Thread: Wood Sensitisation

For those who work with exotic hardwoods, THIS will be interesting, and proof why you should wear a mask/RPE.

Mark

This is a good reference.

One time was enough for me, about 15 years ago I was lazy and didn't put on a mask while working an Ebony fore-end tip on a custom rifle.... 4 days of coughing up black crap and hacking swore me to using a mask in the shop... They hang on a peg next to the door now and always will, on the same peg as my eye protection, both go on every time I walk in the shop..... PERIOD!!!! no exceptions....

Here`s another chart giving similar information.

For those that dont know what a sensitiser is, it`s a material (in this case wood, or it`s oils or dust) that start off an allergic reaction on contact. This reaction could be set off the on first contact, or it may take time to "build up".

In any case, once present it`s irreversible.

Symptoms could range from a mild rash, to eczema, through to asthma like symptoms, through to a dangerous anaphylactic reaction that is potentially deadly.

I`m not going to go into facemasks here as they have already been done elsewhere on the forum (maybe someone could do a proper sticky??), but all I`ll say is buy the BEST you can afford, and avoid disposable masks at all costs as they are a terrible fit. Also, dont keep your face mask in the same room you do your woodworking in - the dust can settle on the inside of the mask and, if you dont clean it properly before the next use, what`s the point in wearing it as your first lungful of air will have all the dust from last time in it!!

Just as an aside, All wood dust is considered carcinogenic for nasal cancer.

Mark

ps. Sorry I`ve rambled on a bit, but I used to work in the asbestos industry and get so wound up when I see people using no RPE(Respiratory Protection Equipment) or the wrong/inadequate RPE when there are any sort of fibres in the air.

Most all exotic woods can cause a bad reaction. I don’t even go into the garage without putting on at least a dust mask. Lathe work/sanding gets a sealed respirator. A batch of cocobolo nearly killed my dad one year. He had pneumonia and bronchitis for months from sucking bolo dust for two days.

A Triton Powered Respirator works good. respirator filters are easy to replace, two lungs are not, what are your lungs worth to you?