“A SMALL PORTION
of my lung is collapsed?”
I could not believe I was
repeating those words to
my doctor in the form of
a question. I do not even
remember what I asked
him after that. What I do
remember is staring at the
area of my lungs he was
pointing to on the X-ray
film.
The how and why of it
were unknown, and I
would spend several
weeks trying to recover
and discover what had
caused this to happen.
I was going to title this
article “Glue, Sand, Paint,
Wheeze?” because that
was the order of business
in the room where I build
my airplanes. In early
February of 2007 I had to
visit the doctor on more
than one occasion
because of a persistent
cough and a continuous feeling of fatigue
that I could not shake.
After a week’s worth of antibiotics and
a steroid dose pack, there was no change in
my condition. The chest X-ray I mentioned
revealed that I had inflammation in my
lower left lung that caused a gathering of
fluid, which collapsed a small portion of
that organ.
With the obvious cause of the
coughing and fatigue nailed down,
I wanted to know why my lung had
acted this way without my
permission. During a follow-up
visit with the doctor, one week
later I had an idea of what might
have caused my condition.
The idea came to me like one of
those thoughts you have when you
have eaten something that has
made you sick. Somehow you
instinctively know exactly which
food item, out of all the ones you
may have eaten, was responsible
for, shall I say, the quick trip to the
bathroom. I got that same “aha!”
feeling about what was going on in
my lung.
I had been on a building spree
for more than a month. Because
February in Alabama is generally cold and
wet, I was doing almost all my work
inside. For weeks I had been cutting,
sanding, and gluing everything you would
need to put several scratch-built, electricpowered
foam airplanes in the air.
When I told my doctor what I did with
my spare time and the types of materials I
worked with, I could immediately see in
his face how hard it was
for him to restrain
himself from hitting me
on the side of the head.
(Insert “That ’70s Show”
father figure’s
catchphrase here.)
I think his exact
words were “Just the
paint fumes alone would
be enough to irritate your
lungs if you’ve been
doing this long enough.”
He suggested a room air
filter, a minimum of a
paper mask to keep me
from inhaling airborne
particles, and a promise
to thoroughly clean the
room I worked in before
resuming my building
activities.
At the time I could
not begin to understand
how serious the threat
was or how easy the
solution could be. After
lots of research and
relating my story to
others in the hobby, I learned many
interesting facts and even some urban
legends.
Most people I talked to pointed to the
black dust from the carbon-fiber rods and
spars I would cut with my power tools as
the main source of my problems. I
received many different opinions and
warnings about carbon fiber; they ranged
from do not breathe it to it’s worse
than asbestos.
Almost everyone else blamed
the cyanoacrylate glue or the paint
for my pulmonary condition. I
have been told that the “smoke”
from cyanoacrylate when it cures
is a cyanide gas. Others did not
know what it was but were
positive that it was highly toxic.
Other modeling friends assured me
that I had simply painted the inside
of my lungs and that it would take
the alveoli in them awhile to return
to normal.
Every person who related a
story to me was basing it on a
personal experience and his or her
best safety practices around these
items. I appreciate every one of the
comments and suggestions. In thisarticle I am sharing the facts and solutions
as I have experienced them. This is a
tribute, in large part, to my family of
aeromodelers and those people’s sincere
desire to help.
Carbon-Fiber Fact: This material
contains no known chemicals that cause
cancer. Being exposed to and inhaling the
dust can cause a variety of breathing
problems, including bronchitis, and could
actually impair pulmonary function; that
is, make it hard to breathe.
All information I could find regarding
carbon fiber’s properties, including the
Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) about
Graphite (commonly called “carbon
fiber”), suggests that occasionally cutting
this material requires no respiratory
protection, provided that it is done in a
chemical fume hood with exhaust. That
refers to an industrial level of carbon-fiber
dust, but it should stand as good advice
even though I would not classify the
amount of carbon fiber I cut in my shop as
“industrial.”
A picture in this article shows the
amount of dust created from a carbon-fiber
rod cut roughly halfway through with a
handheld jigsaw.
Cyanoacrylate Fact: Fumes from this
glue are not poisonous. However,
cyanoacrylate’s distinctive odor is highly
irritating to your body’s breathing organs.
The fact that moisture levels directly affect
how quickly or slowly this glueBuilding the Shop Air Filter
Materials List:
• One large cardboard box.
• One box fan. A rotary fan will work as long as you can seal the edges around its frame.
• Two rolls of 2-inch-wide clear packaging tape or duct tape.
• One central air filter. (Its size is up to you.)
• Box cutter or other sharp instrument.
• Sharpie or marker for drawing cut lines.
Assembly Steps:
1) Obtain a large cardboard box. Mine is 6 feet tall and was used to ship a front bumper cover for a new-model Volvo sedan. Local
body shops will probably have many of these boxes.
2) Gather the box fan, the central air filter, and the other items in the materials list.
3) No matter what size central air filter you use (a 20 x 20 x 1, for instance), when you center the filter on the box and trace its outline
for cutting, make the cutout 3/4 inch smaller on all sides. The air filter’s cardboard frame takes up approximately that much room, and this
will help you center the filter on the hole that will be cut. It also gives you something to push against when applying the duct tape to seal
the filter in place.
4) Lay the box fan facedown on the bottom of your box and trace its outline. It is unnecessary to trace the bottom; you will be sliding
part of the fan into the bottom of your cutout for the box fan. Make sure to leave the box-fan control knob and power cord outside the
box.
5) Having marked and cut the holes where your fan and filter will go, seal all edges and overlaps on the box to assure as much of an
airtight seal as you can get. Mine works well with the tape on the outside of these corners and overlaps, but you could seal them from the
inside if your particular box needs the extra help. This also aids in holding the box together for extended use.
6) It is helpful to use the wide packaging tape or duct tape; you can stick half the width onto the box and the other half to the filter and
the box fan for your initial seal. I recommend cutting several lengths of tape 3 or 4 inches longer than the surface you will be taping. That
makes it easier to press down at the center to obtain a good seal between the cardboard and the fan and filter.
7) Place the Shop Air Filter unit where you want it. I situated mine with the fan on the bottom and the air filter above it. It could just as
easily be put on its side and positioned under a workbench or other structure.
I have found that even though a square or rectangular shape is not the best for aerodynamic airflow, it tends to trap many larger
particles in the box simply by allowing no air out except through the filter.
This filter is not intended to be the equivalent of a really nice, high-tech HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air)-type room air filter, nor
will it do anything to remove fumes or odors from your shop.
However, since I started using the filter while working in the shop, I have had no breathing problems during the colder months. In
addition, the unit traps many small particles of wood, foam, and bits of other materials that would otherwise be floating around in my shop
and in my lungs. MA“polymerizes” is what makes it irritating to
our eyes, nose, and lungs. That is also why
the bottle has a label advising its use in an
adequately ventilated area.
The scariest category I could find when
searching for information about
cyanoacrylate was “CA Poisoning.” When
I read the title of that MSDS section, I
thought I had found the smoking gun
regarding this obviously dangerous
chemical, but I was pleasantly surprised by
the warning’s contents.
The MSDS categorized cyanoacrylate
poisoning the same way you would say
that a Python wrapped around your body
and squeezing could be considered
“Python Poisoning.” Fingers glued
together or to other objects and eyelids
also seemed to be a target for this dreaded
poisoning. There’s a new line for Jeff
Foxworthy: “If you’ve ever glued your
eyelids together with cyanoacrylate glue,
you might be an aeromodeler.”
I have a tip regarding cyanoacrylate
glue and your personal-hygiene items. If
you are ever at a flying event that requires
overnight supplies, make sure to store your
cyanoacrylate bottle in a completely
different area from any type of nasal spray
you use for seasonal allergies. The hospital
in Americus, Georgia, came close to
seeing an unusual emergency during the
2007 Southeast Electric Flight Festival. Do
not snort your model-airplane glue!The basic truth about cyanoacrylate glue
is that even forensic scientists and
detectives use a buildup of its fumes to
bring out latent fingerprints on objects from
which they could not normally have lifted a
print. They allow the fumes to build in an
enclosed area with the object inside.
