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Cadmium risk?

Is it only my imagination or was there a whiff of very fine cadmium powder dispersed each time I squeezed a rivet?

Man you just burst my bubble! I thought that little whiff of "smoke" was caused by my powerful forearms crunching them little critters so fast.:eek:
 
Alodine!

Is it only my imagination or was there a whiff of very fine cadmium powder dispersed each time I squeezed a rivet?

Links Between Prostate Cancer, Cadmium And Zinc Investigated

January 31, 2008 ? Cadmium exposure is a known risk factor for prostate cancer, and a new study suggests that zinc may offer protection against cadmium. Zinc stimulates production of a protein that binds cadmium ... > full story


I hope not, since cadmium is a surface treatment for steel parts, not the aluminum of our rivets.

The rivets are conversion coated, which is alodine.

Rivet spec here.

http://www.av8design.com/Hardware/MS20470.pdf

Alodine info here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromate_conversion_coating

gil A

Now you might be breathing a puff of a chromium derivative....;)
 
Thanks

I hope not, since cadmium is a surface treatment for steel parts, not the aluminum of our rivets.

The rivets are conversion coated, which is alodine.

...
Thanks for the correction. Dumb me; the color is about the same...
 
Brand new to building. After deburring edges with scotchbrite wheel, I noticed quite a bit of dust floating in the air. The type of dust that kind of floats suspended in air when the sun shines through a window at just the correct angle to make it visible. Used the shop vac to see if I could clear the air and that worked within a few minutes.
Questions: Anyone notice this and whether the fine dust is a hazard to us?
Wonder if it is aluminum dust or scotchbrite wheel dust and how this can have an effect after breathing plenty of it over time?
 
Scotchbrite

Brand new to building. After deburring edges with scotchbrite wheel, I noticed quite a bit of dust floating in the air. The type of dust that kind of floats suspended in air when the sun shines through a window at just the correct angle to make it visible. Used the shop vac to see if I could clear the air and that worked within a few minutes.
Questions: Anyone notice this and whether the fine dust is a hazard to us?
Wonder if it is aluminum dust or scotchbrite wheel dust and how this can have an effect after breathing plenty of it over time?

I rarely used a scotch brite wheel for deburring because it seemed to make a mess of the shop; i didnt want to be breathing all that stuff. JMHO
 
Brand new to building. After deburring edges with scotchbrite wheel, I noticed quite a bit of dust floating in the air. The type of dust that kind of floats suspended in air when the sun shines through a window at just the correct angle to make it visible. Used the shop vac to see if I could clear the air and that worked within a few minutes.
Questions: Anyone notice this and whether the fine dust is a hazard to us?
Wonder if it is aluminum dust or scotchbrite wheel dust and how this can have an effect after breathing plenty of it over time?

I deburred with this method A LOT. I wore a respirator when I was using it and some time after. Dust everywhere!
 
I don't use a Scotchbrite disk, preferring a 12" sanding disk and files. I've noticed that the sander creates that same aluminum dust. It dissipates in a few minutes, fortunately. Since I noticed that dust, I always use a dust mask when using the sander.

We're lucky to have a window that lets the sun in, eh?

Dave
 
Sounds like I ought to wear a dust mask of some sort. Thinking about all of the parts and time it will take to build a -10. Seems to me that scotch brite wheel will make much quicker work of deburring all of those parts.
 
No matter whether you're using a 3m wheel or a disc sander, that dust will still get everywhere.

I use my 3M wheels a lot so I just sit the grinder on a cart made out of an old BBQ grill just outside the back door of the garage. I don't even bolt it down, that way I can just cary it back inside they shop when it's going to rain.

If I have to use it inside, or want to shape something on a sander, I typically put the hose of my shop vac nearby to suck as much of it as possible out of the air before it has a chance to settle in my coffee cup...
 
Scotchbrite

I love the scotchbrite wheels.

Do they make dust? Yep. I didn't have a problem with it floating around in the air, though. It did make a mess beneath the wheel...

I'm wondering how much "deburring" is being done if you have that much dust...
 
I would have said the same thing until I saw it floating in a cup of coffee that was several feet away. Then once I started looking for it, you can actually see it in the air if the sunlight hits it just right. But yeah, I tend to use the coarse wheel for taking material off up to sharpie marks or whatever.
 
Makes sense

That makes sense; I used a 1x42 belt grinder for the rough work. It leaves chips too larger to be suspended in the air. I then use the scotchbrite for finishing work...not too much dust, then.
 
Exposure

I wonder about all those ingorant years. Back in th 80s, I remember watching mechanics blast the brakes with compressed air. Never did myself, but watched many a cloud form in the shop. I try to wear my PPE but still wonder how much I absorbed over the years. Oh bother!
 
