coolent harmful to breath in?

It can definately be an irratant in mist (steam) form. As for chronic health problems, I'm not sure, but I can only imagine doing it for years will undoubtedly have adverse affects, just like anything else.

I'd give a big YES!!
Especially in a mist. I'm sure there are those that
are safer than others.
I always make it a habit to read all data sheets.

PEACE :D

Some are. I worked at a shop for almost 12 years and they decided to change coolant brands to save money. After a few months or so I started having problems breathing and had to go to the hospital for testing. I was coughing up blood and when I sneezed it was like a geyser of blood spray. There were 2 or 3 other guys having problems too, although not as severe. It only affected 4 people out of 100 or so. Upon further checking of the M.S.D.S.'s, I found that the coolant when heated from heavy milling turned to steam, and gave off formaldyhide gas which is highly toxic. As soon as I informed the company what was going on they changed back to the original coolant and denied the findings about the formaldyhide gas, essentially covering their asses financially. Lovely people they were. Were... as in I quit shortly thereafter.
JD

I went to a doctor a few years ago after machining graphite for months, alergies. (I'm not even alergic to poison ivy, let alone graphite!) He said it's completely inert, but after seeing the dust that was EVERYWHERE in the shop, I decided I didn't need a layer of that stuff coating my lungs... :rolleyes:

'Rekd teh graphite buggers!

So what kind do you guys use? I use Trim E-190. I don't know that much about it, but I swear it's not that good for me.

Some coolants can give you skin problems (dermatites?). The inhalation of the mist can make you sick, especially if there is already some degree of bacteria growth in the coolant.
During my apprenticeship i worked on a surface grinder with old coolant, well i had "gippo guts" for 3 days!!!

Klox

gippo guts?

Rekd it's South African slang for diarroea!

Klox

I've seen a row of Milling Machines with one guy getting a cold and you could guarantee it would work it's way down the line as the coolant was shared between machines. The guys were coughing and spitting in the coolant *eeew* which is close to body temperature and so a good breeding ground/ carrier for bacteria and viruses (virii?).

Got the itch!!! Ive been plaged with reacouring skin itch rash dermitites ect for over two years Coolant ,solvent, kerosean, WD40, oil new, or used everthing seem's to bother hand's crack and bleed sometimes. One doctor sugested I changed job's Self employed Like that's going to happen .Med's help knock it down but when I quite It's back If anybody has a sugestion { Coolant brand } I would Be greatfull . Thank's KLT

Got the itch!!! Ive been plaged with reacouring skin itch rash dermitites ect for over two years Coolant ,solvent, kerosean, WD40, oil new, or used everthing seem's to bother hand's crack and bleed sometimes. One doctor sugested I changed job's Self employed Like that's going to happen .Med's help knock it down but when I quite It's back If anybody has a sugestion { Coolant brand } I would Be greatfull . Thank's KLT

Have you tried Shell Dromus B? It is a water mixable coolant used at a dilution of between 1 in 10 to 1 in 15.

I have had problems breathing in the spray coolant, then I found the night shift had taken it from the big machines! So I mixed my own batch every morning! Even if I did a job on the bridgeport that required a flood, I would never use the slop from the automatic machines! Yuck! :nono:
Eric

We use Blasocut 2000 universal in our shop of approx. 14 cnc machines and a couple of manual machines. Its made by Blaser Swisslube. I don't know of anyone in the shop complaining about the smell or irritants or skin problems and we have been using it for over 15 years. What irks me is lately they put pedestal grinders at each cnc with scotchbrite wheels and the fibers get everywhere. I had the safety team look into it but they say its ok.

Got the itch!!! Ive been plaged with reacouring skin itch rash dermitites ect for over two years Coolant ,solvent, kerosean, WD40, oil new, or used everthing seem's to bother hand's crack and bleed sometimes. One doctor sugested I changed job's Self employed Like that's going to happen .Med's help knock it down but when I quite It's back If anybody has a sugestion { Coolant brand } I would Be greatfull . Thank's KLT

I work milling plastics a lot we've had skin probs and are pointing a finger at the PVC and Acrylic we m/c a lot so I'm still suspicious!

however going back to quality coolant definately helps now - we're on Castrol Hysol now, some of that cheap stuff needs a much bigger mix ratio of oil so they don't end up saving that much sometimes.

the coolant oil may cost twice as much but if it needs thee times the mix ratio it's daft IMHO.

folks don't damage your health if you can possibly help it. maybe tip off the Health n saftey it you're in a bad shop. keep anomous mind!

another device that can be fitted for enclosed machines is a large fan type device to suck out the mist - or a lot of it as the guard/door is opened - open door a foot or so - extraction kicks in for say 10 seconds and sucks most of mist out goes through a filter type thing to remove/recover coolant

few seconds extra at end of cycle and quite a few bucks mind.

Extrtaction is definately a good idea. I got an FC500 from Air Cleaning Systems coupled up to a big elephant trunk hose it pretty much takes all the crap away from the tool, including fumes. Here's their Webite http://www.acs-ltd.com/newsite/public/index.htm

Kevin... you're not wearin plastic gloves by any chance are you? what happens is the proteins in the latex,or whatever they're made of, can cause an allergic reaction- I know the symptoms and they sound exactly as you describe- chapped hands with cuts in the creases of your fingers that don't heal. I've had this and swapped to Low Protein Gloves.