When the object is deemed ready to
retrieve, the investigators must disperse the
fumes and process the object for
fingerprints. Many accounts of this
procedure were that although the odor was
unpleasant, no adverse effects were
reported.
Several stories from fellow modelers
described severe allergic reactions to
cyanoacrylate glue, but all the ones I read
about occurred in people who had worked
with it for long periods. And even people
who were proven to be allergic did not
develop a reaction by simply getting this
adhesive on their skin.
Does this mean it is okay to sniff
cyanoacrylate? Obviously not, but it is clear
that the annoyances with the glue are
physical—not an internal medical matter.
Wood Fact: Wood dust can be harmful.
Furthermore, the American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists
classifies hardwood dust as a confirmed
human carcinogen (Class 1A, May 1996).
However, balsa wood has no known
adverse chronic health concerns. Some
people have displayed allergies to balsa
dust, and recommendations for working
with any kind of wood that produces dust
include using a mask or respirator. In an
industrial application, ventilation of wood
dust is recommended to reduce the buildup
of potentially explosive airborne dust
clouds.
The good news is that I have never
sanded enough of any kind of wood in the
process of building a model to make
anything that even resembled an airborne
dust cloud. However, better safe than sorry.
Shop-Pollution Solution: None of the
components I have mentioned (other than
hardwood) were shown to adversely affect
the human lungs or pulmonary system in a
permanent way, but the buildup or use of
several of them over time or in quick
succession can provide your body with a big
reason to be angry at you.
I feel certain that the combination of
several chemicals and particulates caused
my problem. Given this new knowledge, I
took steps to correct it.
A friend I had was in the automotiverepair
business, and he had a box that used
to contain a car’s front bumper cover. I
measured the two ends of the box, and they
were close to the 20 x 20 size of the box fan
I had just purchased for $20. Purchasing a
standard household air filter gave me the
other end of my contraption. Heavy-duty
duct tape sealed it all airtight.
I put the fan on the bottom with the air
blowing into the box, knowing that heavierthan-
air objects would eventually make it to
03sig2.QXD 1/24/08 1:36 PM Page 48the ground, where my filter would pull
them inside. You might call the
contraption a type of automatic vacuum.
After roughly a month I noticed that
the larger particles of foam or paper
seemed to be coming back out of the fan,
and I decided it would be a good time to
take it apart to check and replace the filter.
What I found was amazing and a little
scary.
All the tiny particles had gathered in a
thick but loose layer on the inside of the
filter. All the heavier particles stayed
inside the box and continued to blow
around when the fan was operating. When
I fully cleaned out the whole box, I had a
large pile of grayish-white dust I was glad
to be looking at rather than coughing up.
My box fan/cardboard box/household
air filter was simple and cheap, and I havehad no problem since I installed it. When I
am trapped indoors I still use a paper
mask. Those seem to help.
Whenever possible, I sand, paint, or use
chemicals outside. If I have to use them
inside, I turn on my fan and maybe crack a
window for some fresh air. Common sense
is the best guide. But even with common
sense as my guide, I continue to be
amazed.
I recently reviewed the warning label
on a can of water-based polyurethane—a
substance that common sense told me
would be exceptionally safe, probably
because the words “water based” were on
the label. The warning label on the back
told a different story; my favorite method
of putting a protective shine on top of my
models’ paint contains elements I should
be careful not to breathe.
The one-year anniversary of my breathing
problem is still a few months away as I
write this. As did many people I know, I
had to experience the consequences of
living like I was bulletproof before I
realized that the laws of common sense
and human health actually apply to me.
After my condition subsided, I realized
how fortunate I was to be able to continue
to build and fly model airplanes with no
apparent lasting problems. I feel a
responsibility to share this experience with
my family of modelers and anyone else
who cares to know.
I am not attempting to scare anyone
away from the materials mentioned, nor
am I pointing to any one solution as the
cure-all for this issue. We are all different,
with different tolerances and habits, so
only you can decide what, if any of this, to
use to your advantage.
The main point for me is to do my best
to make sure I can continue to perform my
favorite activities and fully enjoy this
hobby for as long as possible, even if I do
glue my fingers together from time to
time. MA
James “Bo” Lovell
[email protected]
Medical Research Sources:
Carbon fiber:
www.2spi.com/catalog/msds/msds11431.ht
ml
Cyanoacrylate glue:
http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/10/
stuff_eng_tech_ca_glue.htm
www.onin.com/fp/cyano93ltr.html
Cyanoacrylate poisoning:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/
002894.htm
Balsa-dust inhalation:
http://icorecomposites.com/docs/EGBLRMSDS.
pdf
Epoxy resin/fumes:
http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/epoxyallergy.
html
Paint fumes:
www.homeenv.com/paint_fumes.htm
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/03
Page Numbers: 45,46,47,48,50
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/03
Page Numbers: 45,46,47,48,50
“A SMALL PORTION
of my lung is collapsed?”
I could not believe I was
repeating those words to
my doctor in the form of
a question. I do not even
remember what I asked
him after that. What I do
remember is staring at the
area of my lungs he was
pointing to on the X-ray
film.
The how and why of it
were unknown, and I
would spend several
weeks trying to recover
and discover what had
caused this to happen.
I was going to title this
article “Glue, Sand, Paint,
Wheeze?” because that
was the order of business
in the room where I build
my airplanes. In early
February of 2007 I had to
visit the doctor on more
than one occasion
because of a persistent
cough and a continuous feeling of fatigue
that I could not shake.
After a week’s worth of antibiotics and
a steroid dose pack, there was no change in
my condition. The chest X-ray I mentioned
revealed that I had inflammation in my
lower left lung that caused a gathering of
fluid, which collapsed a small portion of
that organ.
With the obvious cause of the
coughing and fatigue nailed down,
I wanted to know why my lung had
acted this way without my
permission. During a follow-up
visit with the doctor, one week
later I had an idea of what might
have caused my condition.
The idea came to me like one of
those thoughts you have when you
have eaten something that has
made you sick. Somehow you
instinctively know exactly which
food item, out of all the ones you
may have eaten, was responsible
for, shall I say, the quick trip to the
bathroom. I got that same “aha!”
feeling about what was going on in
my lung.
I had been on a building spree
for more than a month. Because
February in Alabama is generally cold and
wet, I was doing almost all my work
inside. For weeks I had been cutting,
sanding, and gluing everything you would
need to put several scratch-built, electricpowered
foam airplanes in the air.
When I told my doctor what I did with
my spare time and the types of materials I
worked with, I could immediately see in
his face how hard it was
for him to restrain
himself from hitting me
on the side of the head.
(Insert “That ’70s Show”
father figure’s
catchphrase here.)
I think his exact
words were “Just the
paint fumes alone would
be enough to irritate your
lungs if you’ve been
doing this long enough.”
He suggested a room air
filter, a minimum of a
paper mask to keep me
from inhaling airborne
particles, and a promise
to thoroughly clean the
room I worked in before
resuming my building
activities.
At the time I could
not begin to understand
how serious the threat
was or how easy the
solution could be. After
lots of research and
relating my story to
others in the hobby, I learned many
interesting facts and even some urban
legends.
Most people I talked to pointed to the
black dust from the carbon-fiber rods and
spars I would cut with my power tools as
the main source of my problems. I
received many different opinions and
warnings about carbon fiber; they ranged
from do not breathe it to it’s worse
than asbestos.
Almost everyone else blamed
the cyanoacrylate glue or the paint
for my pulmonary condition. I
have been told that the “smoke”
from cyanoacrylate when it cures
is a cyanide gas. Others did not
know what it was but were
positive that it was highly toxic.
Other modeling friends assured me
that I had simply painted the inside
of my lungs and that it would take
the alveoli in them awhile to return
to normal.
Every person who related a
story to me was basing it on a
personal experience and his or her
best safety practices around these
items. I appreciate every one of the
comments and suggestions. In thisarticle I am sharing the facts and solutions
as I have experienced them. This is a
tribute, in large part, to my family of
aeromodelers and those people’s sincere
desire to help.
