safety alert - brake cleaner/welding

[Ken McIntosh]

Jul 25, 2009 10:14:42 GMT -4 T-Dogg said:

Wow thanks for posting.

Make sure Ken reads this.

Da
Dogg

We were'nt using the mig but we were using the torch to loosen up the star adjusters on t-dogs rear shoes.After things were freed up I proceded to "clean" up the shoes and such.As soon as the the cleaner hit the star adjuster it turned to smoke and had quite a bit stonger odor than normal.I turned on the exhaust and opened the door and it cleared away pretty quick.Not as bad as the other stories but still surprised both of us how toxic it had become.
Another story.--- At the jam this year trying to remount my tire on the rim after I lost the bead on cranfields revenge we were trying different products to explode the tire back on the bead.My brake cleaner was non-flamable but I had some bug dope that was very flamable so we tried that.The smoke from the bugdope almost knocked me out. I seriously had to back the fawk off.I thought I was going to vomit and pass out at the same time.No lingering effects but sure scared me at the time.

[DamnJeep]

I'm sure anyone who has worked around this stuff long enough has similar stories.

I know from personal experience how nasty it can be. Sprayed some stuff down with brake cleaner. Let it dry (was the flammable kind so didn't want any fires". Thought it was dry but there was still a bit of film and pockets of wet that I didn't notice.

Pretty much as soon as I started welding it puffed more smoke than normal which sucked the breathe out of my lungs! I was sitting on the floor at the time and leaned away from what I was welding and bailed out of the shop gagging and spitting everywhere. Aired out the shop and called it a night.

Went into the house still feeling a bit woozy and joked with Debbie that I just shortened my life by another couple of years...

After reading that article it seems like I was closer to the truth that I realized!

Thanks for posting. A very enlightening read. I think I will print off the article and take it to work. I know we've all done it before but its only caught me once. Lucky. I think that since I've been at it so long I just take things for granted.

[Creepy]

Jul 25, 2009 9:16:06 GMT -4 Trever said:

I agree Scott! This article should be stuck in the Fab section as a good reminder! Very good post Jan!!!

I had a similar but less serious event happen to me at work yesterday. For those who dont know, Im a Refrigeration/AC tech. Yesterday I was brasing refrigerant lines in a refrigerated case. Once the torch hit the refrigerant vapors the case started filling up with white smoke. Now Ive done this many many times. Anytime im in a confined space I will use my respirtator. I had just a couple joints to repair so didnt think it was a big deal. All of a sudden it hit me! My eyes started to get blurry. My chest got very heavy and I started seeing flashing lights. To put it simple,,,I was about to pass out on the floor at Sobeys in Yarmouth. I shut the torch down. Stood up and tried to take a breath of air but my lungs were very tight. It hurt trying to breath. I was trying my hardest not to draw any attention to myself so I just stood there leant up side the case trying to catch my breath and regain my composure. About 5 minutes past and I finally gained the confidence to try walking. I went to my van and sat in there for about an hour. It took about 30mins or so for me to loose the feeling of passing out. It took a couple hours for my heart to finally beat normal. Lastnight I didnt feel too bad. Still felt a little shaky. My lungs didnt hurt anymore. I was extremely tired tho. Today I feel fine.

Certain refrigerants when exposed to a flame will create phosgene gases. The refrigerant I was working with yesterday when exposed to fire created Hydrogen Chloride.

Moral of the story. Now I will use my respirator EVERY time!! Its not worth the risk!

Be safe everyone!

The article talks about after effects that didn't show for weeks. you should get checked out.

[Trever]

Well...so far so good! The biggest side effect ive had so far is the feeling of being humbled! That wasnt the first time it had happened to me. Im sure im ok. I will be making sure I take every precaution now to make sure it doesnt happen again!!!!

Thanks for the concern Jan!

[Hawkes]

Common soaps mixed with bleach do the same thing, make a toxic gas, or rather release the chlorine from the bleach when mixed. I worked in the meat dept of a grocery store when I was a teen evenings weekends and summers. On Saturdays my job was to completely clean out the meat cooler, scrub walls, clean and change blades on the grinder, clean floors etc. My first Saturday wing nut in charge thought it would be funny to dump a bottle of Javex and a couple of cups of floor degreaser in my mop bucket and send me in the cooler. I kept coming back out telling him I couldn't stand it but he'd shove me back in and close the door. I found out later the two should never be mixed. I'm not sure it would kill you but it burns your lungs and your eyes.

[jeepfever]

It goes without saying that you should always weld in a well ventilated area especially if using flux core wire

I've read this posting regarding the hazards of combining brake cleaners & heat on a number of forums. I don't think most of us gave it a thought

By the way last week while welding a new floor in my Jeep we noticed some sort of coating on the steel we used that smoked pretty bad, probably noxious too. I guess I could have done more prep work

[Pleasant Lake Pirate]

Sent this along to my old instructor of the ASR course at the NSCC in yarmouth. He's a safety nut and I'm sure that article will find its way to students desks in short order lol