o.k. did a hamb search and google search,but came up with nothing,i've had a 10 hour osha and 30 hour osha but i haven't found anything on breathing in rust,i know it probably isn't good but does anyone know how bad?
Its only oxidized iron right? The body already has Iron in it, thats why they say blood is red. BUT I don't know what it does to the lungs and such. But, I would say don't worry bout it too much, but don't go and sand rusty stuff where the rust is flying everywhere for more than an hour, otherwise it might be a good idea to get a mask. Just to be on the safe side. I'm just grasping at straws, I'm sure someone will come by with some real answers.
Good question, I am sure somebody out there will have an idea where to look even if it is not on our forum. I would also suspect breathing in other stuff like bondo dust and paint over spray would be also on your list then.
I've breathed in so much rust in the past that I was blowing black crud out of my nose two days later. I can't help you on the effects but my guess is it ain't good for you.
If you think about it,,it's pretty organic,,nothing at all like manmade solvents or catalysts,asbestos or isocynates. Just my observations.
yeah,smoking and drinkin' ain't good either,like i said as much safety crap as i went through for work i should were a mask whenever i'm sanding bondo or sanding paint but the only thing that scares me is scillica dust,just wondering if rust was worse or no biggy.
You are inhaling metal into your lungs. This could cause an infection such as pneumonia if it is not removed when coughing. Yes this is not good. Rust is oxidized metal. I would not do it. On the web.
Actually, not organic at all, since all organic compounds must contain carbon. It may be a natural metallic compound, but so are lead,mercury,and others that aren't so great to include in your body. Inhaling rust isn't going to do you any more good than blowing rust into your engine's cylinders.
Inhalation of iron particles can cause siderosis which, while perhaps benign, may casue nodules in the lung,as well as pneumoconiosis and inflammation of lung tissues. There was research in the '70's that pure iorn oxide may not have caused disease, but it was one study of 14 iron workers. Beyond that is the fact that your rust is likely not pure,but may well contain heavy metal particles and other contaminants that may be carcinogenic, And any dust inhaled can ultimately cause fibrosis and loss of lung function. Why take a chance? It just makes sense of you are creating lots of rust, or other dust, to wear a mask or respirator.
I should have included "Benign",,,,,,,,can't dare say that about the others I listed though. No comparison.
Just one point. The iron in your blood, and the iron we're talking about here are two different things.
i've got masks just to lazy but i know better,hard to smoke with a mask on,guess i'm getting older i have an almost 4 year old running around and i want to live a little longer,if i knew i was gonna live this long i woulda took better care of myself.
Here's some food for thought.Take into concideration all the shit that was manufactured back in the day with asbestos.Are you really willing to breath anything that is has old as some of the shit we grind on.....I think not.There were so MANY products that had coatings that had that killer shit on it....Just saying
Hey i've breathed in a ton of rust, undercoating or some tarlike flammable stuff, and fiberglass from my Studie, but I am still alive and an able bodied athlete so I think you should be ok.
Prolonged breathing of Iron Oxide(rust) can cause lung irritation and lead to COPD. Not something you want to deal with unless you think it's cool to carry around a bottle of oxygen all the time.
Sounds like you've already been breathing it in for years. Might be a little late to be asking this question...
Avoid it or wear a N95 particle mask... I wish I had started doing earlier! After 30+ years of dust, paint, chemicals, welding fumes, & exhaust I have the beginnings of some nasty spots in my lungs and shortness of breath...
never to late to start wearing a mask, there are always dangers of breathing in any kind of dust. If you are only doing one single small project then I wouldn't get to worried but if it something that you do for a living then I would always wear some type of respirator.
I get chest infections easily if I'm around alot of dust and smoke. Actually when I'm out of work I don't get sick and when I'm working I get everyone's colds it seems. I'm a carpenter. I try to avoid dust but you always get some. Breath slowly and deeply through your nose. it filter the air. If you don't smoke you should have healthy villia. They are little hairs that move impurities up out of your breathing passages in the flow of mucus. I think why I get the colds is not the amount of dust but my long term exposure. It used to be thought that zinc oxide fumes from welding galvanized were poisonous because they sent people to the hospital with flue-like symptoms and serious breathing difficulty. It was thought there was some buildup of toxicity because over time you would become more and more sensitive to it. In actuality it is something they call metal Fume Fever. It's an allergic reaction from long term exposure to some irritants but it is still a serious situation. silica sand dust is so small it gets in your lungs and can't get out. It's called silicosis when it gets bad. Too much of any dust does the same thing, your drowning in dust and losing real estate down there from scarring The body encapsulates it in fibroids, just scar tssue. Silica however can cause a form of cancer like mesothelioma from asbestos. some people who got exposure to asbestos had no symptoms, some got emphasyma, some got asbestosis and some got mesothelioma. The majority of asbestos exposures that got mesothelioma also were smokers the two are double bad together. the asbestos is an irritant and the tobacco smoke can react with the cancer gene if it's present. the asbestos infection subjects the cells to abnormal environment that can unlock other genes. cancer is part genetic, part environmental but anyone can lose their breathing ability. as long as my lungs hold out on me at least as long as everything else I won't have a complaint. at least my body is good at eating scar tissue.
Lungs are designed to extract oxygen from air. No kind of dust, smoke, or fumes is really good for your lungs. Disposable masks are really cheap, especially when you consider the problems you can prevent by using them.
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