Obviously there's always a risk and I've looked up info online but where is the real area of concern the foam particles after sanding or resin fumes or both. Will an open ventilation system help reduce any potential issues. Just started hanging around and helping a new shaper who doesn't wear goggles either. Any input?
I shape outside and wear a mask. When I'm glassing I wear a full respirator and the same when I'm sanding the hotcoat. The worse thing I have experienced is the sanding dust on my legs. Make sure no matter what you do to clean every bit of dust off the board before you ride it. If you don't you will get the worse rash on your legs that lasts weeks and itches unlike like anything else.
Whenever I shape or glass...it's a full face respirator. I use ventilation as well as have a vacuum system. Additionally, have a compressor on hand to blow that stuff off everything. PU is toxic and EPS is less so but I always get it in my eyes. With some simple technology...risks can be lowered and you can have a relatively clean bay. Have fun...
In short, yes. Lots of risks. I'll leave toxicity out of the discussion because most people at least have an idea about it, or at least know that it exists. What people often don't know is the damage those little particles cause. Ever hear of black lung? Sure, so don't mine coal, and you'll be fine? Ever hear of white lung? Probably not unless you're a baker. Flour (not a toxic substance by most reasonable measures) finds its way into the lungs, beds itself, and by way of normal cellular growth, becomes part of the lung. This leads to interstitial lung disease or ILD, often pulmonary fibrosis (just look it up, but you don't want it). Ever hear of bird handler's lung? Yeah, that's a thing, and it leads to a slow, gasping death. Glass, epoxy, working with blanks, etc. all carry a significant risk. This is not to say that you shouldn't shape boards, bake, or even mine coal if that's your thing, just that you need to take precautions, and take the risks seriously. I would consider a full ventilation system, which probably won't be very expensive. A reused Home Depot mask probably won't do much more than remind you when you have bad breath. This information is not coming from movies or anecdote, I am a trained clinician, and I currently run a pulmonary function testing center in a large NYC hospital . Although my patients are rarely surfers, I see a lot of young people with ruined lives. I myself smoked for over 17 years, and although I'm still able to surf daily and exercise, I'm nowhere near what I was when I was 20. I can see the changes on my own personal test. Just a warning, lung disease is nothing to mess with.
Acetone, styrene, epoxy resin sensititation and the dust. OMG the dust. Not only while working but cleaning and disposing it. In your clothes, your car, your house- it follows you everywhere. You are huffing it constantly even when you think you are clean. Fooling around with it at your pals house backyard shaping is probably no big deal but 30-40 hrs. a week you need chem pro gloves to handle petroleum distillates, activated carbon respirators and Tyvek suits. Acetone & styrene fumes are absorbed through your flesh as well as your lungs and you know how much a curing polyester surfboard stinks. Polyamines in epoxy resin hardener can cause a rash in some. But I have to tell the story of a glasser I knew that glassed w/o gloves using a cigarette as a respirator daily and washed off the resin in the acetone bucket barehanded.
^^^ If you want to avoid 90% of the health risks, stick with EPS/Epoxy, and never touch wet resin or hardener. An N95 mask is all you need to avoid particulates, but the mask has to fit properly, and you should have a clean shave. Clean up tools with distilled white vinegar. If you go with traditional PU/PE, see garbanzo's post above. Your standard particulate "dust mask" type respirator (N95) for shaping is ok, but you need a full on carbon respirator when working with resins, and those long, heavy neoprene/rubber gloves... NOT cheap-o latex or nitrile gloves. Chemi-Pro gloves are best...
