Driftwood Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 Has anyone read the msds that details the short and long term effects of plastisol? What happens when you burn or scorch the plastic? Is proper ventilation enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bass-Boys Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 very good question ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBehr Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 (edited) Here is a post I did on the custombaits.com a few years ago: The primary ingredient in our soft plastic is PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) which is everywhere in our lives. When you add a plasticizer you get a "soft" PVC that are used in children's toys, teething rings etc. You can also find it on the cage of your dishwasher and other places that might make you nervous if you knew what it was! Due to the low melt point...it is not used in any cooking containers...plus there is a significant issue with burning PVC (see below). If you add enough plasticizer...you get "soft plastic baits". The good news is that SOME plastic are phthalate free. Phthalates have been linked to cancer and disruptions of the hormone system. If you are using a plastic that has pthalates (only a few are phthalate free because phthalate is a cheap plasticizer) I would REALLY not use it around the kids. If you read the MSDS or talk to an Industrial Safety person or Chemical Engineer they won't be especially concerned about PVC....but... BUT ...that's the end of the good news! The BAD news is that when PVC starts to burn it releases VERY toxic fumes in the form of chlorine (PVC is approximately 50% chlorine) and dioxin which are very...very toxic. When the chlorine from burning PVC reaches your lungs (or eyes) it forms hydrochloric acid (as in the stuff they used to gas enemy troops in WW1 !!!!). If PVC is burning you have a "toxic event" and you need to clear the area! This is also why you need to wear a Respirator when heating PVC...because if you goof up (and we all do !) and the stuff starts to smoke and burn.....YOU HAVE A TOXIC EVENT! Burning PVC (like in carpet, toys, luggage, toys, packaging, siding on the house, wires, etc. etc) is one of the reasons why Firemen wear oxygen masks Edited August 4, 2016 by DaBehr 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 DaBehr, Back in the '50's my friends and I used to play war with plastic army men, and sometimes we'd light one on fire, so we could bomb the others with dripping plastic. Was the plastic back then made from PVC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitjunkys Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 Just because it is sold as Phthalate Free, question its value. Its like frozen turkey, as long as it was never below 31.2 degrees (Just saying, don't know the actual number of the top of my head) it can be sold as fresh. Same with Phthalates, USA has a standard number at which it can be advertised as (Free)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBehr Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 DaBehr, Back in the '50's my friends and I used to play war with plastic army men, and sometimes we'd light one on fire, so we could bomb the others with dripping plastic. Was the plastic back then made from PVC? Me too! I don'the know that it was made from PVC, but probably. PVC has been around since the mid 1930's . It's cheap and easy to modify and process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 Me too! I don'the know that it was made from PVC, but probably. PVC has been around since the mid 1930's . It's cheap and easy to modify and process. I do remember it stunk, and was nasty to breathe, when it burned. But it made cool special effects! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ipt Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 i'm not educated on the topic but my guess is that like most health issues these days, it's blown out of proportion. yes it is definitely not good for you, but what is? everything causes cancer, we just dont know enough about these things to really know the full details. do your best to ventilate your area, keep your kids and pregnant wives away from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_White Posted August 4, 2016 Report Share Posted August 4, 2016 Bottom lines is that humans were designed to breathe air, which can be kinda funky all on it's own, but it's not generally toxic. Pay attention, don't scorch the plastic and use good ventilation. If you can feel yourself breathing the vapors, you're not ventilated well enough. I try not to put my trust in respirators, I use a strong window fan which pulls the fumes away from my work area to the outdoors, even in the wintertime, I just crank up more heat as needed. 40+ years as a mechanic/welder/fabricator on diesel trucks, I have breathed enough crap, I don't want my hobby to kill me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlowFISH Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 Bottom lines is that humans were designed to breathe air, which can be kinda funky all on it's own, but it's not generally toxic. Pay attention, don't scorch the plastic and use good ventilation. If you can feel yourself breathing the vapors, you're not ventilated well enough. I try not to put my trust in respirators, I use a strong window fan which pulls the fumes away from my work area to the outdoors, even in the wintertime, I just crank up more heat as needed. 40+ years as a mechanic/welder/fabricator on diesel trucks, I have breathed enough crap, I don't want my hobby to kill me. +1.... My throat/nasal passage is very sensitive to "contaminants" after years of not being smart with dust/fillers/etc.... I always use a respirator with filters (a 3M one - not a cheap 50 cent dust mask) and have a strong fan pulling the air out of the location I work in. When I do this - I have no issues at all (that I can tell)... but if I spend 5 minutes without the respirator - I can start to feel it in my throat/nose. It doesn't take much or long for this stuff to start to effecting you - being smart about it each time is wise advice as implementing safety after it's already done its damage doesn't really do much for you! J. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Braided Line Posted August 5, 2016 Report Share Posted August 5, 2016 Unless your a "huffer' that`s not an issue I give a second thought about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayburnGuy Posted August 6, 2016 Report Share Posted August 6, 2016 The thing about these types of contaminants is that they are cumulative over time. I don't pour plastics, but have worked in a lot of places where inhalation hazards were a serious concern. By the time you begin to notice the effects some of these hazards are having on you it can be too late. The damage will already have been done. Ben 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenshinner Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 The head of a plastics research department here locally that I was chatting with said,he banned vinyl plastics from his department..only plastic type that he viewwed as dangerous..we had this discussion.somewhere here before..even.phalate.free might have some phalates since most suppliers.are rebranding.and don't really know.how there product was made.. The head of a plastics research department here locally that I was chatting with said,he banned vinyl plastics from his department..only plastic type that he viewwed as dangerous..we had this discussion.somewhere here before..even.phalate.free might have some phalates since most suppliers.are rebranding.and don't really know.how there product was made.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenshinner Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 In theory. You should have fume hood evacuating fumes outside..full face mask with separate air source fed via hose that's suitable grade air to breathe..and gloves to handle both unreacted,and final reacted plastic ..as once pigments are added constant exposures of dyestuf is bad news..it builds up in liver.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark poulson Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 And prolonged exposure makes you repeat yourself, repeat yourself, repeat yourself, repeat yourself,.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