Carbon-Fiber Fact: This material
contains no known chemicals that cause
cancer. Being exposed to and inhaling the
dust can cause a variety of breathing
problems, including bronchitis, and could
actually impair pulmonary function; that
is, make it hard to breathe.
All information I could find regarding
carbon fiber’s properties, including the
Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) about
Graphite (commonly called “carbon
fiber”), suggests that occasionally cutting
this material requires no respiratory
protection, provided that it is done in a
chemical fume hood with exhaust. That
refers to an industrial level of carbon-fiber
dust, but it should stand as good advice
even though I would not classify the
amount of carbon fiber I cut in my shop as
“industrial.”
A picture in this article shows the
amount of dust created from a carbon-fiber
rod cut roughly halfway through with a
handheld jigsaw.
Cyanoacrylate Fact: Fumes from this
glue are not poisonous. However,
cyanoacrylate’s distinctive odor is highly
irritating to your body’s breathing organs.
The fact that moisture levels directly affect
how quickly or slowly this glueBuilding the Shop Air Filter
Materials List:
• One large cardboard box.
• One box fan. A rotary fan will work as long as you can seal the edges around its frame.
• Two rolls of 2-inch-wide clear packaging tape or duct tape.
• One central air filter. (Its size is up to you.)
• Box cutter or other sharp instrument.
• Sharpie or marker for drawing cut lines.
Assembly Steps:
1) Obtain a large cardboard box. Mine is 6 feet tall and was used to ship a front bumper cover for a new-model Volvo sedan. Local
body shops will probably have many of these boxes.
2) Gather the box fan, the central air filter, and the other items in the materials list.
3) No matter what size central air filter you use (a 20 x 20 x 1, for instance), when you center the filter on the box and trace its outline
for cutting, make the cutout 3/4 inch smaller on all sides. The air filter’s cardboard frame takes up approximately that much room, and this
will help you center the filter on the hole that will be cut. It also gives you something to push against when applying the duct tape to seal
the filter in place.
4) Lay the box fan facedown on the bottom of your box and trace its outline. It is unnecessary to trace the bottom; you will be sliding
part of the fan into the bottom of your cutout for the box fan. Make sure to leave the box-fan control knob and power cord outside the
box.
5) Having marked and cut the holes where your fan and filter will go, seal all edges and overlaps on the box to assure as much of an
airtight seal as you can get. Mine works well with the tape on the outside of these corners and overlaps, but you could seal them from the
inside if your particular box needs the extra help. This also aids in holding the box together for extended use.
6) It is helpful to use the wide packaging tape or duct tape; you can stick half the width onto the box and the other half to the filter and
the box fan for your initial seal. I recommend cutting several lengths of tape 3 or 4 inches longer than the surface you will be taping. That
makes it easier to press down at the center to obtain a good seal between the cardboard and the fan and filter.
7) Place the Shop Air Filter unit where you want it. I situated mine with the fan on the bottom and the air filter above it. It could just as
easily be put on its side and positioned under a workbench or other structure.
I have found that even though a square or rectangular shape is not the best for aerodynamic airflow, it tends to trap many larger
particles in the box simply by allowing no air out except through the filter.
This filter is not intended to be the equivalent of a really nice, high-tech HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air)-type room air filter, nor
will it do anything to remove fumes or odors from your shop.
However, since I started using the filter while working in the shop, I have had no breathing problems during the colder months. In
addition, the unit traps many small particles of wood, foam, and bits of other materials that would otherwise be floating around in my shop
and in my lungs. MA“polymerizes” is what makes it irritating to
our eyes, nose, and lungs. That is also why
the bottle has a label advising its use in an
adequately ventilated area.
The scariest category I could find when
searching for information about
cyanoacrylate was “CA Poisoning.” When
I read the title of that MSDS section, I
thought I had found the smoking gun
regarding this obviously dangerous
chemical, but I was pleasantly surprised by
the warning’s contents.
The MSDS categorized cyanoacrylate
poisoning the same way you would say
that a Python wrapped around your body
and squeezing could be considered
“Python Poisoning.” Fingers glued
together or to other objects and eyelids
also seemed to be a target for this dreaded
poisoning. There’s a new line for Jeff
Foxworthy: “If you’ve ever glued your
eyelids together with cyanoacrylate glue,
you might be an aeromodeler.”
I have a tip regarding cyanoacrylate
glue and your personal-hygiene items. If
you are ever at a flying event that requires
overnight supplies, make sure to store your
cyanoacrylate bottle in a completely
different area from any type of nasal spray
you use for seasonal allergies. The hospital
in Americus, Georgia, came close to
seeing an unusual emergency during the
2007 Southeast Electric Flight Festival. Do
not snort your model-airplane glue!The basic truth about cyanoacrylate glue
is that even forensic scientists and
detectives use a buildup of its fumes to
bring out latent fingerprints on objects from
which they could not normally have lifted a
print. They allow the fumes to build in an
enclosed area with the object inside.
When the object is deemed ready to
retrieve, the investigators must disperse the
fumes and process the object for
fingerprints. Many accounts of this
procedure were that although the odor was
unpleasant, no adverse effects were
reported.
Several stories from fellow modelers
described severe allergic reactions to
cyanoacrylate glue, but all the ones I read
about occurred in people who had worked
with it for long periods. And even people
who were proven to be allergic did not
develop a reaction by simply getting this
adhesive on their skin.
Does this mean it is okay to sniff
cyanoacrylate? Obviously not, but it is clear
that the annoyances with the glue are
physical—not an internal medical matter.
Wood Fact: Wood dust can be harmful.
Furthermore, the American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists
classifies hardwood dust as a confirmed
human carcinogen (Class 1A, May 1996).
However, balsa wood has no known
adverse chronic health concerns. Some
people have displayed allergies to balsa
dust, and recommendations for working
with any kind of wood that produces dust
include using a mask or respirator. In an
industrial application, ventilation of wood
dust is recommended to reduce the buildup
of potentially explosive airborne dust
clouds.
The good news is that I have never
sanded enough of any kind of wood in the
process of building a model to make
anything that even resembled an airborne
dust cloud. However, better safe than sorry.
Shop-Pollution Solution: None of the
components I have mentioned (other than
hardwood) were shown to adversely affect
the human lungs or pulmonary system in a
permanent way, but the buildup or use of
several of them over time or in quick
succession can provide your body with a big
reason to be angry at you.
I feel certain that the combination of
several chemicals and particulates caused
my problem. Given this new knowledge, I
took steps to correct it.
A friend I had was in the automotiverepair
business, and he had a box that used
to contain a car’s front bumper cover. I
measured the two ends of the box, and they
were close to the 20 x 20 size of the box fan
I had just purchased for $20. Purchasing a
standard household air filter gave me the
other end of my contraption. Heavy-duty
duct tape sealed it all airtight.
I put the fan on the bottom with the air
blowing into the box, knowing that heavierthan-
air objects would eventually make it to
03sig2.QXD 1/24/08 1:36 PM Page 48the ground, where my filter would pull
them inside. You might call the
contraption a type of automatic vacuum.
After roughly a month I noticed that
the larger particles of foam or paper
seemed to be coming back out of the fan,
and I decided it would be a good time to
take it apart to check and replace the filter.
What I found was amazing and a little
scary.
All the tiny particles had gathered in a
thick but loose layer on the inside of the
filter. All the heavier particles stayed
inside the box and continued to blow
around when the fan was operating. When
I fully cleaned out the whole box, I had a
large pile of grayish-white dust I was glad
to be looking at rather than coughing up.
My box fan/cardboard box/household
air filter was simple and cheap, and I havehad no problem since I installed it. When I
am trapped indoors I still use a paper
mask. Those seem to help.
Whenever possible, I sand, paint, or use
chemicals outside. If I have to use them
inside, I turn on my fan and maybe crack a
window for some fresh air. Common sense
is the best guide. But even with common
sense as my guide, I continue to be
amazed.
