cyanide gas

[astevens]

I read the other day, i forgot where, that cyanide gas along with carbon dioxide is traped in foam when a PU blank is made. Is this a myth? If not, how much is released when shaping, and is it enough to be dangerous?

[benr]

@$1

I read the other day, i forgot where, that cyanide gas along with carbon dioxide is traped in foam when a PU blank is made. Is this a myth? If not, how much is released when shaping, and is it enough to be dangerous?

Carbon dioxide is present in all air and is exhaled by all animals and used by plants for photosynthesis so no to that.

In fact Carbon dioxide levels far higher then exist now has been present in the past and plant life literally explodes as a result!

It’s also used to make coke bubble!

The carbon bad crowd is using ignorance to sell carbon dioxide as bad and leverage industry killing taxes as a by product of the globull warming hysteria.

Want to fis what ails mother earth PLANT MORE TREES AND PLANTS!

Quit chopping down the rainforest!

**Replant what you chop down!
**

“I heard” Cyanide gas is present when you allow a ding to suck in salt water causing the foam to break down when exposed to sunlight and heat but I doubt at any level that would cause harm unless you eat the blank.

Cyanide is present in apple seeds it takes a fair amount of the substnce to cause lasting harm.

 

A quick GOOGLE search found

 

Don't Smoke Your Surfboard - A Look At What's In Surfboard Foam

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  Submitted by grant on Wed, 08/06/2008 - 11:16.    </div>

Spending hours on end at the beach, in the ocean, in all weather
conditions and often in ecologically sensitive locations, we, as
surfers, seem to have an intrinsic connection with the natural
environment we immerse ourselves in. It doesn’t take much to be a
surfer. The notion of riding waves is minimalist in its very
essence. Just a few pieces of equipment and we can be out there sharing
the stoke with mother nature. Completely free of charge and without
restriction we thrive on the raw energy and pure form of the breaking
wave, absorbed  and in tune with the natural environment around us.

But
when we take a look at our overall carbon footprint of these few pieces
of equipment, the reality is that it is produced using non renewable
resources which are toxic, carcinogenic and are incredibly hard to
dispose of.

The main component of a surfboard is its core which is
generally made of foam. It is estimated that as many as 400,000
surfboards are produced around the world every year.

The
development of petroleum products in the early-mid nineteen hundreds has
literally changed the world. Everything from moisturizing cream, food
colouring and t-shirts to spacecraft, computers and surfboards could now
be created in part or in some cases entirely from petroleum by-products
synthesised into different materials.

The surfboard industry
quickly adopted the use of polyurethane foam as a surfboard core. It was
light, cheap, easily available and easy to work with.  Over the last
few years we have seen the development of boards made from Expanded
Polystyrene (EPS) and Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) foams. These boards are
also laminated with fibreglass cloth and resin.

                        

Polyurethane foam                                       EPS Foam                                     BioFoam

Let’s take a look at these different kinds of foams:

PU
foam is formed with 2 main parts - the polyol, which is combined with
an isocyanate - the blowing agent to react. The polyol is usually
petroleum based and the isocyanate is typically Toluene diisocyanate
(TDI). Toluene is a known carcinogen and is considered an extremely
toxic and volatile substance. Most surfboards around the world have been
blown with TDI for the last 50 years but recently there has been a
shift in manufacturing processes due to growing environmental concerns
and also government regulation.

Possibly the most significant
event in the surfboard industry in recent years was the closure of Clark
Foam in 2005. Clark was the leader worldwide in the surfboard foam
business, holding up to 80% of the market in the USA and also exporting
around the world. Clark was investigated by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and numerous other agencies relating to their use of TDI
and voluntarily closed his doors.

 Facing possible huge fines,
extensive litigation and even imprisonment, Clark shut down the plant
that supplied over 1000 blanks a day to shapers. TDI emissions, storage
methods, workplace safety and the possibility of catastrophic
consequences of spills among other things were reasons for the
investigations and subsequent closure. The burning of PU foam results in
carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and hydrogen cyanide emissions which
are extremely toxic to humans. As PU foam is also widely used in
furniture and bedding, most house fire deaths are a result of these
toxic fumes being inhaled by the victims, rather than the actual fire
itself.

Following Clark’s closure there was an increase in the use
of Methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) as a replacement for TDI. MDI
is significantly less toxic to the worker and the environment but still
not “green” by any standards. The gap in the market also led to
alternative materials such as soy and sugar being used  as polyols by
some manufatcurers such as HomeBlown and ICE-9. MDI is still used but
replacing the petroeum based polyols with sustianable, plant based
materials is a huge step in the right direction. Homeblown’s production,
for example, uses 50% plant based materials, reduces non renewable
energy use by 61% and creates 31% less greenhouse gas emmissions than
standard PU production.

The closed cell structure of PU foam is
perfect for repelling water and maintaining structural integrity,
however this closed cell structure also traps gases inside the foam
which are released during the shaping of the blank as the cells are
ruptured. This off-gassing is considerably worse with TDI blanks
compared to MDI as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’S) such as butanol,
toluene and dioxane are emitted. Consequently shapers are exposing
themselves to known carcinogens on a daily basis and although a
respirator is usually worn, absorption through the skin and eye
irritation is a considerable risk and there have been many reports of
nausea, headaches, chronic illness and even cancer by shapers using TDI
blanks.

EPS and XPS surfboard foams are relatively new to board
building and have been used as a replacement for PU by shapers mostly
due to their durability and reduced weight rather than environmental
considerations. A well built EPS/Epoxy board will be lighter and last
longer than a PU/Polyester board. Considering that some pro surfers can
go through 100-200 PU boards per year and that an average surfer will
replace a PU surfboard every 1-2 years, EPS boards have the potential to
reduce our overall footprint by lasting up to 5 times longer.  EPS is
also superior from an environmental and health standpoint. Not
containing any (VOC’s), free of TDI and 100% recyclable (although not
widely recycled), EPS is considerably safer for the shaper and the
community at large.

While a lot of surfers have supported EPS
foam, a large portion remains sceptical and still prefers PU/Polyester
lay-ups, claiming that EPS feels “corky” and doesn’t surf as well.
Surfers tend to follow the lead of the professionals when it comes to
gear and there is currently only one pro surfer out of the top 44 using
an EPS board. Shapers on the other hand have preferred, for the most
part, to continue using PU foam as with Polyester resin, a board can be
shaped, glassed and ready to ride in a few hours. Epoxy resin, however,
takes longer to set and EPS boards are generally more labour intensive
and time consuming to produce.

Looking back over the last few
years since the closure of Clark Foam it is heartening and exciting to
see different companies and individuals experimenting with natural and
plant based materials to create surfboard foam that is less toxic. While
it’s clear the industry at large still has a big black mark against its
name when it comes to being eco-friendly, there is hope that in the
near future a surfboard will be made that is somewhat sustainable and
non toxic. Already we have seen some great efforts and real progress.
There are new products coming to market every week and it is only a
matter of time before those forward thinking individuals test and
develops prototypes before we see eco-friendly surfboard in our local
surf stores.

Already we are aware of a number of new foams that we
will be testing in the coming months. One is an EPS foam that is made
in Australia from 50% plant based materials and the other is a PU foam
from Brazil that is 100% castor oil based and completely non toxic. We
at SurfingGreen.com.au will be testing and reporting on these materials
and keeping regular updates in this site.
 

[huie]

its already been done    try geting main stream to run with it haaaaaaa’’    haaaaaa’’