Health Hazards in Optical

[Jubilee]

Well its that time of year again, when all of our stores are promoting Chemical Awareness Month, and updating our Health and Safety training. This year I was a bit more thorough in reading our MSDS sheets due to a developing respiratory problem of my own. While I knew we had some hazards, especially with all the different types of dust present, I still didn't fully realize how many potential issues there were.

I was curious about what health hazards you guys are aware of, and if you have knowledge of anyone in our industry suffering from the exposure they received in the optical industry.

Cassandra

[Spexvet]

Cassandra,
Do not, I repeat, DO NOT voice any concerns about chemical safety to a superior, if you want to be "in good standing" at LC.

[Jubilee]

Too Late !

Fortunately I have some very supportive regional managers and hopefully soon a new GM who will be too. I certainly am not a stranger to the corporate wrath, but for some reason they like to keep me around ;) Well my local management.. not home office!

The unfortunate part is that what was a minor concern a few years ago is now becomign a major one. My lung volumes are well below normal, and the question is why. So far they haven't figured this out, and now suspicion is falling on chemical exposure. Especially since I have developed some know sensitivities to chemicals there.

Whenever I change our filters, be it in the coating hood or the frame buffer... all I can think about is how much of the stuff am I breathing in.. Especially when I see the green rouge particles bonding to the silicone calk that is used on our counter...I have these horrible visions of someone taking a biopsy of my lung and the lining filled with green goo...

Surely someone has knowledge of the health risks associated with the optical lab...

Cassandra

[Jacqui]

Check with Chris Ryser, he's the most knowledgeable that I know of. There are some hazards that everyone in the lab should be aware of.

[Chris Ryser]

Biggest health hazard in your store.....................

I was curious about what health hazards you guys are aware of, and if you have knowledge of anyone in our industry suffering from the exposure they received in the optical industry.

One of the gratest health hazards are MSDS sheets that are not giving you the full truth.

For example MSDS sheets on solvents never mention what these products are doing when heated. The produce fumes which are inhaled by people throughout a lab and also a store if there is not a proper ventilation hood, ventilaring these fuems outside into fresh air. If used in a shopping center or a building with central ventilation you are spreading chemical fumes around the whole building.

One of the most common culprits, and a lot worse than second hand smoke, are the conventional tinting units used just about everywhere.

While some lens dyes do contain poisons, the bad part is Neutralizer which is a solvent based on ethyl or ethylene Glycol. No safety data sheet from companies like BPI, Phantom, Optisource-NuChem and many others does mention what the dangers are when the product is heated. When heated the product produces dumes, which are inhales and the the term ingested becomes valid. Here is an excert of the damage:

swallowing, ingestion

may cause abdominal discomfort or pain, nausea, vomitting, dizziness, drowsiness, malaise, blurring of vision, irritability, lumbar pain, oliguria, uremia, and central nervous systems effects, including irregular eye movement, convulsions and coma. cardiac failure and pulmonary oedema may develop, severe kidney damage follows the swallowing of large volumes of ethylene glycol. may be fatal. few reports have been published describing the development of weakness of the facial muscles, diminished hearing, and difficulty swallowing, during stages of severe poisoning.


effects of acute exposure

refer to route of entry

effects of chronic exposure

repeated contact with skin may cause dermatitis in sensitive individuals. ethylene glycol has been shown to produce dose-related teratogenic effects in rats and mice when given by gavage or in drinking water at high doses or concentrations. also , in a preliminay studyto assess the effects of exposure of pregnant rats and mice to aeosols at concentrations 150, 1000, and 2500 mg/m3 for 6 hours a day throughout the period of organogenesis, teratogenic effects were produced at the highest concentration, but only in mice. the conditions of these latter experiments did notallow a cnclusion as to wehther the developmental toxicity was mediated by inhalation of aerosol, percutaneous absorbtion of ethylene glycol from hogh aerosol concentrations by whole-body or nose-only exposure, it was shown that nose-only exposure resulted in maternal toxicity (1000 and 2500 mg/m3), and developmental toxicity with minimal evidence of teratogenicity (2500 mg/m3) in






NEUTALIZER



a further study in mice in mice no teratogenic effects could be produced when ethylene glycol was applied to the skin of pregnant mice ove a period of organogenesis. the above observations suggest that ethylene gly col is to be regarded as an animal teratogen; there is currently no available nformation to suggest that ethylene glycol is to be regarded as an animal teatogen; there is currently no available information to suggest that ethylene glycol has caused birth defects in humans. cutaneous application of ethylene glycol is ineffective in producing developmental toxicity; exposure to high aerosol is

only minimally effective in producing developmental toxicity; the major route for producing developmental toxicity is perorally. two chronic feeding studies, using rats and mice, have not produced any evidence that ethylene glycol causes dose related increases in tumor incidence, or a different pattern of tumors compared to untreated controls. the absence of a carcinogenic potential from ethylene glycol has been supported by numerous in vitro genotoxicity studies showing that it does not produce mutagenic or clastogenic effects.