I recently reviewed the warning label
on a can of water-based polyurethane—a
substance that common sense told me
would be exceptionally safe, probably
because the words “water based” were on
the label. The warning label on the back
told a different story; my favorite method
of putting a protective shine on top of my
models’ paint contains elements I should
be careful not to breathe.
The one-year anniversary of my breathing
problem is still a few months away as I
write this. As did many people I know, I
had to experience the consequences of
living like I was bulletproof before I
realized that the laws of common sense
and human health actually apply to me.
After my condition subsided, I realized
how fortunate I was to be able to continue
to build and fly model airplanes with no
apparent lasting problems. I feel a
responsibility to share this experience with
my family of modelers and anyone else
who cares to know.
I am not attempting to scare anyone
away from the materials mentioned, nor
am I pointing to any one solution as the
cure-all for this issue. We are all different,
with different tolerances and habits, so
only you can decide what, if any of this, to
use to your advantage.
The main point for me is to do my best
to make sure I can continue to perform my
favorite activities and fully enjoy this
hobby for as long as possible, even if I do
glue my fingers together from time to
time. MA
James “Bo” Lovell
[email protected]
Medical Research Sources:
Carbon fiber:
www.2spi.com/catalog/msds/msds11431.ht
ml
Cyanoacrylate glue:
http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/10/
stuff_eng_tech_ca_glue.htm
www.onin.com/fp/cyano93ltr.html
Cyanoacrylate poisoning:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/
002894.htm
Balsa-dust inhalation:
http://icorecomposites.com/docs/EGBLRMSDS.
pdf
Epoxy resin/fumes:
http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/epoxyallergy.
html
Paint fumes:
www.homeenv.com/paint_fumes.htm
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/03
Page Numbers: 45,46,47,48,50
“A SMALL PORTION
of my lung is collapsed?”
I could not believe I was
repeating those words to
my doctor in the form of
a question. I do not even
remember what I asked
him after that. What I do
remember is staring at the
area of my lungs he was
pointing to on the X-ray
film.
The how and why of it
were unknown, and I
would spend several
weeks trying to recover
and discover what had
caused this to happen.
I was going to title this
article “Glue, Sand, Paint,
Wheeze?” because that
was the order of business
in the room where I build
my airplanes. In early
February of 2007 I had to
visit the doctor on more
than one occasion
because of a persistent
cough and a continuous feeling of fatigue
that I could not shake.
After a week’s worth of antibiotics and
a steroid dose pack, there was no change in
my condition. The chest X-ray I mentioned
revealed that I had inflammation in my
lower left lung that caused a gathering of
fluid, which collapsed a small portion of
that organ.
With the obvious cause of the
coughing and fatigue nailed down,
I wanted to know why my lung had
acted this way without my
permission. During a follow-up
visit with the doctor, one week
later I had an idea of what might
have caused my condition.
The idea came to me like one of
those thoughts you have when you
have eaten something that has
made you sick. Somehow you
instinctively know exactly which
food item, out of all the ones you
may have eaten, was responsible
for, shall I say, the quick trip to the
bathroom. I got that same “aha!”
feeling about what was going on in
my lung.
I had been on a building spree
for more than a month. Because
February in Alabama is generally cold and
wet, I was doing almost all my work
inside. For weeks I had been cutting,
sanding, and gluing everything you would
need to put several scratch-built, electricpowered
foam airplanes in the air.
When I told my doctor what I did with
my spare time and the types of materials I
worked with, I could immediately see in
his face how hard it was
for him to restrain
himself from hitting me
on the side of the head.
(Insert “That ’70s Show”
father figure’s
catchphrase here.)
I think his exact
words were “Just the
paint fumes alone would
be enough to irritate your
lungs if you’ve been
doing this long enough.”
He suggested a room air
filter, a minimum of a
paper mask to keep me
from inhaling airborne
particles, and a promise
to thoroughly clean the
room I worked in before
resuming my building
activities.
At the time I could
not begin to understand
how serious the threat
was or how easy the
solution could be. After
lots of research and
relating my story to
others in the hobby, I learned many
interesting facts and even some urban
legends.
Most people I talked to pointed to the
black dust from the carbon-fiber rods and
spars I would cut with my power tools as
the main source of my problems. I
received many different opinions and
warnings about carbon fiber; they ranged
from do not breathe it to it’s worse
than asbestos.
Almost everyone else blamed
the cyanoacrylate glue or the paint
for my pulmonary condition. I
have been told that the “smoke”
from cyanoacrylate when it cures
is a cyanide gas. Others did not
know what it was but were
positive that it was highly toxic.
Other modeling friends assured me
that I had simply painted the inside
of my lungs and that it would take
the alveoli in them awhile to return
to normal.
Every person who related a
story to me was basing it on a
personal experience and his or her
best safety practices around these
items. I appreciate every one of the
comments and suggestions. In thisarticle I am sharing the facts and solutions
as I have experienced them. This is a
tribute, in large part, to my family of
aeromodelers and those people’s sincere
desire to help.
Carbon-Fiber Fact: This material
contains no known chemicals that cause
cancer. Being exposed to and inhaling the
dust can cause a variety of breathing
problems, including bronchitis, and could
actually impair pulmonary function; that
is, make it hard to breathe.
All information I could find regarding
carbon fiber’s properties, including the
Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) about
Graphite (commonly called “carbon
fiber”), suggests that occasionally cutting
this material requires no respiratory
protection, provided that it is done in a
chemical fume hood with exhaust. That
refers to an industrial level of carbon-fiber
dust, but it should stand as good advice
even though I would not classify the
amount of carbon fiber I cut in my shop as
“industrial.”
A picture in this article shows the
amount of dust created from a carbon-fiber
rod cut roughly halfway through with a
handheld jigsaw.
Cyanoacrylate Fact: Fumes from this
glue are not poisonous. However,
cyanoacrylate’s distinctive odor is highly
irritating to your body’s breathing organs.
The fact that moisture levels directly affect
how quickly or slowly this glueBuilding the Shop Air Filter
Materials List:
• One large cardboard box.
• One box fan. A rotary fan will work as long as you can seal the edges around its frame.
• Two rolls of 2-inch-wide clear packaging tape or duct tape.
• One central air filter. (Its size is up to you.)
• Box cutter or other sharp instrument.
• Sharpie or marker for drawing cut lines.
Assembly Steps:
1) Obtain a large cardboard box. Mine is 6 feet tall and was used to ship a front bumper cover for a new-model Volvo sedan. Local
body shops will probably have many of these boxes.
2) Gather the box fan, the central air filter, and the other items in the materials list.
3) No matter what size central air filter you use (a 20 x 20 x 1, for instance), when you center the filter on the box and trace its outline
for cutting, make the cutout 3/4 inch smaller on all sides. The air filter’s cardboard frame takes up approximately that much room, and this
will help you center the filter on the hole that will be cut. It also gives you something to push against when applying the duct tape to seal
the filter in place.
4) Lay the box fan facedown on the bottom of your box and trace its outline. It is unnecessary to trace the bottom; you will be sliding
part of the fan into the bottom of your cutout for the box fan. Make sure to leave the box-fan control knob and power cord outside the
box.
5) Having marked and cut the holes where your fan and filter will go, seal all edges and overlaps on the box to assure as much of an
airtight seal as you can get. Mine works well with the tape on the outside of these corners and overlaps, but you could seal them from the
inside if your particular box needs the extra help. This also aids in holding the box together for extended use.
6) It is helpful to use the wide packaging tape or duct tape; you can stick half the width onto the box and the other half to the filter and
the box fan for your initial seal. I recommend cutting several lengths of tape 3 or 4 inches longer than the surface you will be taping. That
makes it easier to press down at the center to obtain a good seal between the cardboard and the fan and filter.
7) Place the Shop Air Filter unit where you want it. I situated mine with the fan on the bottom and the air filter above it. It could just as
easily be put on its side and positioned under a workbench or other structure.
I have found that even though a square or rectangular shape is not the best for aerodynamic airflow, it tends to trap many larger
particles in the box simply by allowing no air out except through the filter.
This filter is not intended to be the equivalent of a really nice, high-tech HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air)-type room air filter, nor
will it do anything to remove fumes or odors from your shop.
