possum1284 Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 hi i was just wondering if there are any health concerns associated with Abalam dust. i accidentely sand a tiny bit of of the dot inlays of my frett board producing a tiny amount of Abalam dust. ive heARD abalone dust is very dangerous and has a similar effect to asbestos(carcinogean, abnormal heart rhythm). would Abalam pose the same risks. Also i assume health effects would occur as a result of prolonged esposure. adam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 Not a carcinogen as far as I know. May cause silicosis (I think that's the term) if you breathe in enough of it over time. A little accidental contact won't hurt you. Use a dust mask if you're cutting/sanding shell... or any wood or finish for that matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possum1284 Posted April 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 (edited) Not a carcinogen as far as I know. May cause silicosis (I think that's the term) if you breathe in enough of it over time. A little accidental contact won't hurt you. Use a dust mask if you're cutting/sanding shell... or any wood or finish for that matter. ive heard abalone dust is deadly. i was actually trying to polish the dot inlays on my neck and a tiny bit of dust was produced. im never cutting or sanding the stuff again. was just wondering if i should go to the doctor. Also the abalone or whatever the inlay material is on my frettboard, is it safe to touch after i accidentilly took a tiny bit off( dust was produced)? actually im pretty sure silica is a carcinogean, but to my understanding i would have to have prolonged exsposure to be effected. Adam Edited April 27, 2006 by possum1284 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 All dust is dangerous, and can cause (mechanical) lung damage, but...PubMed searches on pearl worker turn up nothing re: increased risk of silicosis. Still, wear a respirator, and/or run a vacuum. Just to be safe. Wood dust, now there's a known 'nasty'. All of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitey Posted April 29, 2006 Report Share Posted April 29, 2006 i'm actually scared now :| Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 ive heard abalone dust is deadly. i was actually trying to polish the dot inlays on my neck and a tiny bit of dust was produced. im never cutting or sanding the stuff again. was just wondering if i should go to the doctor. Also the abalone or whatever the inlay material is on my frettboard, is it safe to touch after i accidentilly took a tiny bit off( dust was produced)? actually im pretty sure silica is a carcinogean, but to my understanding i would have to have prolonged exsposure to be effected. Adam I'm not a medical professional, so take that into consideration, but from what I've read the rumors that the shell dust is deadly were true before, when asbestos was used in some grinding phase to process the shells to shell blanks. Today that kind of methods aren't used any more for obvious reasons. The shell dust is quite harmless to the touch. My hand was always covered with the stuff when I was sawing blanks. As was said, the only hazard comes if you breathe the dust into your lungs. Shell dust just like any other dust can cause harmful effects over time. Even if the dust itself isn't toxic. i.e. is inert. I'd imagine it would be easy to get winded, if your lungs were half filled with dust. Abalam is just thin shell layers glued together. I'd imagine the glue dust could be even more dangerous than solid shell dust. So wear a mask. And vacuum the dust away so it won't be swirling in the air after you have removed the mask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanb Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 Shell dust is abrasive to the lining of the lungs, and a mucus covering forms around it. The dust is trapped in permanently, and over time can lead to difficult breathing and decreased lung capacity. Be safe and use a mask and/or a vacuum when cutting shell to control the dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crafty Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 blah...blah...blah... Seriously, do you people stay awake at night dreaming this crap up or what? If you're that concerned about harmful dust getting into your lungs--DON'T BREATHE!! We're all going to die of something someday, and I seriously doubt it's going to be from cancer caused by shell dust. More likely it'll be from all the Twinkies you're eating while sitting in front of the computer for 12 hours a day, not from the little dot of abalam inlay on your PRS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 Probably not the shell dust, but the incidence of lung and oro-naso-pharyngeal cancers among (amateur) woodworkers is significantly higher (factor of 3 or so) than among the general population. Amateurs are particularly at risk because their exposure is often high due to lousy respiratory protection and non-existant dust collection systems. Wear a dust mask when you make dust. It's cheap, it's easy, it's the smart thing to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 It's cheap, it's easy, it's the smart thing to do. Hell's bells, if everybody did that then old Dr. House would be out of business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 It's cheap, it's easy, it's the smart thing to do. Hell's bells, if everybody did that then old Dr. House would be out of business. Heheh... what can I say, if things go as planned with my chosen carreer path[1], it's not people with lung/respiratory cancers that I'll be seeing/treating. It's the twinkie-eating ones. [1] Cardiology Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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