[TheForge] where do I get?

[Jerry Frost]

As I said Pete I don't recommend anyone expose 
themselves more than necessary. Some folk are more 
susceptible than others. It sounds like you exposed 
yourself to zinc chloride not zinc oxide. Most of 
zinc's toxicity is the result of other metals it's 
alloyed with: Chrome, antimony, cadmium, arsenic, 
cyanide, lead, mercury, etc. etc.

On the other hand I used to cut and weld galvy steel on 
a daily basis and the "blue flu" also known as "Monday 
flu" was well known to me. The first time (early 70's) 
the welding shop foreman pointed me at galvy with 
instructions to torch, grind and weld up the item I 
refused. He took me into the break room and gave me the 
OSHA, DOH and MSDS papers on zinc smoke to read. I was 
really surprised to discover it's not heavy metal 
poisoning, it's water soluble, easily chealted and a 
necessary nutrient. The allowable levels in air have 
been raised at least once since then. They amount to a 
light blue haze in the air for a 40hr. week.

Anyway, around noon monday I'd have a headache, upset 
stomach and a weird taste in the back of my throat as 
the main symptoms. By quitting time the headache would 
be a mild throb and the next morning I'd be fine. The 
rest of the week was just like any other week in the 
welding shop. The sweetish taste in the back of my 
throat was the only persistant symptom I had. Over the 
weekend your system detoxes and monday morning you get 
the symptoms again, hence the term "monday flue." 
Drinking a pint of milk before the start of work and 
another with lunch goes a long way to mitigating it's 
effects.

High exposures one the other hand can cause severe 
reactions and in extreme cases death; Jim (Paw Paw) 
Wilson being a case in point. You know when was the 
last zinc smoke death in the US was? It was I believe 
Jim Wilson and that was an extremely high exposure to a 
smoker with COPD to start with.

You shouldn't take my word for any of this though. The 
following URL says the same thing as every other 
medical or workplace safety site I've read and I go 
through this discussion every so often and have read 
number of sites. This site is just pretty much plain 
english, feel free to do your own search and let me 
know if you find a legitimate site with contradictory 
evidence. Popular sites will say it's a horrible poison 
but only back their opinions with anecdotal testimony 
like, "my uncle Frank welded galvy once and almost 
died! He told me so himself!" (I'm referring to MY 
uncle Frank as a matter of fact.)

http://ceramic-materials.com/cermat/education/291.html

Regardless and make no mistake, I do NOT encourage 
anyone to expose themselves to any kind of smoke more 
than necessary, especially metallic smokes. Things like 
cadmium, beryllium and chromium, arsenic, cyanide, etc. 
etc. are very dangerous and cumulative. Zinc isn't 
anywhere near this class; it just doesn't deserve it's 
toxic reputation.

Frosty
-------------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.

http://www.artmetalradio.com/

From: "Peter Fels And Phoebe Palmer" 
<artgawk at thegrid.net>


>
> Cutting Galvanized tanks
> Jerry;
> I wouldn't be bold enough to disagree with you 
> normally....but..
> Having had metal fume fever ( ZINC SHAKES) from zinc 
> fumes ,3 times worth mentioning...my opinion differs.
> Most evident was the projectile vomiting and 
> crapping...really projectile and very vivid. The gut 
> squeezes shut in the middle somewhere and a violent 
> spastic waves travel both directions at once. Then 
> there's the chills which take over your sensory 
> world.
> It was comparable to heavy chemotherapy.
> I could go on but..that gives you a hint, except to 
> note it seems to be cumulative to a considerable 
> extent.
> A good particle filter will take out a fair part of 
> the nasty stuff. Muriatic acid will remove it pretty 
> well...pf
>