Whenever a health inspection is done in an optical business you are supposed to have and produce MSDS sheets on the products you are commonly using. However these sheets do not give you the truth when you are using the product the way it works.

It all boils down to the fact that if you have a tinting unit tucked away in a corner of you lab back of your store you might as well invite anybody, employees as well a s customers, to smoke in your business area as whatever smoke will be there isof no danher to anybody compared to what your tinting unit has be fuming into the breathable space of your store or lab.

Long term damage as mentioned above is on liver, kidneys and possibilty of reproductive organs.I am actually wondering how many people have had health damages from working in optical stores and laboratories and never knew what initiated these problems. And bless the optical lens dye suppliers who have never been taken to court for witholding the truth.

Working with chemicals is safe, when following the rules and recommendations for each product.

The another option is to search the market for alternatives which might allow you to do the same work without toxic and health damaging effects. There are presently products on the market that do the same work as well and do not produce damaging fumes. Just look for water based non toxic tinting products.

[chip anderson]

I have had several friends and associates in the industry die of pancreatic cancer.
But then I still miss good old carbon tetracloride.

[Jubilee]

Ahhh..

Thanks Chris, I was wondering about that..

When I did look at our MSDS for the Neutralizer, I noticed it said that there was no odor, and only minimally caused respiratory irritation..That didn't make sense to me, because I can smell the stuff anywhere in the lab when we don't have the lid on it. When I first came to this store, the former manager wanted to keep the lid off, claiming the reason why it destroyed poly lenses was becasue of the temp... I had fought for a couple of days with him about it, and basically told him if the lid didn't stay on, I was gone..Horrible headaches and that taste in your mouth from the fumes in the air...

Cassandra

[Spexvet]

Cassandra,

Do you still get rid of the coating refuse by having a fan blow on it to evaporate it?

[Chris Ryser]

There is a solution...................

Thanks Chris, I was wondering about that..
Horrible headaches and that taste in your mouth from the fumes in the air...
Cassandra

There is actually a law in the US or at least in many states that you have to vent these fume outside.

Now if you are in a closed space like an office building or a shopping center and can not vent the fume outside you are not allowed to heat a product like a run of the mill neutralizer. Even with the cover on the pot the fumes will escape anyhow.

Your local health department should give you the correct answers.

I developed a neutralizer that is water and surfactant based for use in common tinting units. It works as fast or faster than the common products used everywhere. Non toxic in any state or condition. It can be used for any type of lenses from CR39 to Polycarbonate including all high index lenses without damaging any of them. Water will evaporate but you just replace it with plain water until the solution will not work anymore.
You can see all about it on my website at http://optochemicals.com
No more headeaches or dizzy feelings and no odor on top of it.

[Clive Noble]

It's a MEE TOO answer.... over the last 3-4 years or so I've also developed breathing and coughing problems, I've been through all sorts of tests, and the results show I have chronic sinusitus (according to one doc) or asthma (according to another)

What I do know is that when I'm on vacation away from the lab for over 2 weeks (it does happen occasionally) and I'm not cutting 1.56, 1.6, 1.66 and 1.71 and am not dyeing lenses, the coughing tends to ease up, but the moment I return, we're back on the cough drops.

I did suggest to the various docs that maybe it was due to products in the lab, but they are convinced my problems stem from smoking 5 cigarettes a day for 10 years...... oh yes, I gave up smoking 35 years ago!

Go figure!

[Chris Ryser]

I did suggest to the various docs that maybe it was due to products in the lab, but they are convinced my problems stem from smoking 5 cigarettes a day for 10 years...... oh yes, I gave up smoking 35 years ago!
Go figure!

Clive, how about printing out part of my MSDS sheet posted above and show your doctors.
Maybe you will start thinking about changing your chemicals to something non toxic or invest in a ventilation hood venting to the outside.

[OPTIDONN]

o.k. now you guys have worrying now! What about alloy I always get pieces of it stuck in my skin. Could the lead in it cause any problems?

[Chris Ryser]

lead poisining...................

o.k. now you guys have worrying now! What about alloy I always get pieces of it stuck in my skin. Could the lead in it cause any problems?

