/diy/ - Do It Yourself

It's fine

Like said one of my old boss.. "not so bad, sometimes my nose bleed but..."
Oh yeah not so bad, give my also a mask please
"Oh you look like a fag, anon!"
Maybee but I don't haver a cancer of real man like you

>>1966823
I dont recognize most of it, but Toulene and Xylene are well known as causing brain lesions and neurological problems.
They are what causes serious brain damage in people who huff paint and glue.
Im sure some of the other stuff isnt so good either.

I worked in a very nice shop, with nice people, for ok pay, doing work im good at.
But I was exposed daily to chemicals that cause brain damage, and dust that causes cancer. I didnt feel safe even wearing n95 masks.

The reality is, brain damage and cancer and all the horrible things that happen after long term exposure to some of these industrial chemicals dont have warning signs.

Everyone in the shop was always clamoring about how its not dangerous, yet one of my coworkers was having serious lung problems. His doctor told him he NEEDS to wear a mask all day and that he is just going to get worse.
He blamed it on stress at home and refused to wear a mask, even though there were times he could barely breath and was on the verge of passing out. He was only 30, 5 years in the shop.

That and an old timer (Old as in only 25 years in the shop, he was only like 50 years old)
He got a brain tumor, had it removed, and it caused him to have tourretes . Guys face twitched non stop, was always going back in to the doctor.

There was only 15 people in the shop as a whole.
Could that shit have been caused by other stuff?
Sure, but I wasnt going to risk it. Fuck that shit.

>>1966823
You really shouldn't be around any chemicals without at least reading the MSDS.
>>1966913
>I didnt feel safe even wearing n95 masks
No fucking shit, why would you?

>>1966925
>No fucking shit, why would you?
It was all they provided, even though the bossman always claimed you didnt need them.
I was the only one who even wore them, then again I was the only one who wore earplugs too.

The reality is chemical exposures at almost any workplace are never considered seriously. OSHA gets a hard on for anti slip mats and not earthquake proofing glass bottles on shelves but it's mostly a moronic bureaucracy. The only person who values your health is YOU.
Last job we worked with a chemical myeloablative with no respiratory protection. Older employee literally had aplastic anemia and no one cared, and these people were supposed "chemists".
Best thing you can do in your career is find a job that won't expose you to routine hazards and fuck you up, because I guarantee this won't be reflected in your paycheck. This includes even working around morons in general who drive forklifts, they are just nails in your coffin

>>1966944
>OSHA gets a hard on for anti slip mats and not earthquake proofing glass bottles on shelves but it's mostly a moronic bureaucracy.
Every OSHA regulation in place was written in the blood of other workers. The problem is, some shitty workplaces put lots of effort into loopholing every single regulation to where something is compliant but it defeats the purpose of the regulation.
This isnt a fault of OSHA, but a reality of shitty workplaces and shitty unsafe workers.

Ive done work for a lot of different shops and its always the same story.
On the other hand I was talking to a friend who is a helicopter mechanic, which they have their own governing body and strict regulations which everyone takes seriously. When people take it seriously, things work a lot better.

>The only person who values your health is YOU.
This is true, hubris and machismo is the downfall of many shopworkers.

>>1966913
>Toulene and Xylene are well known as causing brain lesions
oh okay cool so im fucked, been breathing these fumes for 2 years now, plus a variety of other chemicals and shit. I feel like i forget things more often now...rip

there are a few on list that either you need to wear a respirator handling or keep away from sources of ignition due to volatility (HINT!) or both, the answer you seek is in both the labels on the containers and the msds data your employer is required (US) to have posted.

>>1967665
The human brain is surprisingly resilient with the ability to heal itself... until it isnt.
Thats why long term exposure is such a problem for any carcinogen, eventually the damage being done gets to a point you wont heal from it.

If you are having neurological symptoms, get a different job dude. You cant be making so much that its worth killing your brain over

>>1966823
Nice knowing you fren

>>1966823
I’d avoid the naptha and polychloroprene.

>>1966823
Toluene damages your hearing, mucks with the hairs or whatever in your ears. wear ear muffs if you're in a noisy environment.

Petroleum and other oily solvents are bad to inhale as a fine oil mist. Napthas are often carcinogenic.

Xylene is the solvent in Sharpies, if you use them all day in an unventilated space you wanna get your exposure TWA exposure tested. Same with this. Are you working in a ventilated space?

I used to go through SDS for some businesses and figure out what were the most relevant chemicals to test exposure for in industrial workers. I would then compile the most important and high conc compound's and figure which NIOSH methods would test for as many as needed at once. The PDFs were usually unpredictable so a lot was recorded by hand. I'm glad I'm not doing this anymore.

either you have ventilation or you have brain damageamageamageamage

>>1970568
Well we're all definitely fucked then.Those chemicals are all ingredients in ONE glue we use out of the many products...
As for ventilation we are sometimes outdoors or under shrink wrap with no airflow, and those budget 3m painters masks dont do shit. We often get headaches and light headed so rip. New job ideas guys?

>>1970568
>Xylene is the solvent in Sharpies
Modern standard Sharpies use alcohol.

>>1971347
Cartridge respirator with organic filters would be the minimum to keep that out of your lungs. A full face respirator could keep fumes away from your eyes if that matters in your use. The filters will probably fill up quickly in a fume-rich environment, so a hood with externally-supplied air may be preferable if initially more expensive.

>>1971347
n95 likely provides no protection from these substances. You want an organic vapor filter cartridge such as 3m part 60921. They are semi-pricey and have a rather short lifespan after you crack the seal on the filters (activated carbon inside becomes inert).
this guy knows what's up >>1971452

>>1971566
>n95 likely provides no protection from these substances
The nicer N95s may contain a bit of activated carbon for "nuisance level" vapor protection, but that's insufficient for protection against harmful concentrations, and the carbon doesn't stay activated for long anyway. The particulate filter itself provides no protection against vapors. Even a P100 won't stop vapors, though it does stop oil aerosols.