethylene and Freon early on.
One of my many tasks was to periodically (averaging once or twice daily) "mode" (optimize the power output) the CO2 lasers. The SOP was to clamp a 1/4 inch thick sheet of asbestos in a Panavise, place it in front of the collimated beam and tune for biggest fireball on the asbestos sheet. The 100 watt laser, which was modified Tubelab style for max power despite short plasma tube life, would burn through the sheet in about 2 minutes. The 200 watt laser (completely stock) could burn through in about a minute and a half. Never mind that to do this one took the covers off of the plasma tubes exposing the mirror blocks which were fed from a 25,000 volt supply rated for 1/2 Amp.
When we worked on our own cars the cleaning solvent of choice was usually gasoline. Did we blow the dust out of brake drums and clutch pressure plates with our lungs? Yes, usually followed by inhaling some dust. What were brake pads, shoes and clutch disks made out of in that time period? Asbestos. I no longer clean my skin with VOC's, and have learned a lot about what to avoid in our DIY electronics hobby. I have modified many of my old habits and believe that it's never too late to make improvements.
I grew up in Miami Florida when only rich people had air conditioning. I liked being outside when I wasn't blowing up electronics stuff, but it was hot. That left my friends and I usually barefoot and shirtless. That is often still the case for me today. I put shoes on my feet only when I have to, and go barefoot or wear flip flops almost everywhere. I live in a wooded area that stays damp for days or weeks at a time. The area is frequented by lots of wildlife that uses my playground for a toilet. When I come in from mowing nearly 1 acre barefoot, I scrub my feet with a mix of Softscrub bathroom cleaner and hydrogen peroxide on a Scotch Brite pad. That seems to get them clean and keeps the bacteria count under control. All other body parts get real soap (made locally) not that scented chemical concoction called soap from the store that's full of hormone disrupters.
One of my many tasks was to periodically (averaging once or twice daily) "mode" (optimize the power output) the CO2 lasers. The SOP was to clamp a 1/4 inch thick sheet of asbestos in a Panavise, place it in front of the collimated beam and tune for biggest fireball on the asbestos sheet. The 100 watt laser, which was modified Tubelab style for max power despite short plasma tube life, would burn through the sheet in about 2 minutes. The 200 watt laser (completely stock) could burn through in about a minute and a half. Never mind that to do this one took the covers off of the plasma tubes exposing the mirror blocks which were fed from a 25,000 volt supply rated for 1/2 Amp.
When we worked on our own cars the cleaning solvent of choice was usually gasoline. Did we blow the dust out of brake drums and clutch pressure plates with our lungs? Yes, usually followed by inhaling some dust. What were brake pads, shoes and clutch disks made out of in that time period? Asbestos. I no longer clean my skin with VOC's, and have learned a lot about what to avoid in our DIY electronics hobby. I have modified many of my old habits and believe that it's never too late to make improvements.
I grew up in Miami Florida when only rich people had air conditioning. I liked being outside when I wasn't blowing up electronics stuff, but it was hot. That left my friends and I usually barefoot and shirtless. That is often still the case for me today. I put shoes on my feet only when I have to, and go barefoot or wear flip flops almost everywhere. I live in a wooded area that stays damp for days or weeks at a time. The area is frequented by lots of wildlife that uses my playground for a toilet. When I come in from mowing nearly 1 acre barefoot, I scrub my feet with a mix of Softscrub bathroom cleaner and hydrogen peroxide on a Scotch Brite pad. That seems to get them clean and keeps the bacteria count under control. All other body parts get real soap (made locally) not that scented chemical concoction called soap from the store that's full of hormone disrupters.
Ah the good ole days eh. I breathed asbestos laiden drywall dust/compound for a good 10 years before it was banned.
I'm surprised air conditioning was not ubiquitous by then in CA.
I'm surprised air conditioning was not ubiquitous by then in CA.