However, since I started using the filter while working in the shop, I have had no breathing problems during the colder months. In
addition, the unit traps many small particles of wood, foam, and bits of other materials that would otherwise be floating around in my shop
and in my lungs. MA“polymerizes” is what makes it irritating to
our eyes, nose, and lungs. That is also why
the bottle has a label advising its use in an
adequately ventilated area.
The scariest category I could find when
searching for information about
cyanoacrylate was “CA Poisoning.” When
I read the title of that MSDS section, I
thought I had found the smoking gun
regarding this obviously dangerous
chemical, but I was pleasantly surprised by
the warning’s contents.
The MSDS categorized cyanoacrylate
poisoning the same way you would say
that a Python wrapped around your body
and squeezing could be considered
“Python Poisoning.” Fingers glued
together or to other objects and eyelids
also seemed to be a target for this dreaded
poisoning. There’s a new line for Jeff
Foxworthy: “If you’ve ever glued your
eyelids together with cyanoacrylate glue,
you might be an aeromodeler.”
I have a tip regarding cyanoacrylate
glue and your personal-hygiene items. If
you are ever at a flying event that requires
overnight supplies, make sure to store your
cyanoacrylate bottle in a completely
different area from any type of nasal spray
you use for seasonal allergies. The hospital
in Americus, Georgia, came close to
seeing an unusual emergency during the
2007 Southeast Electric Flight Festival. Do
not snort your model-airplane glue!The basic truth about cyanoacrylate glue
is that even forensic scientists and
detectives use a buildup of its fumes to
bring out latent fingerprints on objects from
which they could not normally have lifted a
print. They allow the fumes to build in an
enclosed area with the object inside.
When the object is deemed ready to
retrieve, the investigators must disperse the
fumes and process the object for
fingerprints. Many accounts of this
procedure were that although the odor was
unpleasant, no adverse effects were
reported.
Several stories from fellow modelers
described severe allergic reactions to
cyanoacrylate glue, but all the ones I read
about occurred in people who had worked
with it for long periods. And even people
who were proven to be allergic did not
develop a reaction by simply getting this
adhesive on their skin.
Does this mean it is okay to sniff
cyanoacrylate? Obviously not, but it is clear
that the annoyances with the glue are
physical—not an internal medical matter.
Wood Fact: Wood dust can be harmful.
Furthermore, the American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists
classifies hardwood dust as a confirmed
human carcinogen (Class 1A, May 1996).
However, balsa wood has no known
adverse chronic health concerns. Some
people have displayed allergies to balsa
dust, and recommendations for working
with any kind of wood that produces dust
include using a mask or respirator. In an
industrial application, ventilation of wood
dust is recommended to reduce the buildup
of potentially explosive airborne dust
clouds.
The good news is that I have never
sanded enough of any kind of wood in the
process of building a model to make
anything that even resembled an airborne
dust cloud. However, better safe than sorry.
Shop-Pollution Solution: None of the
components I have mentioned (other than
hardwood) were shown to adversely affect
the human lungs or pulmonary system in a
permanent way, but the buildup or use of
several of them over time or in quick
succession can provide your body with a big
reason to be angry at you.
I feel certain that the combination of
several chemicals and particulates caused
my problem. Given this new knowledge, I
took steps to correct it.
A friend I had was in the automotiverepair
business, and he had a box that used
to contain a car’s front bumper cover. I
measured the two ends of the box, and they
were close to the 20 x 20 size of the box fan
I had just purchased for $20. Purchasing a
standard household air filter gave me the
other end of my contraption. Heavy-duty
duct tape sealed it all airtight.
I put the fan on the bottom with the air
blowing into the box, knowing that heavierthan-
air objects would eventually make it to
03sig2.QXD 1/24/08 1:36 PM Page 48the ground, where my filter would pull
them inside. You might call the
contraption a type of automatic vacuum.
After roughly a month I noticed that
the larger particles of foam or paper
seemed to be coming back out of the fan,
and I decided it would be a good time to
take it apart to check and replace the filter.
What I found was amazing and a little
scary.
All the tiny particles had gathered in a
thick but loose layer on the inside of the
filter. All the heavier particles stayed
inside the box and continued to blow
around when the fan was operating. When
I fully cleaned out the whole box, I had a
large pile of grayish-white dust I was glad
to be looking at rather than coughing up.
My box fan/cardboard box/household
air filter was simple and cheap, and I havehad no problem since I installed it. When I
am trapped indoors I still use a paper
mask. Those seem to help.
Whenever possible, I sand, paint, or use
chemicals outside. If I have to use them
inside, I turn on my fan and maybe crack a
window for some fresh air. Common sense
is the best guide. But even with common
sense as my guide, I continue to be
amazed.
I recently reviewed the warning label
on a can of water-based polyurethane—a
substance that common sense told me
would be exceptionally safe, probably
because the words “water based” were on
the label. The warning label on the back
told a different story; my favorite method
of putting a protective shine on top of my
models’ paint contains elements I should
be careful not to breathe.
The one-year anniversary of my breathing
problem is still a few months away as I
write this. As did many people I know, I
had to experience the consequences of
living like I was bulletproof before I
realized that the laws of common sense
and human health actually apply to me.
After my condition subsided, I realized
how fortunate I was to be able to continue
to build and fly model airplanes with no
apparent lasting problems. I feel a
responsibility to share this experience with
my family of modelers and anyone else
who cares to know.
I am not attempting to scare anyone
away from the materials mentioned, nor
am I pointing to any one solution as the
cure-all for this issue. We are all different,
with different tolerances and habits, so
only you can decide what, if any of this, to
use to your advantage.
The main point for me is to do my best
to make sure I can continue to perform my
favorite activities and fully enjoy this
hobby for as long as possible, even if I do
glue my fingers together from time to
time. MA
James “Bo” Lovell
[email protected]
Medical Research Sources:
Carbon fiber:
www.2spi.com/catalog/msds/msds11431.ht
ml
Cyanoacrylate glue:
http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/10/
stuff_eng_tech_ca_glue.htm
www.onin.com/fp/cyano93ltr.html
Cyanoacrylate poisoning:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/
002894.htm
Balsa-dust inhalation:
http://icorecomposites.com/docs/EGBLRMSDS.
pdf
Epoxy resin/fumes:
http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/epoxyallergy.
html
Paint fumes:
www.homeenv.com/paint_fumes.htm
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/03
Page Numbers: 45,46,47,48,50
“A SMALL PORTION
of my lung is collapsed?”
I could not believe I was
repeating those words to
my doctor in the form of
a question. I do not even
remember what I asked
him after that. What I do
remember is staring at the
area of my lungs he was
pointing to on the X-ray
film.
The how and why of it
were unknown, and I
would spend several
weeks trying to recover
and discover what had
caused this to happen.
I was going to title this
article “Glue, Sand, Paint,
Wheeze?” because that
was the order of business
in the room where I build
my airplanes. In early
February of 2007 I had to
visit the doctor on more
than one occasion
because of a persistent
cough and a continuous feeling of fatigue
that I could not shake.
After a week’s worth of antibiotics and
a steroid dose pack, there was no change in
my condition. The chest X-ray I mentioned
revealed that I had inflammation in my
lower left lung that caused a gathering of
fluid, which collapsed a small portion of
that organ.
With the obvious cause of the
coughing and fatigue nailed down,
I wanted to know why my lung had
acted this way without my
permission. During a follow-up
visit with the doctor, one week
later I had an idea of what might
have caused my condition.
The idea came to me like one of
those thoughts you have when you
have eaten something that has
made you sick. Somehow you
instinctively know exactly which
food item, out of all the ones you
may have eaten, was responsible
for, shall I say, the quick trip to the
bathroom. I got that same “aha!”
feeling about what was going on in
my lung.
I had been on a building spree
for more than a month. Because
February in Alabama is generally cold and
wet, I was doing almost all my work
inside. For weeks I had been cutting,
sanding, and gluing everything you would
need to put several scratch-built, electricpowered
foam airplanes in the air.
