[Guest]

Originally Posted by Propworn

Your wrong Sammy fumes from any foam is toxic and should be done only with good ventilation. Perhaps if you had taken precautions..........????????

Ohh well we got the job done and cutting white foam wasn't bad at all, that's all i said...sure they do give out gases but it wasn't bad at all as it can be done inside ..

[moo]

Originally Posted by Ken Currell

Thanks propworn. I was just about to post the EPA statement on the hazards of styrene plastics such as styrofoam. I wish I hadn't read it.

Yum, isocyanates and benzine rings...

Did you get a bad case of acne after watching Mike cut the foam?

Personally I like to use an organic solvent mask when in doubt.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by moo

Did you get a bad case of acne after watching Mike cut the foam?

If i did get any health problems do you think i would have said it's ok to cut it inside, i highly don't think so, Btw we both cut those parts not just Mike!

See ya soon..

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Scratchbuilder

If i did get any health problems do you think i would have said it's ok to cut it inside, i highly don't think so, Btw we both cut those parts not just Mike!

See ya soon..

Sammy others could have a reaction to the fumes where you were lucky (NOT SMART) and did not. If you wish to take unnecessary chances with your health that’s ok but to recommend others do the same is just plain irresponsible.

I work in a foundry where white Styrofoam was used as patterns for aluminum parts. The aluminum was pored in melting and displacing the foam in the sand. Even with the scrubbers in place there was enough smell and health risk from the fumes both inside the foundry and to the surrounding neighbors that the process was abandoned.

Like many other substances sensitivity can be cumulative so do not be a SAMMY use good ventilation when working with your foam cutter.
Dennis

[Guest]

Sammy, Dennis -- before the two of you get into a flame/whizzing war, how about cooling it?

We've got a lot of personal-observation and technical references that can be thrown around like croutons in a caeser salad festival.

However, STYRENE is the basis of polystyrene and this is a chemical that can play merry heck with our bodies and nervous systems, and needs to be treated with respect as well as ensuring that the possbility of exposure (this is a cumulative effect, like epoxy allergies -- you can go for years with no reaction and the suddenly WHAM! even the smell will trigger major allergic reactions.)

One of the big problems is that even VIRGIN polystyrene can have contaminants that can be vaporized by hot wire cutting. Non-virgin (recycled) poly even more so.

Doing foam cutting in a well-ventilated location with airflow (doesn't have to be a hurricane) is a safe move, as is the use of a good mask that's designed for vapours as well as dust.

Doesn't mean that we need to have spacesuits (or isolation suits) in order to work with the stuff, but need to be careful. This means using just enough heat to cut through the material at a slow fixed rate, as opposed to cranking up the rheostat and cutting at feet per second.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by byrocat

We've got a lot of personal-observation and technical references that can be thrown around like croutons in a caeser salad festival.

This means using just enough heat to cut through the material at a slow fixed rate, as opposed to cranking up the rheostat and cutting at feet per second.

CROUTONS???? We're talking stryo here so you must mean peanuts eh???

And now I find out I can't get that stainless wire red any more DARN!!!!

[bbbair]

Well said Byrocat!

Safety and Responsibility are key.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Propworn

CROUTONS???? We're talking stryo here so you must mean peanuts eh???

And now I find out I can't get that stainless wire red any more DARN!!!!

I'd rather eat croutons than polystrene peanuts any day.

Of course, neither are on my diet -- especialy if you remember the Get Smart episode where Kaos kills off the world's potato crop and Control comes up with the great idea of replacing it with sytrofoam (reference to mashed potatoes in the scene....)

All joking aside, we deal with a lot of volatile chemicals in this hobby (cyanoacrylates, epoxies and resins, nitromethanol, glass and carbon fibre.... you name it).

I'm definitely NOT (that's with big letters as well as emphasis saying that we need to be totally paranoid, but neither should we treat this stuff like it was Lepage's white craft glue (the stuff you used to eat in grade school).

Respect what this stuff can do to you is what I'm saying.

[moo]

Originally Posted by Propworn

Sammy others could have a reaction to the fumes where you were lucky (NOT SMART) and did not. If you wish to take unnecessary chances with your health that’s ok but to recommend others do the same is just plain irresponsible.

Even worse is what is in the foam when it isn't heated, Benzene was often used as a blowing agent. Benzine can carry organic chlorine. Organic chlorine can kill you oh so many ways. The first symptom is chloracne. The second symptom is cancer, usually hepatic. The third symptom is death; quick, painful.

An organic solvents mask is about $30.

Enjoy.

[Vulcan1]

For us guy's that have been in the hobby for a long time have quite a few problems with glues, paints, balsa dust and other stuff like foam cutting. Just ask some old fart like me if they cause any problems. You break out in a rash or have breathing problems when using them. Ca and epoxy are my worst ones and foam cutting just made me feel sick. Back in the days nobody told us that this stuff was harmfull to ourselves. Now when working with any of these products I do not use a mask very often but I do have my shop door open to the outside and the inside door is open. I use a 36" fan in the outside door for ventilation to suck the fumes out. My wife also lets me know if she gets a whiff and for the last few years there has not been any problems.
Like the kids say PLAY SAFE and the other part is I don't think we need to shorten our life span as I can think of lots of ways to do that outside of the hobby.
John