Maybe yes. How much I could not tell you as it dont know you daily dose. Get yourself tested for lead poisining and you will have the answer.

Lead poisoning is the number one environmental health problem in the United States and affects many children in the greater New Haven region.

In many countries, including the U.S., lead is one of the most common sources of poisoning in children. Lead poisoning affects young children of all economic backgrounds. Children who are at risk often live in older homes where lead-based paint is not well maintained or where people renovate homes and do not follow necessary safety precautions.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost a million children, age one to five, who were screened from 1991 to 1994 had elevated blood lead levels. Considering about 83 percent of the houses built before 1980 contain some lead-based paint, many more children are at risk for exposure to this toxic metal. Neurological damage from the lead can cause learning difficulties and other problems without the child or parent knowing it. All children should be screened for lead in their blood at least at one and two years of age. The good news is steps can be taken now to prevent or stop lead poisoning.

The Yale-New Haven Lead Program and Regional Treatment Center provides diagnosis and treatment of children with lead poisoning in their Lead Clinic at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital. Educational services about lead poisoning are available at the program's Lead Resource Center. The Lead Safe Home provides alternative housing for families whose children are recovering from lead poisoning. For information call (203) 764-9106.

What is lead?
Lead is a heavy metal found naturally in the earth that has been used in many ways for hundreds of years. Lead was added to gasoline from the 1920s until it was phased out, beginning in the 1970s. Until the 1970s, lead was added to paint used in homes and for another decade it was used in solder to seal food cans and connect plumbing pipes. Because lead does not decompose or deteriorate, it does not go away but remains in homes, in the soil alongside roadways and in some water pipes.

What is lead poisoning?
Even though laws greatly reduced the amount of lead that now gets into our environment, lead is still a significant problem. When any home built before 1978 is renovated without appropriate precautions and lead paint is chipped, sanded or scraped, young children are placed at risk for lead poisoning.

Nearly all cases of childhood lead poisoning in the U.S. are caused by contact with deteriorating or disturbed lead-based paint, or dust or soil contaminated with lead.

When lead gets into the human body, usually through the mouth or the nose, it eventually enters the blood stream and collects in soft tissues of the body, such as the liver, kidneys and the brain. It also settles in the bones and teeth, where it is stored for many years. In young children, even small amounts of lead can damage the brain and the nervous system.

Studies have shown that children with elevated lead levels are at greater risk for learning problems, behavior problems and reduced intelligence. The longer a child is exposed to lead, the more likely it is he or she will have problems.

[Jubilee]

One culprit

Well I believe I found one of the nasties in our lab. The other morning I had the unfortunate experience of walking into the lab and finding HT-825 coating all over the cabinet the machine rests in. In all, I would say the amount was just under a pint.

I notified my GM, and set to work to clean it up with a promise that she would send someone back to be with me. I donned on two sets of gloves, a facial mask, and after checking the tray we place under the coater to help detect leaks (which only had a quarter size amount in the very upper right corner), disconnected the machines to thoroughly get everywhere...

I took breaks every 30 mins or so to go and get fresh air.. It took me about 2 hours to completely clean. All the debris went into a double layered trashbags. Still with all the precautions I took, at the end of the two hours I couldn't even get within five feet of the unit without severely intensifying my headache.

I ended up going on a shuttle run to get out of the lab, and even there I didn't escape the fumes because it had settled on my clothing (I had already changed and bagged up my lab coat) and in my hair...

Two days later, and my breathing which had been under control for the past two months is now worse.. than what it was before. I feel like I have the lung capacity of a snail..

I am going to press this issue with occupational health and my GM. I am especially unnerved by it all, because I am afraid that I will get into trouble because the second person who was supposed to be with me never showed. So therefor, I didn't follow proper safety precautions..Nevermind that I asked, and was promised one on 3 different occasions..

My husband said I should have just evacuated the building then and shut the business down. I didn't think at the time it was that huge of an amount..

Cassandra

[Spexvet]

My husband said I should have just evacuated the building then and shut the business down. I didn't think at the time it was that huge of an amount..

Cassandra

It was wise that you didn't.

Memo

To: All field managers

Re: No-Promotion List

Attention! Please add Cassandra to your No-Promotion list. She is not a team player. In fact she refuses to toe the company line, and has accused the emperor of being naked. Bad, bad, Associate Cassandra. If she makes any additional fuss, exile her to the worst store in the region (or the farthest), as punishment and encouragement to leave.

Cassandra: I recommend that you get out soon, on your own terms, while you still have your health.

Good Luck,
Spexvet