David… When people in the boat building industry talk of, “top of the range” epoxies, they are usually talking WWest System. One of the KINGS of dermatitus sensitization. Is this the resin we are talking about?
Quakity quack quack quack!
Greg. The epoxy resin that was being used at the boatyards I was working for was Ampreg 20 and Ampreg 22 supplied by SP Systems Aust. West Systems epoxy is used mainly in the sheathing of strip planked timber boats.I do remember people having some major health problems with it in mid to late 80’s.
The bad thing about some companies, and SP is one, is that they supply systems that are more toxic than they should be. Than they need to be. There are ways around toxicity in epoxy formulating and many companies just look at job performance only. I learned early on to look a bit deeper. That peoples lives depend on these formulations and the information I provide. There is an attitude in the chemical business that job performance is the ONLY final proof and that anyone using these chemicals should be aware of the fact that there is a level of toxicity. And they should be professional enough to take precautions. In the real world, this isn’t generally true. People don’t tend to seriously use precaution until it’s too late. As a formulator for over 20 years I’ve dealt with this fact in the surfboard industry, notorious for unprofessional methods. I saw what happens when I didn’t take precautions for them. I’m not going to sit here and state that there are no risks in using our system, but every precaution that I can provide from my end is there and our track record speaks for itself. It is quite frustrating, as an epoxy formulator, being lumped together with companies who, in my opinion, haven’t done their homework on certain issues.