Posted by Larry Hoover on October 25, 2004, at 9:12:45
In reply to Re: Q about paint dust » Larry Hoover, posted by gromit on October 25, 2004, at 6:44:25
> Hi,
>
> Well I guess this question is for Larry since he is the toxic stuff expert. Do you know anything about exposure to isocyanates?Not specifically, but I'd understand fully anything that I found in toxicity references.
> I worked in the auto body business for 10 yrs. or so and breathed alot of paint, primer and other nasty things. All of the stuff had labels warning about isocyanates but I was young, dumb and full of mostly pizza and THC.
Ya. I drove chemical tankers. Nasty fumes, sometimes.
> I sprayed a ton of this stuff without a respirator. Not to mention rubbing compound etc which also had alot of warnings. I'm wondering if this could be a partial cause of my problems.
>
>
> Thanks
> RickWell, I don't know just what your problems are, so it might be hard to link them, eh?
First off, there are isocyanates and then there are isocyanates. Very broad chemical category, but they are very reactive chemicals. Bhopal India/Union Carbide was an isocyanate exposure incident.
The most likely damage is respiratory. Some of that damage is permanent, I'm afraid. Expect problems with diminished capacity for oxygen uptake, via various mechanisms. If you are a smoker (of anything), quit.
There's a lot of other nasty stuff floating around paint shops. Solvent exposure (all quick-drying paints are quick-drying because of the volatility of the carrier solvent) is linked to permanent cognitive impairment and memory difficulties. However, new information about brain plasticity does suggest that you can restore some brain function by working your brain. Just as with muscle, use it.
I'm not going to get into too many details of my own history, but let it be said that I ought not to have a functional brain right now, given what I exposed it to.
Work that brain, dude. Mental pushups.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:381874
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/health/20041005/msgs/406959.html