Is venting hazardous to your health?

beegled · Post by **beegled** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 1:03 am

Hello,

A firend of ours told us that venting into the inside air of our small shop is not good for us and can cause health problems. She said that especially venting for fiber paper is extermely hazardous. Is any of this true? Should I not just be propping the lid open a little bit but rather install a full venting system that goes to the outside? The only thing we ever wear our repirators for is grinding, powder frit and kiln wash. Are there some articles out there I should be reading that can give me more information about what requires respirator and what doesn't?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

David

AVLucky · Post by **AVLucky** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 1:42 am

Try Monona Rossol's book. I think the title is The Artist's Health and Safety Guide. That's probably good for starters.
Fiber paper gives off some pretty nasty fumes. You definitely don't want to be breathing those in. Also, when you are handling paper that has been fired and is crumbling and powdery, wear a respirator. You can also submerge the glass in water when you clean any fiber particles off of it--it keeps them out of the air and your lungs!
Also, make sure you have the right type of cartridges for your respirator. There are different types for fumes or particulates, or a combination. I use fiber paper occasionally, but try not to hang around while the binders are burning out. I haven't installed a vent system, but my kiln lives in a garage which is open on one side, so I haven't been too worried about that. (Makes for some tough work this time of year, though!)

Greg Rawls · Post by **Greg Rawls** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 10:00 am

Check my web site. I have lots of information about health & safety for the glass artist.

However, I have never evaluated the thermal decomposition products. I just did a quick search for fiber paper MSDSs and find that the binders seem to be latex. Some manufacturer's list their organic binders as "Proprietary" which means they do not have to reveal the contents. There is a paragraph is the OSHA hazard communication standard that requires manufacturers to reveal this information to occupational health professonials (that's me!). If someone would tell me who is the major manufacturer of this stuff, I will be very happy to go after them for thermal decomposition products of the binder.

http://www.gregorieglass.com

Bert Weiss · Post by **Bert Weiss** » Sat Feb 28, 2004 11:20 am

Greg Rawls wrote:Check my web site. I have lots of information about health & safety for the glass artist.

However, I have never evaluated the thermal decomposition products. I just did a quick search for fiber paper MSDSs and find that the binders seem to be latex. Some manufacturer's list their organic binders as "Proprietary" which means they do not have to reveal the contents. There is a paragraph is the OSHA hazard communication standard that requires manufacturers to reveal this information to occupational health professonials (that's me!). If someone would tell me who is the major manufacturer of this stuff, I will be very happy to go after them for thermal decomposition products of the binder.

http://www.gregorieglass.com

Greg

The 2 major manufacturers of papers are Unifrax and Lydall. I don't know who makes thinfire. There are different grades of paper relative to the purity of the fibers.

Boards are made by Unifrax and Thermal Ceramics.

Zircar makes some interesting products as well, including something similar to thinfire. (maybe it is ???)

beegled · Post by **beegled** » Sun Feb 29, 2004 3:41 am

Thanks all for the information this is really helpful. So what about just normal venting when I'm not using fiber paper. Any thoughts there?

Thanks again,

David

Greg Rawls · Post by **Greg Rawls** » Sun Feb 29, 2004 10:11 am

Bert - thanks for the manufcturer's names. I've done some research and find that Thermal Ceramics and Unifrax make a variety of papers. Anyone know of the specific product name? Does Unifrax 550 or 880 paper sound familiar with anyone? Does anyone sell this stuff in their shops and can tell me what's on the label?

What I'm finding so far is that the binder is latex which contains formaldehyde - which could explain the irritating smell. I'll post more once I find the actual MSDS.

Bert Weiss · Post by **Bert Weiss** » Sun Feb 29, 2004 11:01 am

Greg Rawls wrote:Bert - thanks for the manufcturer's names. I've done some research and find that Thermal Ceramics and Unifrax make a variety of papers. Anyone know of the specific product name? Does Unifrax 550 or 880 paper sound familiar with anyone? Does anyone sell this stuff in their shops and can tell me what's on the label?

What I'm finding so far is that the binder is latex which contains formaldehyde - which could explain the irritating smell. I'll post more once I find the actual MSDS.

I use Unifrax 970 papers. Lydall has several qualities. They use the numers 550, 970, 1530L and 1535L. I believe these are in order of purity from coarse to fine.

My next purchase will be Lydall as I think they have a better product, but I bought big rolls of the Unifrax and don't use it much.