When I told my doctor what I did with
my spare time and the types of materials I
worked with, I could immediately see in
his face how hard it was
for him to restrain
himself from hitting me
on the side of the head.
(Insert “That ’70s Show”
father figure’s
catchphrase here.)
I think his exact
words were “Just the
paint fumes alone would
be enough to irritate your
lungs if you’ve been
doing this long enough.”
He suggested a room air
filter, a minimum of a
paper mask to keep me
from inhaling airborne
particles, and a promise
to thoroughly clean the
room I worked in before
resuming my building
activities.
At the time I could
not begin to understand
how serious the threat
was or how easy the
solution could be. After
lots of research and
relating my story to
others in the hobby, I learned many
interesting facts and even some urban
legends.
Most people I talked to pointed to the
black dust from the carbon-fiber rods and
spars I would cut with my power tools as
the main source of my problems. I
received many different opinions and
warnings about carbon fiber; they ranged
from do not breathe it to it’s worse
than asbestos.
Almost everyone else blamed
the cyanoacrylate glue or the paint
for my pulmonary condition. I
have been told that the “smoke”
from cyanoacrylate when it cures
is a cyanide gas. Others did not
know what it was but were
positive that it was highly toxic.
Other modeling friends assured me
that I had simply painted the inside
of my lungs and that it would take
the alveoli in them awhile to return
to normal.
Every person who related a
story to me was basing it on a
personal experience and his or her
best safety practices around these
items. I appreciate every one of the
comments and suggestions. In thisarticle I am sharing the facts and solutions
as I have experienced them. This is a
tribute, in large part, to my family of
aeromodelers and those people’s sincere
desire to help.
Carbon-Fiber Fact: This material
contains no known chemicals that cause
cancer. Being exposed to and inhaling the
dust can cause a variety of breathing
problems, including bronchitis, and could
actually impair pulmonary function; that
is, make it hard to breathe.
All information I could find regarding
carbon fiber’s properties, including the
Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) about
Graphite (commonly called “carbon
fiber”), suggests that occasionally cutting
this material requires no respiratory
protection, provided that it is done in a
chemical fume hood with exhaust. That
refers to an industrial level of carbon-fiber
dust, but it should stand as good advice
even though I would not classify the
amount of carbon fiber I cut in my shop as
“industrial.”
A picture in this article shows the
amount of dust created from a carbon-fiber
rod cut roughly halfway through with a
handheld jigsaw.
Cyanoacrylate Fact: Fumes from this
glue are not poisonous. However,
cyanoacrylate’s distinctive odor is highly
irritating to your body’s breathing organs.
The fact that moisture levels directly affect
how quickly or slowly this glueBuilding the Shop Air Filter
Materials List:
• One large cardboard box.
• One box fan. A rotary fan will work as long as you can seal the edges around its frame.
• Two rolls of 2-inch-wide clear packaging tape or duct tape.
• One central air filter. (Its size is up to you.)
• Box cutter or other sharp instrument.
• Sharpie or marker for drawing cut lines.
Assembly Steps:
1) Obtain a large cardboard box. Mine is 6 feet tall and was used to ship a front bumper cover for a new-model Volvo sedan. Local
body shops will probably have many of these boxes.
2) Gather the box fan, the central air filter, and the other items in the materials list.
3) No matter what size central air filter you use (a 20 x 20 x 1, for instance), when you center the filter on the box and trace its outline
for cutting, make the cutout 3/4 inch smaller on all sides. The air filter’s cardboard frame takes up approximately that much room, and this
will help you center the filter on the hole that will be cut. It also gives you something to push against when applying the duct tape to seal
the filter in place.
4) Lay the box fan facedown on the bottom of your box and trace its outline. It is unnecessary to trace the bottom; you will be sliding
part of the fan into the bottom of your cutout for the box fan. Make sure to leave the box-fan control knob and power cord outside the
box.
5) Having marked and cut the holes where your fan and filter will go, seal all edges and overlaps on the box to assure as much of an
airtight seal as you can get. Mine works well with the tape on the outside of these corners and overlaps, but you could seal them from the
inside if your particular box needs the extra help. This also aids in holding the box together for extended use.
6) It is helpful to use the wide packaging tape or duct tape; you can stick half the width onto the box and the other half to the filter and
the box fan for your initial seal. I recommend cutting several lengths of tape 3 or 4 inches longer than the surface you will be taping. That
makes it easier to press down at the center to obtain a good seal between the cardboard and the fan and filter.
7) Place the Shop Air Filter unit where you want it. I situated mine with the fan on the bottom and the air filter above it. It could just as
easily be put on its side and positioned under a workbench or other structure.
I have found that even though a square or rectangular shape is not the best for aerodynamic airflow, it tends to trap many larger
particles in the box simply by allowing no air out except through the filter.
This filter is not intended to be the equivalent of a really nice, high-tech HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air)-type room air filter, nor
will it do anything to remove fumes or odors from your shop.
However, since I started using the filter while working in the shop, I have had no breathing problems during the colder months. In
addition, the unit traps many small particles of wood, foam, and bits of other materials that would otherwise be floating around in my shop
and in my lungs. MA“polymerizes” is what makes it irritating to
our eyes, nose, and lungs. That is also why
the bottle has a label advising its use in an
adequately ventilated area.
The scariest category I could find when
searching for information about
cyanoacrylate was “CA Poisoning.” When
I read the title of that MSDS section, I
thought I had found the smoking gun
regarding this obviously dangerous
chemical, but I was pleasantly surprised by
the warning’s contents.
The MSDS categorized cyanoacrylate
poisoning the same way you would say
that a Python wrapped around your body
and squeezing could be considered
“Python Poisoning.” Fingers glued
together or to other objects and eyelids
also seemed to be a target for this dreaded
poisoning. There’s a new line for Jeff
Foxworthy: “If you’ve ever glued your
eyelids together with cyanoacrylate glue,
you might be an aeromodeler.”
I have a tip regarding cyanoacrylate
glue and your personal-hygiene items. If
you are ever at a flying event that requires
overnight supplies, make sure to store your
cyanoacrylate bottle in a completely
different area from any type of nasal spray
you use for seasonal allergies. The hospital
in Americus, Georgia, came close to
seeing an unusual emergency during the
2007 Southeast Electric Flight Festival. Do
not snort your model-airplane glue!The basic truth about cyanoacrylate glue
is that even forensic scientists and
detectives use a buildup of its fumes to
bring out latent fingerprints on objects from
which they could not normally have lifted a
print. They allow the fumes to build in an
enclosed area with the object inside.
When the object is deemed ready to
retrieve, the investigators must disperse the
fumes and process the object for
fingerprints. Many accounts of this
procedure were that although the odor was
unpleasant, no adverse effects were
reported.
Several stories from fellow modelers
described severe allergic reactions to
cyanoacrylate glue, but all the ones I read
about occurred in people who had worked
with it for long periods. And even people
who were proven to be allergic did not
develop a reaction by simply getting this
adhesive on their skin.
Does this mean it is okay to sniff
cyanoacrylate? Obviously not, but it is clear
that the annoyances with the glue are
physical—not an internal medical matter.
Wood Fact: Wood dust can be harmful.
Furthermore, the American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists
classifies hardwood dust as a confirmed
human carcinogen (Class 1A, May 1996).
However, balsa wood has no known
adverse chronic health concerns. Some
people have displayed allergies to balsa
dust, and recommendations for working
with any kind of wood that produces dust
include using a mask or respirator. In an
industrial application, ventilation of wood
dust is recommended to reduce the buildup
of potentially explosive airborne dust
clouds.
The good news is that I have never
sanded enough of any kind of wood in the
process of building a model to make
anything that even resembled an airborne
dust cloud. However, better safe than sorry.
Shop-Pollution Solution: None of the
components I have mentioned (other than
hardwood) were shown to adversely affect
the human lungs or pulmonary system in a
permanent way, but the buildup or use of
several of them over time or in quick
succession can provide your body with a big
reason to be angry at you.
I feel certain that the combination of
several chemicals and particulates caused
my problem. Given this new knowledge, I
took steps to correct it.
