[mjarus]

Odd question, I am sure. What is in cutting oil and is it really dangerous?

Here is why I ask... I am sure that some of ya'll have seen that ALOT of products now carry a warning by the great state of California that say use of the product may do very nasty things to you. It seems like everything says it now... I even got in some transistors and they have the warning printed on the anti-static bag! Now I am sure that if you ate enough of them you may get an upset stomach, but c'mon... Kinda defeats the purpose of the label and just induces complacency (or paranoia) if you ask me.

Anyways I digress... the cutting oil that I bought had one of the warnings on it. So is it really dangerous to just get on your hands? They label everything now, so who knows what REALLY deserves the label?

mjarus.

[Geof]

The California warnings are sometimes a bit extreme. But some people are sensitive to some cutting oils and will develop dermatitis or some other skin condition. This is not much different to the way some people are sensitive to some detergents or soaps and the solution is the same: If you develop a skin rash or tenderness stop using the substance. It is not very common.

[Zumba]

They label everything now, so who knows what REALLY deserves the label?

Folks in Hollyweird are probably inhaling the stuff, hence the warning labels. (chair)

[lakeside]

The California warnings are sometimes a bit extreme.

Everything about California is extreme for your Governor to cost of living in a place that could fall in to the ocean. But compared to Massachusetts you still might be better off as for cutting fluid if it for just brush on application I like Buttercut made from animal fats and when you use the stuff you shop will smell like a breakfast shop MSC did carry it

[Greg McFadden]

Just go and look up the MSDS for the metalworking fluid you are about to buy (most places have these available online and every single bottle I have bought has come with a hard copy) and see what the warnings are. There is also a simple numbered ranking system if you don't feel like reading the whole thing. For example, safetap ultima has a 0 for health, 1 for flamability, 0 for reactivity. (basically meaning that it is as harmless as anything you are going to find)

This will tell you every hazard with the particular product. The various products out there vary wildly in the "how safe is this to use" category. You have to look up the health effects to have a clue what a particular product's hazards are.

[lakeside]

also you need a fire proof cabinit for storage

[mjarus]

Just go and look up the MSDS for the metalworking fluid you are about to buy

That is excellent advise. I went on-line and looked it up (CRC Industries). As expected, nothing at all to worry about.

Oddly enough, the flux remover that I use has no MSDS. It is odd because flux removers just went under some kind of legislation.

Folks in Hollyweird are probably inhaling the stuff, hence the warning labels.

That and the 10,000,000 lawyers living in CA just waiting to get their hooks into some poor company.

I like Buttercut made from animal fats

Well if they make it in CA, I am sure that PeTA will have something to say about it soon. There is a band called Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS) that has a song called "Fried Chicken and Gasoline". Sounds fitting.

[Geof]

.....There is a band called Southern Culture on the Skids (SCOTS) that has a song called "Fried Chicken and Gasoline". Sounds fitting.

Bit off topic but there is a plant in Carthage, Missouri which processes - to quote the article in the April 'DISCOVER' magazine: 270 tons of "rotting heads, gnarled feet, slimy intestines, and lungs swollen with putrid gases" into 500 barrels of oil that is blended with heavy fossil-fuel oil before refining. Now that is a lovely picture to imagine just before or after lunch.

[lakeside]

You just found out the KFC secret ingredient

[dscolwill]

I have just made a spray mist coolant system for my mill which works really well. I seem to remember reading some health warning but can't remember where. Does anybody know if there are extra hazards if you spray ordinary soluble oil? I don't like the idea of coughing and finding a pair of lungs on the table of the mill as I don't have a container for organic swarf.

[Geof]

Creating a mist of coolant can introduce extra hazards because now you can inhale the mist. For short, infrequent exposure it is probably not a real worry but being exposed to it several hours a day is not a good idea.

[NC Cams]

MSDS's are a FEDERAL mandate. Hence, any chemical that is shipped across state lines has to have one. If requested, the maker HAS to supply a MSDS.

Thus, if you have any recently produced chemical, the maker should be able to supply an MSDS. If there is a "secret ingredient", none the less, it has to be registered with TSCA (I think) in the event of accidental ingestion. The MSDS as well as the package should provide instructions on what to do if the material is toxic and/or has serious health ramificaions (of course, tobbacco is a different topic altogether but it should be obvious that the ingestion of ANY byproduct of combustion should NOT be good for your health).

Serious, get the MSDS from the manufacturer. It will tell you PLENTY about the relative safety of the product....

If you're reading this, you should easily be able to download it SOMEWHERE off the internet - heck everything else is downloadable.....