I had an elaborate summary crafted of the pros and cons of using acetone or vinegar to clean epoxy residue (cured/uncured) off your skin. Then Netscape puked and I lost it all. The bottom line(s): Dana was right, and I was wrong: acetone is not innocuous for cleaning epoxy off your skin. He's right: it can hasten breakdown of the protective barrier skin provides, thereby substantially increasing the chance of sensitization. I had forgotten that. Someone else (Phil Daligan?) indicated the West System people (I think) use a proprietary version of vinegar for cleanup, but with no mention of use on hands. Everybody agrees gloves are mandatory to avoid sensitization. Dana recommends nitrile gloves and "a respirator with super cartridges (organic vapor, amine, acid gas, HEPA, + combo)." The respirator is more than the MSDS Sheets from System Three suggest *for casual use* of epoxy (see: http://www.systemthree.com/index.html and select System Three Epoxy and (farther down the page) Part B System Three Hardener #1 ...)), so I guess each of us gets to judge that, though if I worked with the stuff regularly I probably would go Dana's route. YMMV. Finally, the owner of System Three chimed in with the post below my sig -- food for thought for the folks who advocate the use of vinegar as cleanup on skin, inasmuch as vinegar and epoxy may form compounds not tested for their reactivity and/or toxicity, just as acetone and epoxy may (ketamines). -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR humbled chemist -- >Dave Kruger <dkruger_at_pacifier.com> wrote: > >Anybody got **data** (don't need anecdotal stuff) to back up (or refute) the > >claim that using acetone to clean up increases epoxy transfer through skin? > > I don't have any data on this particular question. However, acetone will > readily react with amines forming ketamines. This is a reversible reaction > with water given off in the condensation of the ketone and amine. The > toxicology of ketamines has not been rigorously studied and I'd be more > concerned with this than with your original question insofar as health goes. > I'd be more inclined to use solvent alcohol, isopropyl alcohol or something > that would not react with amines. > > W. Kern Hendricks > System Three Resins, Inc. > P.O. Box 70436 > Seattle, WA 98107 > Orders Only: 800/333-5514 > Technical Support: 206/782-7976 > e-mail: support_at_systemthree.com > website: www.systemthree.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jun 01 1999 - 22:39:09 PDT
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