[unieek]

Its amazing what I see in the ED at the hospital as a nurse, the stupidity of some people

Last week a guy arrived in the ED , he was coughing uncontrollably with blood in his phlem
after placing O2 on him the cough subsided. I asked what happened he said he was working
in his shed on the car, thinking that he was working on his car with the engine running all the Drs
though carbonmonoxide poisining after a bit more digging this was not the case, he was sanding MDF
for his sub box.
To cut a long story short he was admitted for more tests. Today I found out he was still in hospital
so in my lunch break i looked up his file to discover he had a form of cancer in his lungs.
Later I went and saw him to ask about his story it turns out that he is a cabinet maker in a kitchen
industry he had worked at it for 15 years, he is only 34years old. I asked what sort of material do
you work with ,he said mainly MDF the doctors said to him that the dust from the MDF was the cause
of the cancer and was untreatable because it has invaded other parts of his body :( . After wishing him
good luck i left.

Remember This is a extream case with a long exposure in a factory, 8 hours a day 5 days a week so the
the odd weekend working with MDF and wearing a mask will not lead to this sad story


So guys remember when working with MDF always wear a dust mask on matter what !!!!!!! :good:

[Liquidity]

ditto for fibreglass, or ANY environment which involves fumes or small particles (ie sanding, spraypainting, etc)

[20Hurtz]

damn poor dude. I always wear a decent quality respirator when fibreglassing (those cheap dust masks do crap all) but never when working with mdf, then again i always do it in the open where there is a decent breeze.

34 thats so rough :(

[pinokio]

jesus i better wear my dust mask from now on im a cabinetmaker too.. but not as long as him

[The King]

I'd call a bit of bullcrap there.

People should obviously wear masks when doing that kind of work, but do you honestly think that if MDF was known to cause cancer, it wouldn't be a hell of a lot more widely publicised?

The only exception I can think of is if the Cabinetmaker in question was importing MDF from overseas which has levels of formeldahyde way above the levels allowed in Australia, but even that would be doubtful.

[Woob]

MDF has been a largely potential cause of cancer for quite a while now. from what i know it hasnt been proven for sure but its very suspect.

[mynameisdanny]

Woob, on Aug 10 2006, 09:21 PM, said:

MDF has been a largely potential cause of cancer for quite a while now. from what i know it hasnt been proven for sure but its very suspect.

I was told ages ago by a chippy that mdf should not be cut before it has fully cured in its manufacturing stage as the bonding glue is the dangerous bit?? Which means its basically 'safe' after it leaves its manufacturing plant??

I still wear a mask anyway, breathing in any form of dust is by no means good for you.... Unless its magical disco pixie dust??? :rolleyes:

Dont know anything about that tho do we....?

[mooingchicken]

its fairly well known by most that it is high risk, its ment to be the glue stuff they use if i remember correctly. as for the reason its still available, is because 1. is only causes side effects in extreme case, working with it day in day out for like over 10-15 years. doing alot of cutting/sanding. because isnt only when its in the small dust partical's that are harmful. other then that its easy to work with and cheap which is why people use it, and pretty much everyone who works with it all the time wear masks ect.

[shiny_car]

The King, on Aug 10 2006, 09:18 PM, said:

I'd call a bit of bullcrap there..

:lol: you'll keep. do you smoke too? :D

:)

[mosoto]

MDF dust and the Urea Formaldehyde glues used are a well documented carsonogenic known to cause respiratory problems, even disease. It's only recently that other friendlier glues have been utilised although still part of the Formaldehyde family. I still wouldn't work or sand any timber without a decent respirator.

[ProClass]

Without question a mask of the correct type must be worn when sanding or polishing any material. Be it timber, plastics or alloy you must protect your lungs from particles and gases. Foolish are those who don't!

[Selfdestruktor]

My uncle got cancer from dust particles from cattle fur on a farm (over many years).
Luckily he had a lung transplant.
One would assume any microfine dust could cause this sort of thing.

This post has been edited by Selfdestruktor: 10 August 2006 - 10:22 PM

[Rasputin]

Yep, that's why I'm thankful for my Woodwork teacher giving us the hot tip back in year 9.

It might not affect you from just a few hours of work without a dust mask in a junior class, but if he hadn't have told us, no-one else would.
And as he said to one kid who refused to 'wear a mask and look like a dork':

"That's alright, I'm assuming you know about the Darwin Awards."

[billy a.k.a. shakes]

my question aswell would be did he smoke aswell and did his family have a history of it also. but yeah not good when ya dont wear dust or respiratory mask. i myself am guilty of this as i cant breathe in them as i suffer clostraphobia (i know prob not spelt right). but grew up working in a boat building factory when i was a kid with my father on weekends and school hollidays and mainly worked in a resin cage allday that held resins catylst flowcoats and all those juicy fibreglass materials. and the old man made wooden toys tonnes dust round, worked in a panelvan conversion place in plumpton and never wore masks when gell coating inside vans, plus the many times have made my installs never wearing a mask, worked as a chiken catcher walking in and out of chicken sheds filled with methane fumes and saw dust, and not to forget i smoke. i know i may be thought stupid but as said i cant wear the masks but anyway.

now last time i was checked for my VO2max( body ability to absorb and take in oxygen ) levels and my lungs and muscles intake levels i managed to have the second best oxygen intake level then the people that were in my fitness couses at TAFE. and have been told by me doctor my lungs and that are just fine for my age. considering have punished mine over the years.

so as i said rthere would be more factors then just the MDF.

thats my two cents hehehehe

This post has been edited by vibrates: 11 August 2006 - 01:03 AM

[afireinside]

Must be why the guy at bunnings refused to cut the MDF boards i bought there. All he said to me was that he wasn't allowed to, but they have cut other types of wood for me before without question.