EPS / Epoxy Respirator?

So, I now work with EPS foam and RR Epoxy resin almost everyday for one reason or another. Don’t these still contain carcinogens? And shouldn’t you wear a good respirator? Everyone I’ve talked with is using a simple painting/dust mask. It took decades for people to finally admit cigarettes kill. Rather be safe than sorry I guess.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Rick.

Let’s approach this matter in parts: is there a respirable hazard in EPS/epoxy construction.

Answer: yes.

Question: what level of protection is needed?

Answer for EPS: a good (HEPA-rated) particle filter will have a magenta band on it, and a label stating that it is HEPA rated, N100, P100 or R100. These last three are NIOSH ratings, the good stuff, the real deal, and all respirator cartridges worth considering will have a rating on the label.

Nowadays there are disposable masks that look like the thin spunbonded types, cheap, light, and supposedly HEPA rated. HOWEVER… the real effectiveness of all respirators (not speaking of the cartridges at this point) lies requries that they fit your face. Face seal can be checked simply on cartridge type respirators, and should be checked each and every time you put on your respirator. BUT… you can’t fit check those little lightweight spunbonded items, and if you could, they’d probably fail. So I have little faith in the lightweight units except for nuisance dusts, those which do not pose a substantial health hazard if inhaled. Does EPS pose a “substantial” hazard? Hmmmm… Well Clark Foam’s MSDS stated that it was a “fully reacted polymer” and IIRC was only a nuisance hazard. I don’t believe that, many on this list probably don’t either, and we pretty much considered exposure to respirable Clark Foam a bad thing. I would put EPS in the same category until proven otherwise.

SHORT ANSWER FOR EPS, wear a good respirator with HEPA, N100, P100 or R100 cartridges.

Now as to epoxy… well the same thing really. I can’t claim to know the mechanism of sensitization (do a search) and haven’t been affected by this myself. Others have been miserably affected… was it by skin contact or inhalation? Suggest you wear a good activated charcoal filtered respirator when using epoxy products. Do a fit test each and every time you put it on. The lack of sensible vapors or odor is not a sufficient indication that the stuff is “safe”. Manufacturer claims about how comparatively safe this product may be (compared to polyester resin and MEK catalyst) are not the same thing as “you don’t need a respirator”.

Have an pro glasser acquaintance who is totally sold on epoxy, happily claims he doesn’t wear his respirator any more. Lotsa luck B-B. To me this sounds like claiming you don’t need filtered ciggies anymore.

Anyone knows what Wayne Lynch uses and where he gets that powered full headset of his?

I haven’t seen that many as portable except the ones they sell to woodworkers who lathe alot(Trend Shield).

But they all are expensive and bulky and don’t look like the protect you all that well.

Dues to skin allergies when sanding fiberglass or grinding down wood blocks I use a hooded tyvek nitrile gloves and shoes and socks with a full 3M 7000 series mask and n100 filters but you sweat like a pig in those things and you mask fogs up as you develop heat stroke.

Also anyone ever construct their own personal bumblebee outfit with with blower or compressor and some hose?

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.

YES…EPOXY RESPIRATOR!

To my surprise when cleaning the vents to my shaping/glassing room ac, the entire vent was gummed with a yellow tinted goo! I have been glassing with FGH 2:1 azuline (yellow tint). I could not see the fumes, but my ac vents will tell the truth. Just imagine if I didn’t where a respirator (my lungs would be fu_ked).

Now, I can’t clean off the sh_t from my ac.

I use good quality disposable masks for shaping, and they seem to work well…the 3M 8210 Plus…it’s in the N95 series and is NIOSH rated. The fit is good and tends to stick to your face after a few minutes. You realize it when you pull it off… a nice sticky/tight seal… maybe from the moisture of your breath or your swet.

I use no mask for working with wet resin. I ventilate well and leave the room when I’m done.

For sanding I use a standard respirator with double cartriges for ultra fine particles, as I believe the particulates are much smaller when sanding than when shaping. We also NEVER sand indoors with a grinder or orbital. Hand sanding is done in the shop, but when we plug in, we set up some horses and do it outdoors.

In terms of vapors, I don’t know of any dangers related to shaping EPS.

Yes, you want to protect yourself from that additive F as it does contain xylene. But adequate ventilation should keep the concentration down to levels that won’t present enough risk for the average backyarder to be concerned about. Just keep the stuff off your skin, for sure, and clean up spills and dispose of soiled materials it right away.

FYI… a “high” concentration of xylene is about 900 ppm. You can start to smell the stuff at 4 ppm. Do you smell xylene when you glass?