Tungsten Toxicity

[NYTOM]

Originally Posted by BillL

Yes, if you eat it you have bigger issues. Seriously, when dressing the tips of tungsten welding rod (TIG) one should be aware of this, but unless it is done all day, probably not an issue. I still dress mine on the bench grinder, about one a month.

I did a lot of specialty tig welding and some of us carried a varied selection of Tungsten with us for different jobs depending on the size and material to be welded. We were warned not to carry our little custom made tubes of Tungsten in our shirt pockets near our hearts because they said it gave off radiation and could possibly do damage over time.
I did what they said but never did check it out myself.

[Low Pass]

Originally Posted by NYTOM

I did a lot of specialty tig welding and some of us carried a varied selection of Tungsten with us for different jobs depending on the size and material to be welded. We were warned not to carry our little custom made tubes of Tungsten in our shirt pockets near our hearts because they said it gave off radiation and could possibly do damage over time.
I did what they said but never did check it out myself.

Curious about the deadly effects of tungsten, apparently there is some concern about *thorium* alloyed tungsten. It emits alpha particles. Very short lived, blocked by skin or paper. Decays to helium. Not good to breath, I'd imagine. Wear respiratory protection or use air control measures.

[DaleB]

Wow, I never knew about that hazard. I'll have to swap out my tungsten bucking bar for depleted uranium. Oh... wait... crud.

Back in the day there was a service bulletin to remove depleted uranium counter weights from B727-100 ailerons.
They all became bucking bars.

[NYTOM]

Originally Posted by DaleB

Wow, I never knew about that hazard. I'll have to swap out my tungsten bucking bar for depleted uranium. Oh... wait... crud.

Hey the government is trying to get rid of tons of that stuff. We could probably get it for free and make up a bunch of sets of different shape bucking bars. We could call them " ATOMIC BARS". . And as a plus they'll keep your shop warm in the winter.

[N427EF]

And as a plus they'll keep your shop warm in the winter.

And your teeth really white

[BSwayze]

As long as we're talking about toxic metals... ALUMINUM is high on the list. It is a neurotoxin and has been associated with Alzheimers, Parkinsons disease, and a host of other problems. I'm much more afraid of it than my tungsten bucking bar.

I haven't let it stop me from building my RV. Not for a moment. But I'm always cautious while in the shop, not to rub my eyes, stick a finger in my mouth (or nose, etc., any mucous membranes), and I always, ALWAYS wash thoroughly after coming in from the shop. Especially before eating or something like that. If I've been scuffing my parts with scotchbrite, for example, before priming or painting, my hands can be almost black from the aluminum dust. You don't want any of that absorbed in your body. Just a heads' up for those who may not have known or heard. You can do a google search and find out lots more. Don't take my word for it. But be careful in the shop. Here's an article with a good summary.

http://www.arltma.com/Articles/AlumToxDoc.htm

Everyone should wear a full environmental body suit when in proximity of aircraft.
Seriously we used to spray MEK and triclorithane every where in the old Braniff hangers.
Nobody even wore a paper mask.

[vfrazier]

For those who are concerned with TIG welding:
thoriated tungsten electrodes are slightly radioactive,
ceriated tungsten electrodes are not, and they are equivalent for welding 4130 steel as far as I can tell.

At work and at home, we turned in all the thoriated electrodes for ceriated. the cost is minimal.

Now, I suppose someone will find a health hazard related to Cerium, but at least it's not radioactive.

[airguy]

I'm more worried about the strontium chromate primer than either the tungsten or the aluminum. Hexavalent chromium is bad stuff.