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| I wanted to leave the article below intact rather than just make it disappear. When I became ill, I had every reason to believe it was the epoxy I was working with that was the culprit. It is possible it was an agoist (a thing that enables or encourages), but the fact is, unbeknown to me at the time, I was being covered in strong insecticide. Reaction to epoxy is a skin rash. A person that is heavily sensitised can break out in a painful, itching rash just coming close to epoxy but will not report the symptoms I had. It took leaving the property where I was building to clarify the issue. I can work with epoxy without a mask as long as there is some ventilation but for a big job I would take precautions. Some insecticides are still dangerous or at least annoying for me to be around. | ||
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We were at Gary and Fran’s boat launching party and talking to a guy building an Easy cat. He had it bad and explained it was like a bucket of water. Every time you exposed yourself to epoxy heedlessly, another drop went in the bucket till it was full and when it was full to overflowing you showed the poisoning. Given time you might heal but the bucket was full for life so even a minor contamination, just one drop long after and you were stuffed. A few weeks later I was going over material from the build of the new Americas Cup AC45’s that was published in the last E-TCP. Piles of photos of the builders in New Zealand, laminating the hulls, wearing the same mask I use but better quality filters... hmmmm (“Warning signs are flashing ev’ry where..”) I was pretty proud of the fact I had conquered the contamination from contact with epoxy. I was careful to cover my wrists, wore double layers of rubber gloves, and learned to avoid inadvertent touching of skin with gloved hands lest there be a speck of resin on them I couldn’t feel. I figured I had a pretty good bead on things! (’Stead of slowing down the pace we keep pickin’ up the speed) We have bottles of vinegar at every turn to rinse off any accidental spot of resin, always use eye protection of sorts, to protect from getting a stray drop in but... it wasn’t any of those things that got me. In past I had accidentally exposed myself to gasses and could feel a slight “buzz”. Being alert to the dangers, (he said smugly) I got very careful to always use my mask with the round filters. These cut any odour of epoxy when worn and no more cheap thrills from fumes so I thought they were good enough. A false sense of security. (Disaster getting closer ev’ry time we meet) Until a few weeks ago. It was a particularly nasty job but I had taken what I thought were good precautions. I was fairing with thickened resin in both hulls. As one side already had a sealing coat (see www.buildacat.com/bbloggas.html ) I started early arvo and kept going till dark to maintain the critical temperature difference required for the porous panels. I had a fan exhausting through a large hatch in the second hull and two big fans clearing the tent in general. As I was working on the second hull I began feeling.. wooozy but I didn’t stop, I wasn’t going to quit in the middle of the job with a half used batch of resin and missing the temperature window. (Goin ninety miles an hour down a dead end street) I didn’t know it yet but I had hit the wall. I filled my bucket. I felt awful when I got to the house. Disoriented, dizzy, slightly nauseous, anxious. In the vernacular of the sixties, this was a bum trip man... Next morning I felt better. Whew! I thought. Glad I got away with that! Better be more careful next time. But I noticed I had a vicious rash on the backside of both hands even though I hadn’t gotten any resin on me. No worries, I was sure it would go away soon. I walked out to the tent and stood behind the boat to take a minute to reconnoitre and plan my attack for the day. It took about 3 minutes to knock me on my proverbial... and most of the day to recover. And that is that. Even a small batch of epoxy done in the tent a week prior will send me staggering for fresh air now. I no longer have a use for the less expensive little round 3M filters. The gas rated ones that I previously only felt I needed when spraying epoxy paint with their super volatile thinners are the required face wear for even going near the job site and I’m not sure that is enough for the resin I had used. I’ve heard of asthma and rashes but my reaction was an attack of the nervous system... scary! I was talking to a neighbour about my experience and he commented on a health problem that had defied diagnoses for years that resembled some aspects of what I was talking about. He has built boats. (edit nov 2015, he also had an orchard and sprayed large amounts of insecticide with his tractor). Are all epoxies equally toxic? I don’t believe so. Bote-Cote epoxy from Boat Craft Pacific seems to be a type of less risk. I had been using it with good result but I had gotten lazy and ordered another brand where I was ordering other materials. Continued below the info box... |
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The point of all this is, I have developed the theory from my own experiences, from talking to other builders and subsequent investigation via the web, the types of epoxy resin that use the 4:1 or 5:1 hardener produce gasses that may be more toxic than commonly understood and toxic in ways that aren’t clearly understood. I want readers of TCP that may be considering building a boat with epoxy to consider the possibilities and take the best precautions right from the start because once the bucket’s full.... Or readers that have built with epoxy and now have inexplicable health issues, to maybe consider their use of epoxy containing TETA (triethylene tetra-amine) which is a known “Endrocrine disruptor” according to wikipedia. I bet there are people out there suffering and don’t know it’s what they are still doing. You know... I was sitting here typing this and realised I have a little Bote-Cote left downstairs. I just went down and mixed up about 200 grams in a cup and it is sitting next to the keyboard now. With my current sensitivity, this aint a good idea but I haven’t taken the time to test the theory. In the meantime I asked Ian Phillips of Boat Craft Pacific to comment a few days ago and this is what he had to say: Yes, our system has a much lower allergenic potential. Our 2: 1 system uses more modern hardeners, whereas the older systems (which are the 5:1 and 4:1 systems) are still using the old technology hardeners. Our chemical expert has also selected components specifically for their lower allergenic potential (amongst other things). Sadly, some individuals are just plain out of luck in the great genetic lottery. Some are simply unable to tolerate any of the epoxy systems, in even the smallest amounts. There aren't many people in this boat. Others, who have been careless enough over a long enough time, (getting lots of epoxy onto their skin etc) can also find them selves in the position whereby they can no longer tolerate any epoxy. Many more have become a bit sensitive, but provided they manage it properly, (using safer epoxy systems, proper protection and ventilation) they can continue to employ epoxy with all the benefits that it offers. Whilst I have been editing this article the container of Bote-Cote resin has been going off next to me and I’m OK. It is now hard and still hot. If this were the other resin I would be in awful shape now. Nonetheless, I will not be exposing myself again even to this resin. I won’t be taking any chances and maybe you shouldn’t either. Whilst I am pleased to have Bote-Cote as an advertiser, I think most of you know that does not affect editorial. And I don’t even get a bloody discount on the stuff!! |
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