As for the dust from EPS, Honolulu has said it all.
For hotwiring, I read an MSDS from Dow, that said that the fumes coming of of a hotwire (melting, NOT burning foam) are hydrocarbons similar to what burning wood gives off. …of course you wouldn’t sit around inhaling your campfire smoke would you? I guess good ventilation is the answer there.
I asked Greg Loehr via e-mail about the fumes from RR epoxy, because when it gets cool here in Canada, I can’t have a shop wide open with the breeze flowing through so am stuck with the fumes. He said that the vapor given off by the epoxy reaction are amine fumes. I talked to a rep for AOSafety on the phone here in Montreal and they have cartridges rated for ‘methylamines’, which I am assuming are pretty much the same thing.
Greg said that in his shop they simply have it well ventilated with a machine to control the humidity, (Swamp something or other…??) and don’t wear any masks.
I know another local guy who has started using RR instead of poly and also doesn’t use a mask.
However, the additive ‘F’ that most RR users put in the mix is mostly xylene, which is not a terribly friendly substance. I think that it is a VOC and is filtered by an activated charcoal filter, like polyester users have, but am not positive. How can you protect from amines and xylene at the same time? Is it necessary?
Xylene is a suspected carcinogen and also causes neurological effects, but at what levels? I don’t know. We don’t use very much of it in our epoxy batches. I know that I had done a hotcoat once, quick ten-twenty minute job, no need for a mask right? Didn’t really notice any effects from the small exposure, except that my nose/nostrils were really irritated and itchy for hours after. …after reading some more on it, that is actually listed for it’s effects.(the vapors can also irritate the eyes to, as well as the amines) So there are all sorts of ways that the things we use can affect us; always best to protect as much as possible. and ventilate your shop as best you can.
I think the best way would be to buy or make a suit like oneula mentions, basically an air fed hazmat suit. Stopped doing antique restoration a long time ago because of the stripper (real bad stuff…), figured I could do it again if I had a suit like that that would also resist the stripper.