A friend I had was in the automotiverepair
business, and he had a box that used
to contain a car’s front bumper cover. I
measured the two ends of the box, and they
were close to the 20 x 20 size of the box fan
I had just purchased for $20. Purchasing a
standard household air filter gave me the
other end of my contraption. Heavy-duty
duct tape sealed it all airtight.
I put the fan on the bottom with the air
blowing into the box, knowing that heavierthan-
air objects would eventually make it to
03sig2.QXD 1/24/08 1:36 PM Page 48the ground, where my filter would pull
them inside. You might call the
contraption a type of automatic vacuum.
After roughly a month I noticed that
the larger particles of foam or paper
seemed to be coming back out of the fan,
and I decided it would be a good time to
take it apart to check and replace the filter.
What I found was amazing and a little
scary.
All the tiny particles had gathered in a
thick but loose layer on the inside of the
filter. All the heavier particles stayed
inside the box and continued to blow
around when the fan was operating. When
I fully cleaned out the whole box, I had a
large pile of grayish-white dust I was glad
to be looking at rather than coughing up.
My box fan/cardboard box/household
air filter was simple and cheap, and I havehad no problem since I installed it. When I
am trapped indoors I still use a paper
mask. Those seem to help.
Whenever possible, I sand, paint, or use
chemicals outside. If I have to use them
inside, I turn on my fan and maybe crack a
window for some fresh air. Common sense
is the best guide. But even with common
sense as my guide, I continue to be
amazed.
I recently reviewed the warning label
on a can of water-based polyurethane—a
substance that common sense told me
would be exceptionally safe, probably
because the words “water based” were on
the label. The warning label on the back
told a different story; my favorite method
of putting a protective shine on top of my
models’ paint contains elements I should
be careful not to breathe.
The one-year anniversary of my breathing
problem is still a few months away as I
write this. As did many people I know, I
had to experience the consequences of
living like I was bulletproof before I
realized that the laws of common sense
and human health actually apply to me.
After my condition subsided, I realized
how fortunate I was to be able to continue
to build and fly model airplanes with no
apparent lasting problems. I feel a
responsibility to share this experience with
my family of modelers and anyone else
who cares to know.
I am not attempting to scare anyone
away from the materials mentioned, nor
am I pointing to any one solution as the
cure-all for this issue. We are all different,
with different tolerances and habits, so
only you can decide what, if any of this, to
use to your advantage.
The main point for me is to do my best
to make sure I can continue to perform my
favorite activities and fully enjoy this
hobby for as long as possible, even if I do
glue my fingers together from time to
time. MA
James “Bo” Lovell
[email protected]
Medical Research Sources:
Carbon fiber:
www.2spi.com/catalog/msds/msds11431.ht
ml
Cyanoacrylate glue:
http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/10/
stuff_eng_tech_ca_glue.htm
www.onin.com/fp/cyano93ltr.html
Cyanoacrylate poisoning:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/
002894.htm
Balsa-dust inhalation:
http://icorecomposites.com/docs/EGBLRMSDS.
pdf
Epoxy resin/fumes:
http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/epoxyallergy.
html
Paint fumes:
www.homeenv.com/paint_fumes.htm
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/03
Page Numbers: 45,46,47,48,50
“A SMALL PORTION
of my lung is collapsed?”
I could not believe I was
repeating those words to
my doctor in the form of
a question. I do not even
remember what I asked
him after that. What I do
remember is staring at the
area of my lungs he was
pointing to on the X-ray
film.
The how and why of it
were unknown, and I
would spend several
weeks trying to recover
and discover what had
caused this to happen.
I was going to title this
article “Glue, Sand, Paint,
Wheeze?” because that
was the order of business
in the room where I build
my airplanes. In early
February of 2007 I had to
visit the doctor on more
than one occasion
because of a persistent
cough and a continuous feeling of fatigue
that I could not shake.
After a week’s worth of antibiotics and
a steroid dose pack, there was no change in
my condition. The chest X-ray I mentioned
revealed that I had inflammation in my
lower left lung that caused a gathering of
fluid, which collapsed a small portion of
that organ.
With the obvious cause of the
coughing and fatigue nailed down,
I wanted to know why my lung had
acted this way without my
permission. During a follow-up
visit with the doctor, one week
later I had an idea of what might
have caused my condition.
The idea came to me like one of
those thoughts you have when you
have eaten something that has
made you sick. Somehow you
instinctively know exactly which
food item, out of all the ones you
may have eaten, was responsible
for, shall I say, the quick trip to the
bathroom. I got that same “aha!”
feeling about what was going on in
my lung.
I had been on a building spree
for more than a month. Because
February in Alabama is generally cold and
wet, I was doing almost all my work
inside. For weeks I had been cutting,
sanding, and gluing everything you would
need to put several scratch-built, electricpowered
foam airplanes in the air.
When I told my doctor what I did with
my spare time and the types of materials I
worked with, I could immediately see in
his face how hard it was
for him to restrain
himself from hitting me
on the side of the head.
(Insert “That ’70s Show”
father figure’s
catchphrase here.)
I think his exact
words were “Just the
paint fumes alone would
be enough to irritate your
lungs if you’ve been
doing this long enough.”
He suggested a room air
filter, a minimum of a
paper mask to keep me
from inhaling airborne
particles, and a promise
to thoroughly clean the
room I worked in before
resuming my building
activities.
At the time I could
not begin to understand
how serious the threat
was or how easy the
solution could be. After
lots of research and
relating my story to
others in the hobby, I learned many
interesting facts and even some urban
legends.
Most people I talked to pointed to the
black dust from the carbon-fiber rods and
spars I would cut with my power tools as
the main source of my problems. I
received many different opinions and
warnings about carbon fiber; they ranged
from do not breathe it to it’s worse
than asbestos.
Almost everyone else blamed
the cyanoacrylate glue or the paint
for my pulmonary condition. I
have been told that the “smoke”
from cyanoacrylate when it cures
is a cyanide gas. Others did not
know what it was but were
positive that it was highly toxic.
Other modeling friends assured me
that I had simply painted the inside
of my lungs and that it would take
the alveoli in them awhile to return
to normal.
Every person who related a
story to me was basing it on a
personal experience and his or her
best safety practices around these
items. I appreciate every one of the
comments and suggestions. In thisarticle I am sharing the facts and solutions
as I have experienced them. This is a
tribute, in large part, to my family of
aeromodelers and those people’s sincere
desire to help.
Carbon-Fiber Fact: This material
contains no known chemicals that cause
cancer. Being exposed to and inhaling the
dust can cause a variety of breathing
problems, including bronchitis, and could
actually impair pulmonary function; that
is, make it hard to breathe.
All information I could find regarding
carbon fiber’s properties, including the
Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) about
Graphite (commonly called “carbon
fiber”), suggests that occasionally cutting
this material requires no respiratory
protection, provided that it is done in a
chemical fume hood with exhaust. That
refers to an industrial level of carbon-fiber
dust, but it should stand as good advice
even though I would not classify the
amount of carbon fiber I cut in my shop as
“industrial.”
A picture in this article shows the
amount of dust created from a carbon-fiber
rod cut roughly halfway through with a
handheld jigsaw.
Cyanoacrylate Fact: Fumes from this
glue are not poisonous. However,
cyanoacrylate’s distinctive odor is highly
irritating to your body’s breathing organs.
The fact that moisture levels directly affect
how quickly or slowly this glueBuilding the Shop Air Filter
Materials List:
• One large cardboard box.
• One box fan. A rotary fan will work as long as you can seal the edges around its frame.
• Two rolls of 2-inch-wide clear packaging tape or duct tape.
• One central air filter. (Its size is up to you.)
• Box cutter or other sharp instrument.
• Sharpie or marker for drawing cut lines.
Assembly Steps:
1) Obtain a large cardboard box. Mine is 6 feet tall and was used to ship a front bumper cover for a new-model Volvo sedan. Local
body shops will probably have many of these boxes.
2) Gather the box fan, the central air filter, and the other items in the materials list.