I spent four years in a machinist apprenticeship at a national laboratory, then dozens more working in the machine shop before retirement. When I was an apprentice in the 1980s, for holiday potluck meals, we used to heat our food in the heat treat ovens and eat a few feet away from the machine tools. We worked everyday while drinking coffee, smoking, chewing gum while machining depleted uranium, beryllium-copper, thoriated tungsten. We found out later that the machine shop was full of beryllium and asbestos when they did a cleanup/remediation. There were a few welders and people working in the plating shop who got cancer, but I haven't heard of groups of former workers dying of cancer.
I'd like to spend the rest of my retirement years working on my 1953 pickup while listening to my tube amplifiers.
I'd like to spend the rest of my retirement years working on my 1953 pickup while listening to my tube amplifiers.
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You baited the hook. It seems that you placed the Pall Malls and the lighter in the photo for a reason as they seem out of place. Maybe you are lucky, maybe not, only time will tell. I have had several friends leave this world prematurely due to that particular voluntary carcinogen exposure. I have nothing more to say in the matter. Not taking the bait this time.
It's hard to keep track of a large and constantly changing workforce population in an area like South Florida where almost everyone comes from somewhere else and rarely stays for more than 5 years. I started at the plant in 1973. The battery manufacturing stuff left some time in the late 70's. The quartz crystal manufacturing was sold off and moved out about the same time. The microelectronics manufacturing moved to the other side of the planet in the mid 80's. We made two way radios and cell phones well into the 2000's, but they were all ROHS compliant so that most of the nasty stuff had left the building. The people that were most exposed were scattered to the wind, retired or left the area in search of work, or had passed on. It seems that prostate and testicular cancer were noted as far above average as well as cardiac events, and even a few suicides.
There was an unofficial "old timers" list which kept track of the people who had worked in that facility since the 70's. It was a pretty short list, and I was number 4 from the top when I left. None of the people on the list remain today. Out of about 50 names I knew of 5 who had died.
I've been involved in the industry as well as my current job, with BeO since 1984. Purchased lots of Brush Wellman BeO product.
This data sheet was not written by someone with any understanding of BeO and it's hazards. Luckily, the cautions presented will suffice to protect people, but most of it is rather, shall we say, "inconsistent" with what is known about BeO.
The most important fact about BeO is indeed the dust and inhalation. Below a certain particle size (I'm thinking 4 microns but it's been 35 years now), it makes it into the lung alvioli. There, it sticks to the walls, and because it looks at the molecular level like potassium, it replaces the potassium of the walls. (note, this understanding comes from Issac Asimov, who wrote a short story involving this effect. Given he was a PhD Chemist, I give his explanation credence).
After it does this, it renders the walls impermeable to the diffusion of oxygen. The victim suffocates. The wikilink I provided mentions the impermeability.
Only 4% of the human race is susceptible to this. It is called berylliosis. There is (was) no test available to determine which humans were susceptible. This from the Brush Wellman site, they had a tremendous amount of information on this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berylliosis
John
Not at all, sorry.
Nope.
They just happened to be on my workbench at the time.
My photo was to show off the turntable, not worrying about cropping out things that others seem agitated by and need to spout off about.
God forbid if I had my Trump maga cap sitting on the bench!...... good lord the wild outbursts that would generate!
I remember when I was still a young adult a relative was working on some 5 inch asbestos pipes, and seeing it was asbestos, I warned him that it was a very danagerous material and should be handled with great care. This relative with a giggle, held out an electric grinder, and cut the asbestos pipe generating a huge cloud of asbestos dust! As soon as he was ready, he esclaimed to me: Look, I did not die!
Do NOT cut asbestos with anything which generates dust; it is extremely dangerous to inhale as the dust particles stick inside the lungs causing the immune system to attack them continuously until some cells become carcenogenic and start speading to the entire body.
Do NOT cut asbestos with anything which generates dust; it is extremely dangerous to inhale as the dust particles stick inside the lungs causing the immune system to attack them continuously until some cells become carcenogenic and start speading to the entire body.
Here in Australia there's been a significant increase in cases of Silicosis due to the demand in engineered stone benchtops. The number of deaths has resulted in specific changes to workplace safety legislation.