Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
I have been sick for several weeks now. It started with a nasty cough. I have been to my doctor 3 times now. The first time there were no other symptoms. A week later I returned and after chest ex rays, they said I had no fluid in my lungs and was diagnosed with bronchitis.
Now it is a week later. antibiotics have been useless. tonight I started with chest pains, dizziness, and had a huge coughing fit. I finally coughed so hard some stuff and a bit of blood came up. This was the nastiest tasting flem or whatever I have ever tasted and it made me vomit.
I decided to have a co worker take me home and planned to return to the doctor tomorrow. after getting home I realized that this nasty taste, it seemed alot like the odor of the machine coolant from one of the cnc lathes I operate every day.
Now I think I am starting to put some things together.
This lathe, has a nasty looking growth of bacteria along the left side of the door where the rubber scrapes the door to keep the coolant inside when opening and closing the door.
They recently started adding a conditioner to our coolant to help kill this stuff off.
So off to google I go to research this coolant bacteria... OMG, I had no idea. So I find the most common type of bacteria in coolants and start to do some research on it. what I found was some very scary stuff.
I have many of the symptoms of a bacterial lung infection or bacterial pneumonia.
I am worried that my employer will not take me serious about what I think the cause of my illness is.
Has anyone ever had or worked in a place where this has happened? Am I crazy for thinking this coolant is causing my illness?
I have worked here for almost four months, and this bacteria has been on this door sense day one.
Thanks in advance for any replies!
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
I know this thread was posted some time ago but for those of you that are currently experiencing skin rashes or broncial conditions, they may have been caused by the bacteria growth in your coolant. This growth will continue until you even begin to notice an bad odor. The coolant needs to be treated or removed if it is beyond treating. If it has gone on for a long period of time, dumping the coolant, be aware of local ordinances for dumping fluids, is not the only thing to do. The machine itself, (surfaces,hoses,drains) has the bacteria which will grow even in the new coolant. Rashes were a major problem for us caused by contaminated coolant. The bacteria loves the coolant, as the ingredients make great food. We now have a weekly monitoring schedule. We'd test the ph, the concentration, and check for bacteria. We test on Fridays, read the results on Monday and treat the coolant with an anti-bacterial coolant additive if needed. This eliminates the stench that bacteria create and so keeps the guys happy and free of skin rashes and other potential health problems. We used Bug Check BF kits to test for bacteria. Manufacturer is Avalon Int'l. Corp.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
Hi.....some years ago i acquired a drum of neat cutting oil that was going to be thrown out due to them changing brands etc...........long story short......I used this on a manual lathe for various work pieces and started to have a sore throat and continuous coughing .
The warning is............with any cutting oils, especially the ones with special additives etc.......they must be used in a flood situation and not dripped on the job which will make the oil vaporize and form a fog like mist which you can inhale........the end result was I had a sore throat for 3 weeks and a cough for 3 months.
The symptoms are like the onset for a cold or flue......runny nose, sore throat and coughing with no phlegm......there was no cure as it was a luing foreign body inhalation symptom and it eventually went away.
The bacteria from stale and smelly soluble oil based coolant can make you very ill for some time and can also give you dermatitus which is infectious and permanent.
Ian.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
Never ever inhale anything that is emitted by a machine. By all means, protect yourself when handling any sorts of machine.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
I fully agree with you, it is very easy to get infected if you inhale something emitted from the machine, make sure you are safe before doing it.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
Just stumbled upon this as I have lung problems and have had for the last 3-1/2 years. We changed coolant suppliers 4 years ago!
Have you looked at this?
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/g402.pdf
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Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
m0bnd
Just stumbled upon this as I have lung problems and have had for the last 3-1/2 years. We changed coolant suppliers 4 years ago!
Have you looked at this?
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/guidance/g402.pdf
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Also this ......
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health - Metalworking fluids
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Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
Hi......wood fibres are the worst as they are the most common materials used by Man.
Most woods bought off the shelf have anti bacterial products added to prevent wood rot.
Wood dust hangs in the air and is easily inhaled.......also, all woods have a natural inbuilt anti parasite agent that will poison insects when they attack it......that includes Man when he works it.
Ian.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
Take samples into sterile petri dish (amazon will mail to you), take to independent bio lab for culture and id.incubate and id.