We were advised by Health and Safety to use a Lanolin based hand cream, but try holding onto lenses (which I machine) with slippy hands :) Ooops! that's another one that hit the floor hehe!

My friend got reeeeaaally allergic to coolant. He couldn't even touch the machines if they weren't clean enough! :o

--Sven

Got the itch!!! Ive been plaged with reacouring skin itch rash dermitites ect for over two years Coolant ,solvent, kerosean, WD40, oil new, or used everthing seem's to bother hand's crack and bleed sometimes. One doctor sugested I changed job's Self employed Like that's going to happen .Med's help knock it down but when I quite It's back If anybody has a sugestion { Coolant brand } I would Be greatfull . Thank's KLT
Use a good quality barrier cream preferably one that isn't lanolin based. Also look a what you wash your hand with. Used to get this problem and found out it was the soap that the company supplied.

Got the itch!!! Ive been plaged with reacouring skin itch rash dermitites ect for over two years Coolant ,solvent, kerosean, WD40, oil new, or used everthing seem's to bother hand's crack and bleed sometimes. One doctor sugested I changed job's Self employed Like that's going to happen .Med's help knock it down but when I quite It's back If anybody has a sugestion { Coolant brand } I would Be greatfull . Thank's KLT

All the mechanics in work wear cheap disposable latex gloves. Might be an idea.

....Unless your also allergic to latex?

:)

After some health issues, research and pressure on the management finally there is some mist removers being installed. We run water soluable coolant with some 12 and 15k spindles that create alot of mist.

Check out this link I found, It will make you think.

http://nycosh.org/specific_industries/machine.html

when ive read the WHIMIS on the side of the barrels of every different coolant i ve worked with says it may contain carsogens (i know what that means)
i d prefer not to think about it concidering the amount of time i spend inside the machine , i know ive been breathing in too much mist when i can taste it, which is quite often ,

when i first started out as an operator and worked on a lathe with a 45 sec cycle , i woke up a few nites completely unable to beath , and had a coughing fit for 20 minutes after

and they say smoking is gonna kill me !!

Use a good quality barrier cream preferably one that isn't lanolin based. Also look a what you wash your hand with. Used to get this problem and found out it was the soap that the company supplied.

I'll second that about the soap, we used to use the citrus stuff with the little granules/bits in, which did a great job of shifting the grime but pretty definatly gave some of us cracked knuckles esp during the winter,

we just use some liquid soap now - much less harsh

for me the problem went away

Pat

We use Blasocut 2000 universal in our shop of approx. 14 cnc machines and a couple of manual machines. Its made by Blaser Swisslube. I don't know of anyone in the shop complaining about the smell or irritants or skin problems and we have been using it for over 15 years. What irks me is lately they put pedestal grinders at each cnc with scotchbrite wheels and the fibers get everywhere. I had the safety team look into it but they say its ok.

I also use Blasocut, good coolant, but!!.. refresh if it becomes "greasy".. it should feel "soapy"..

we did a test once, with old coolant, and you'd be surprised to see that "bunch 'a' flowers in that Petri-dish after just 2 days...

one thing.. DON'T ever machine Cast Iron on a machine with Blasocut.. it will instantly RUIN your coolant..it 'll create a smell that'll make a skunk sick..(like an open sewer )

in the occasional event i have to machine cast iron, i either tape off all openings to the Coolant tank, or refresh coolant right after the job is finished ( depending off course on the "age" of the coolant )

coolent harmful to breath in?

Is the Pope Catholic? Does a bear...Well you know the rest.

Some coolants give me really bad dermatitis.

In one shop I worked at it got so bad that I was raw and bleeding up to my elbows.

Couldn't quit at the time so I ended up coating my arms in vaseline up to the elbows and wearing nitrile gloves up to the wrist. Wash arms off every break and re-apply vaseline. It helped.

I've since had "light" reactions at some shops, one place I had to go to ER and get a steroid shot, Face was completely swollen. Laid out for a couple of days to let go down and was careful after that. Eventually I adjusted and didn't get the reaction. That happens with most coolants, slight reaction that goes away.

I always keep a common household fan on my bench blowing the mist away from my breathing area. Works for farts too.:p

My friend got reeeeaaally allergic to coolant. He couldn't even touch the machines if they weren't clean enough! :o

--Sven

Me too!

I broke out with dermatitis all over my hands and arms. Had to cover all exposed skin and use barrier cream and latex gloves. I looked like a surgeon operating on a machine.

Blaser swisslube is NOT safer on skin.

I've used several different water soluble oils, so far I've only found one that gave me problems, Rustlick 50/50. If it gets on my skin and sits there for a few seconds before I can wipe it off, I develop a rash instantly.

Xcranker
Thanks for the link that really opened my eyes. I have always been sensitive to some coolants. The link is exellent fire power to go to the boss.

The shop I work at, I'm not sure which is worse, the air borne coolant, mist, or the air borne dust from the cast iron. I know for a fact that the electronics do NOT like the slightly conductive dust. But I guess along with the machine parts, the people are replacable as well. They are having a ventalation system but in next month, during shut down, that will make things A LOT better. I don't know how much money they are spending, I think around twenty thousand, but, they also decided to drop fifeteen grand on lighting as well. Things are getting better.