An old boss of mine would soak a rag in MEK and start wiping stuff down. No gloves, nothing. I try and avoid using the stuff without a respirator.
 
I try to wear a mask when deburring on the wheels for extended amounts of time.... Also will wear a mask when sweeping up the garage/shop (as much for dust/allergies than anything).

I try to be PPE conscious but not paranoid..... Could always do better. My great-grandfather was an AG pilot back in the really nasty chemical days plus a tube/fabric rebuilder throughout his life. Lived at home up to 95 (with a Cub project in the garage). We all also know people who never smoked or drank a day in their life and lived active lifestyles who didn't make it past 50.
 
I did this after the first month or two of seeing dust everywhere, and it has really helped cut it down. Also it's mobile, so I can move the fan about the shop to setup behind anything I'm making a dust mess with. Put the whole thing together for about $20..... simple box fan, furnace filter on the intake side of the fan, and some masking tape.

rv11.jpg


Lance
 
Safety First!

... In the interest of safety, I always hire somebody else
to squeez my stuff! ...:D
 
Every time I have a big weekend of building, I find myself hacking my lungs out the next couple of days. I really ought to be more consistent about using protective gear including filters and masks. Especially with fiberglass work. I was halfway through sanding my cowl and realized I wasn't wearing any kind of PPE and breathing all that **** in. I'll probably get lung cancer before the build is done.

Thanks for the thread. It's a good reminder.
 
Gloves too. MEK is nasty stuff and can be easily absorbed through skin...

Everything you ever wanted to know about MEK:

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp29.pdf

If I'm reading this right, unless you're exposed to it for considerable lengths of time at pretty high concentrations, it's not as toxic as people think. No need to wear a full SCAPE suit, but a decent mask and some gloves couldn't hurt. No need to be afraid of the stuff, though...it's not like hydrazine or anything like that. In the amounts we use to clean parts during building, I doubt it would even register on any tests. I wouldn't bathe in it or drink it, but I'm okay with grabbing a paper towel, getting the MEK, and wiping down whatever needs cleaning/degreasing, even without gloves or a mask.
 
unless you're exposed to it for considerable lengths of time at pretty high concentrations, it's not as toxic as people think.

"It's not the poison, it's the dosage!"

All you scaredy cats should remember that e.g. chromium is, in fact, an essential part of our diet. Your pancreas wouldn't function properly without it. It's true that breathing in its vapors day in and day out will hasten the onset of some cancer or other, but then most of you don't think twice before jumping into an amateur-built airplane...
 
Edin

"It's not the poison, it's the dosage!"

All you scaredy cats should remember that e.g. chromium is, in fact, an essential part of our diet. Your pancreas wouldn't function properly without it. It's true that breathing in its vapors day in and day out will hasten the onset of some cancer or other, but then most of you don't think twice before jumping into an amateur-built airplane...

I watched Erin Brockovich at a Holiday Inn Express last night. The chromium 6 and chromium 4 are the bad stuff. I think the 6 is in alodine and the 4 is in the primer. Both are poisons and really bad for you. Not to be confused with chromium 2 that your body needs.

My neighborhood chem E said she wasnt worried about the chromium 4 in the primer, but rather all the volatiles. FYI
 
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Wear a dust mask - please

De burring edges of my RV-12 kit was interesting. The first day of de burring produced no health problems without a mask until I laid down to sleep. Then, the coughing began as my body was attempting to cough out the aluminum dust which I had breathed in all day. That was my first and last day of de burring without a mask. Same goes for sanding anything made of fiberglass. I realized that the dust caused by de burring or sanding was a real health risk. I'll sum it up - I was an idiot for not wearing a mask - simple.
 
Everything you ever wanted to know about MEK:

https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp29.pdf

If I'm reading this right, unless you're exposed to it for considerable lengths of time at pretty high concentrations, it's not as toxic as people think. No need to wear a full SCAPE suit, but a decent mask and some gloves couldn't hurt. No need to be afraid of the stuff, though...it's not like hydrazine or anything like that. In the amounts we use to clean parts during building, I doubt it would even register on any tests. I wouldn't bathe in it or drink it, but I'm okay with grabbing a paper towel, getting the MEK, and wiping down whatever needs cleaning/degreasing, even without gloves or a mask.

To each his own. I have a friend that is permanently disabled because of MEK exposure to his skin. It is a neurological issue and it is absolutely disqualifying when it comes to flight...

Could it just be him? Maybe...I'm not willing to chance it, so I try and limit my exposure to MEK...
 
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