Then talk to the boss or a lawyer specialist in industrial things....
I have a buddy going crazy because he won't do this, for himself....
The doctors don't come over to his place and tell him to clean up his act (or coolant)
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
If you know or just think that there are nasties in the work place.........you are perfectly right.
The whole World is a breeding place for bugs and other things that attack you because you taste nice........sterilising everything in sight with more and more powerful chemicals is one way to keep ahead but in the end the bugs will win..
if your immune system can't stay ahead of the bugs you'll be a walking take away for the bugs.
Careful and regular hygiene practices can help you keep ahead slightly.
The simplest solution is to not get your hands wet with coolant or inhale the vapours...........barrier cream before work is a must have.....regular wash down and clean out is also a must do.
Ian..
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
I think that i have been in some of the stinky-ist coolant filled
atmospheres in august @ 90 degrees in the high bay
aerospace shops with 60-70 spindles going 24/7 Fog in the room,
The industrial health people were no where there.
I went to a VP and they had no idea what the condition of guys were working in.thay had A/C
They opened the big hanger doors and had fans on stands.
Well,,,,, so did I in the programming group.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
I worked for a company that made telescopic conveyors in WI, traveled all over the U.S. installing these things. Ended up getting some lung infection that is commonly caused by inhaling bat/bird crap. Started off the day fine, right after lunch I felt feverish and had pain in my armpit, by 6 pm, I was in the ER screaming. I into some **** being in the Army but nothing had me tore up like that did. 3 days in the VA hospital in LA, when trump was campaigning at the Anaheim Convention Center. Crappy day to get out of the hospital, couldnt get to my hotel room until 9 pm.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
Well, one guy I knew (past tense) said he'd rather work in crappy conditions and die at 50 from a health related illness than be out of work without any money until he was 90........lung cancer cures all evils and money smooths the way..
If your work place is a hazard zone it's your choice to stay there.
It's only when you get to 50 and the medications you're on don't work any more that poor health from early years of neglect come home to bite you.
Ian.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
Pretty sure thats going to be the most real thing i read all day!!! Everything in life is a choice, either reap the rewards or suffer the consequences.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
At my day job I am the Environmental, Safety, and Health director for a construction company. I have little experience in safety matters in machine shops outside of the one I have in my home garage. This in mind, and having looked at the safety data sheets for my coolant, there is some pretty nasty stuff in there. Knowing that coolants can be wide ranging in chemical content I recommend asking your employer for safety data sheets, they are compelled by law to provide those if requested (U.S.). The same is true of the manufacturers, as a part of the globally harmonized hazard communication system you should be able to get the safety data sheet directly from the manufacturer if your employer fails to provide them. As far as bacterial infection, it certainly seems possible, though determining how likely would require some study. The problem with having a single case where an employee got a respiratory condition is that the evidence is anecdotal at best. Now if you have two or more employees with the same condition then a case can be made. Simply pulling a bacterial sample won't do a lot of good. We breath bacteria all day long and there is little doubt that bacteria could survive in the coolant. In fact anti-bacterial ingredients are prominent in many coolant mixtures, what matters is the type of bacteria. More specifically, can that type of bacteria withstand pumping, aeration, flow, atomization, etc. and if it can is it a type of bacteria that is dangerous when inhaled? That's a lot of ifs and some serious science would have to take place to properly evaluate the situation. Simply finding bacteria in the coolant only proves that that coolant needs replaced, it does not indicate any immediate safety concerns because hopefully nobody is coming in direct contact with the coolant that is in the tank. The steps between the tank and exposure are significant.
There are a variety of personal protective devices that can probably help, but nobody likes those and they require adequate training. Ideally some engineering controls would be in place and management would be cognizant of the safety and health challenges they face. Air exchange volumes in the work space might need adjustment, filtering of the air might be effective, or enclosures might need improvement on the machines themselves. Of course, there might not be any danger at all, the coolant might not be carrying any harmful bacteria. Unfortunately, safety is often a reactive system and in my experience many small business hardly have any safety programs at all, never mind a program capable of proper industrial hygiene studies.
Re: Bacterial lung infection/pnemonia from inhaling contaminated mwf?
How can this disease be related to diabetes?