Oh dear.. MDF Wood dust...?

Ok... first off... I have never heard of any case of cancer caused by breathing in MDF dust. I recall one study that showed a POSSIBLE "specific" cancer risk to mice or rats, that had been massively overexposed to certain softwood dust. And it was NOT a type of cancer in humans.

There have been lots of studies of all kinds with lab mice and rats... and you know what? ANYTHING in a massive overdose will cause problems.

MDF is not carcinogenic from a single exposure. It has not even been shown to cause cancer from repeated exposure over many years.

If you ate about a pound of it, at one sitting, it could make you sick, possibly kill you, if you were a small individual.

MDF is made of wood which has been ground into a flour. Which type of wood depends on where it is made, but most of the time it is a mix of hard and soft woods. The 'glue', or binding agent, is a combination of formaldehyde, and/or isocyanates. It has not been shown to be a problem with 'off gassing' the formaldehyde during machining, over a period of time.

What you ARE likely to experience, is an allergic reaction, or irritation, from contact. Isocyanates are used in a lot of manufacturing processes.... if you smell it... you're already overexposed. The result? Flu like symptoms. Formaldehyde has also been shown to cause some respiratory irritation, as has several types of wood dust.

The most common complaints from breathing in MDF, or any wood dust, are runny nose, and eyes.... if you were to get a good dose in your lungs, you'd probably have some signs of bronchitis. You'd be coughing, trying to clear it out of your lungs. This would clear up in a matter of days.

Constant repeated exposure to any kind of wood dust may make you more sensitive to colds... your colds would seem to hang on longer, etc.

Now.... while you should be reassured that you're not going to develop cancer because you breathed in the dust one time....you should NOT make a practice of doing any kind of wood sanding without a dust mask. A common NIOSH approved dust mask (which you can find at any hardware store) will protect you. At certain times of the year, you may suffer more from pollen in the air, than wood dust... but its a good idea to limit exposure where you can. That's just a good policy to live by.

Here is a link to a Material Data Safety Sheet from Temple Inland, a manufacturer of MDF -

http://www.templeinland.com/PDF/msds/mdf_msds.pdf

In it, you can see all the known or potential hazards and recommended limitations of exposure.

It is always a good idea to work safely. Limit your exposure to any kinds of dust, whether it be wood, MDF, even talcum powder, or dust from farming, landscaping, etc.... Why suffer the possible irritation when you don't have to?

If you suffer from asthma, you may have a more severe reaction to dust irritation than those who don't.

While we are on the subject of safety in the work place -- You should be wearing hearing protection when any machinery is running. I know woodworking equipment can be quite noisy, hehehe. Wear ear plugs or 'muffs', whichever is more comfortable for you. Always wear safety glasses. Use a dust mask whenever sanding, and a respirator mask when using chemicals (a dust mask with a charcoal filter lining will handle most situations, but there may be an occasion or two, when you should wear a full respirator). The saws should have safety gaurds installed at ALL TIMES. There is no excuse for running a saw without a gaurd. There is ALWAYS some way to protect your fingers from the blade, no matter what you are running on the saw... I know, I've built a lot of jigs and fixtures myself over the years...even using saws to create corner trim, and moulding!

Always be aware of the machine, and the cut off switch. CARELESSNESS causes more accidents than anything else in the workplace. I once had an employee, who had worked in the woodworking industry for over 40 years....he got in too big of a hurry, and pushed his thumb into a table saw blade... and there were several push sticks laying right there on top of the saw.

Be Safe -- and Have Fun (woodworking has been a lifelong enjoyment of my own)

1

Working With Mdf

Mdf Dust

This Site Might Help You.

RE:

Oh dear.. MDF Wood dust...?

Well, in wood work I was sanding a bit of MDF with no mask, and it was quite dusty as it was like a big plank, I was sanding it and then my Woodwork teacher told me people get cancer from breathing in MDF dust, now i'm quite scared, if you have any questions i'll add it in.

I breathed in a bit I...

Agreeing with above, just wanted to point out- as with most things, there's a time and quantity factor, too. You're not going to get cancer from sanding mdf with no mask for 30 minutes one time. If you sand mdf every day in a shop for 8 hours with no mask for 20 years, you're pretty well guaranteed to do some damage. Just like breathing in spray paint while working a few times here and there. Not going to add up to enough toxins to hurt you. Or drinking diet coke- you're not going to get a brain tumor from a few sodas here and there. And your liver won't die from a few beers here and there. You've got to have a whole lot more exposure to any toxin for it to do real damage. Of course, there are exceptions, but for stuff like this, don't worry yourself.

And yes, stress and anxiety can definitely make you feel ill. I've been ill all week from stress at work! You'll be fine!

Relax. Any damage will be years coming.......and you have plenty of opportunity to contaminate yourself with other stuff. People were sanding MDF for years before anyone said, "Wait, this stuff has toxins in it." Nobody dropped dead on the spot.

Yes, worry will cause you to be ill. Indeed everyday we are bombarded by "don't do this" to where your mind turns off. It is good to be aware but not to the point of being paranoid.

The human body, especially a young healthy body, repairs itsself when under attack. It's the acute problems or prolonged, long term attack that break down the system.

So you made a mistake. Very, very minor. Get on with life, but just be careful when dealing with toxins.

If you are planning to start on your woodworking project, this isn't something you should use, it's something that you would be insane not to. Truth is, I've been a carpenter for almost 36 years, and I haven't found anything like this for less than 10's of thousands of dollars.

Download 16000 Woodworking Plans Projects?

You are probably tired of looking through stacks and stacks of projects on woodworking in magazines and books of all kinds for some instructions on how to do a certain project. Here is a site which offers 16000 plans https://tr.im/4BVlT

How would you like to have woodworking plans (actually thousands of them) available to you anytime you wanted them. It would be so easy when you do not have to paw through all kinds of old magazines but have it right there at your fingertips.

2