3) No matter what size central air filter you use (a 20 x 20 x 1, for instance), when you center the filter on the box and trace its outline
for cutting, make the cutout 3/4 inch smaller on all sides. The air filter’s cardboard frame takes up approximately that much room, and this
will help you center the filter on the hole that will be cut. It also gives you something to push against when applying the duct tape to seal
the filter in place.
4) Lay the box fan facedown on the bottom of your box and trace its outline. It is unnecessary to trace the bottom; you will be sliding
part of the fan into the bottom of your cutout for the box fan. Make sure to leave the box-fan control knob and power cord outside the
box.
5) Having marked and cut the holes where your fan and filter will go, seal all edges and overlaps on the box to assure as much of an
airtight seal as you can get. Mine works well with the tape on the outside of these corners and overlaps, but you could seal them from the
inside if your particular box needs the extra help. This also aids in holding the box together for extended use.
6) It is helpful to use the wide packaging tape or duct tape; you can stick half the width onto the box and the other half to the filter and
the box fan for your initial seal. I recommend cutting several lengths of tape 3 or 4 inches longer than the surface you will be taping. That
makes it easier to press down at the center to obtain a good seal between the cardboard and the fan and filter.
7) Place the Shop Air Filter unit where you want it. I situated mine with the fan on the bottom and the air filter above it. It could just as
easily be put on its side and positioned under a workbench or other structure.
I have found that even though a square or rectangular shape is not the best for aerodynamic airflow, it tends to trap many larger
particles in the box simply by allowing no air out except through the filter.
This filter is not intended to be the equivalent of a really nice, high-tech HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air)-type room air filter, nor
will it do anything to remove fumes or odors from your shop.
However, since I started using the filter while working in the shop, I have had no breathing problems during the colder months. In
addition, the unit traps many small particles of wood, foam, and bits of other materials that would otherwise be floating around in my shop
and in my lungs. MA“polymerizes” is what makes it irritating to
our eyes, nose, and lungs. That is also why
the bottle has a label advising its use in an
adequately ventilated area.
The scariest category I could find when
searching for information about
cyanoacrylate was “CA Poisoning.” When
I read the title of that MSDS section, I
thought I had found the smoking gun
regarding this obviously dangerous
chemical, but I was pleasantly surprised by
the warning’s contents.
The MSDS categorized cyanoacrylate
poisoning the same way you would say
that a Python wrapped around your body
and squeezing could be considered
“Python Poisoning.” Fingers glued
together or to other objects and eyelids
also seemed to be a target for this dreaded
poisoning. There’s a new line for Jeff
Foxworthy: “If you’ve ever glued your
eyelids together with cyanoacrylate glue,
you might be an aeromodeler.”
I have a tip regarding cyanoacrylate
glue and your personal-hygiene items. If
you are ever at a flying event that requires
overnight supplies, make sure to store your
cyanoacrylate bottle in a completely
different area from any type of nasal spray
you use for seasonal allergies. The hospital
in Americus, Georgia, came close to
seeing an unusual emergency during the
2007 Southeast Electric Flight Festival. Do
not snort your model-airplane glue!The basic truth about cyanoacrylate glue
is that even forensic scientists and
detectives use a buildup of its fumes to
bring out latent fingerprints on objects from
which they could not normally have lifted a
print. They allow the fumes to build in an
enclosed area with the object inside.
When the object is deemed ready to
retrieve, the investigators must disperse the
fumes and process the object for
fingerprints. Many accounts of this
procedure were that although the odor was
unpleasant, no adverse effects were
reported.
Several stories from fellow modelers
described severe allergic reactions to
cyanoacrylate glue, but all the ones I read
about occurred in people who had worked
with it for long periods. And even people
who were proven to be allergic did not
develop a reaction by simply getting this
adhesive on their skin.
Does this mean it is okay to sniff
cyanoacrylate? Obviously not, but it is clear
that the annoyances with the glue are
physical—not an internal medical matter.
Wood Fact: Wood dust can be harmful.
Furthermore, the American Conference of
Governmental Industrial Hygienists
classifies hardwood dust as a confirmed
human carcinogen (Class 1A, May 1996).
However, balsa wood has no known
adverse chronic health concerns. Some
people have displayed allergies to balsa
dust, and recommendations for working
with any kind of wood that produces dust
include using a mask or respirator. In an
industrial application, ventilation of wood
dust is recommended to reduce the buildup
of potentially explosive airborne dust
clouds.
The good news is that I have never
sanded enough of any kind of wood in the
process of building a model to make
anything that even resembled an airborne
dust cloud. However, better safe than sorry.
Shop-Pollution Solution: None of the
components I have mentioned (other than
hardwood) were shown to adversely affect
the human lungs or pulmonary system in a
permanent way, but the buildup or use of
several of them over time or in quick
succession can provide your body with a big
reason to be angry at you.
I feel certain that the combination of
several chemicals and particulates caused
my problem. Given this new knowledge, I
took steps to correct it.
A friend I had was in the automotiverepair
business, and he had a box that used
to contain a car’s front bumper cover. I
measured the two ends of the box, and they
were close to the 20 x 20 size of the box fan
I had just purchased for $20. Purchasing a
standard household air filter gave me the
other end of my contraption. Heavy-duty
duct tape sealed it all airtight.
I put the fan on the bottom with the air
blowing into the box, knowing that heavierthan-
air objects would eventually make it to
03sig2.QXD 1/24/08 1:36 PM Page 48the ground, where my filter would pull
them inside. You might call the
contraption a type of automatic vacuum.
After roughly a month I noticed that
the larger particles of foam or paper
seemed to be coming back out of the fan,
and I decided it would be a good time to
take it apart to check and replace the filter.
What I found was amazing and a little
scary.
All the tiny particles had gathered in a
thick but loose layer on the inside of the
filter. All the heavier particles stayed
inside the box and continued to blow
around when the fan was operating. When
I fully cleaned out the whole box, I had a
large pile of grayish-white dust I was glad
to be looking at rather than coughing up.
My box fan/cardboard box/household
air filter was simple and cheap, and I havehad no problem since I installed it. When I
am trapped indoors I still use a paper
mask. Those seem to help.
Whenever possible, I sand, paint, or use
chemicals outside. If I have to use them
inside, I turn on my fan and maybe crack a
window for some fresh air. Common sense
is the best guide. But even with common
sense as my guide, I continue to be
amazed.
I recently reviewed the warning label
on a can of water-based polyurethane—a
substance that common sense told me
would be exceptionally safe, probably
because the words “water based” were on
the label. The warning label on the back
told a different story; my favorite method
of putting a protective shine on top of my
models’ paint contains elements I should
be careful not to breathe.
The one-year anniversary of my breathing
problem is still a few months away as I
write this. As did many people I know, I
had to experience the consequences of
living like I was bulletproof before I
realized that the laws of common sense
and human health actually apply to me.
After my condition subsided, I realized
how fortunate I was to be able to continue
to build and fly model airplanes with no
apparent lasting problems. I feel a
responsibility to share this experience with
my family of modelers and anyone else
who cares to know.
I am not attempting to scare anyone
away from the materials mentioned, nor
am I pointing to any one solution as the
cure-all for this issue. We are all different,
with different tolerances and habits, so
only you can decide what, if any of this, to
use to your advantage.
The main point for me is to do my best
to make sure I can continue to perform my
favorite activities and fully enjoy this
hobby for as long as possible, even if I do
glue my fingers together from time to
time. MA
James “Bo” Lovell
[email protected]
Medical Research Sources:
Carbon fiber:
www.2spi.com/catalog/msds/msds11431.ht
ml
Cyanoacrylate glue:
http://ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2004/10/
stuff_eng_tech_ca_glue.htm
www.onin.com/fp/cyano93ltr.html
Cyanoacrylate poisoning:
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/
002894.htm
Balsa-dust inhalation:
http://icorecomposites.com/docs/EGBLRMSDS.
pdf
Epoxy resin/fumes:
http://dermnetnz.org/dermatitis/epoxyallergy.
html
Paint fumes:
www.homeenv.com/paint_fumes.htm
