Chemical Safety Reminder

[extropic]

I'm writing this to relay a little of my circumstances, in the hope it will prevent others from being as nonchalant, as I have sometimes been.

I've recently been diagnosed with a tumor in my left kidney. The discussion so far is to have the entire kidney (and other bits) removed. This is all very recent. I won't meet the Urologist that will do the surgery for another two weeks.

My point here is to relay some of the questions/comments of the Urologist who diagnosed the tumor. If any of the issues apply, forewarned is forearmed. This is pretty real to me and I hope it helps you avoid such problems.

Q. Do you or did you smoke?
A. No.

Q. Did anyone around you smoke?
A. Mother, always and plenty.

Q. What was your occupation?
A. Aerospace (retired as Principal Mechanical Engineer).

I don't think I was very exposed to toxics there but, maybe. The Urologist commented on his experiences with many local (Los Angeles area) aerospace workers.
It's not hard to find examples of world class environmental damage at aerospace companies near his practice.

I volunteered that I had been a gear head and a hobby machinist and could relay too many stories of being deep into unhealthy conditions without, what we now know to be, the proper PPE.

They can't point to a "smoking gun" that has caused my tumor. Maybe it's genetic (he didn't ask me about family history) and unavoidable.

Bottom line = I implore you to spend the bucks and take the time to always protect yourself with the proper PPE.

Having a kidney removed is not going to be fun or a win in any way.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled programing. Take care.

 

[Aukai]

Thank you for the reminder, at one time I was working for a crash fire dept. 1800 gallon fuel burns for practice, no breathing PPE in the proximity suits, I have lung issues now. So taking care now is important. Best wishes for your recovery.

 

[rabler]

Best of luck going forward. Keep us updated. Cancer is scary, and definitive pinpointing of a cause is almost impossible. The medical system of waiting for the next appointment or step can be aggravating.

 

[mmcmdl]

I had to get a CT scan a few weeks back and have my return follow up with the Urologist this week . I may have passed a kidney stone but we'll find out for sure . As far as working without the proper PPE , I know all about it . Grinding fiberglass and carbon fiber parts on the drones years back when they were considered " nuisense (sp) dusts " by the company then working in a chemical factory for 15 years . Many of my former co-workers have passed at very young ages .

 

[B2]

I wish you guys the best.

 

[cathead]

Most importantly, I wish you the best with your recovery.

Now on to my thoughts on the subject at hand. There are a lot of man made chemical agents
as well as natural ones to be aware of. As far as aviation is concerned, the exposure to hexavalent
chromium is a major concern to me. Conversion coatings are commonly applied to aluminum aircraft
parts to ward off corrosion. Alodine is a trade name I am familiar with, I'm sure there are other brands as well.
Primer paints containing zinc chromate also are a Chromium-6 hazard. I'm only mentioning this because
I am familiar with the dangers. Have you noticed that chrome car bumpers are pretty much gone? That's
because workers were exposed to Chromium-6 and over time the auto industry phased it out. Maybe the
aviation industry is following suit and reducing the use of these chemicals, I really don't know that although
I would hope so.

We are all exposed to chemicals every day of our lives. Some of it is easily avoided and some not.
As an example, I have a neighbor that has a lawn service take care of his yard. The air reeks of
weed killer( 2,4-D and or 2,4,5-T) when they treat the lawn for "weeds". I must agree that a monoculture lawn
is a pretty sight but at what cost? Is it not better to have a natural lawn without exposing ourselves to the hazards?
This dissertation could go on a long time as I can think of endless ways we have exposure to chemicals, however I
will stop at that.

The bottom line is that we as humans are exposing ourselves sometimes unknowingly to all manor of unnecessary
dangers. We are getting smarter but only slowly. Chemical exposure is a sneaky thing as it can show up years
after exposure leaving the root cause unclear. It's something to think about as we go through our daily lives.

 

[francist]

Wow, that’s something I didn’t expect or want to hear. I really hope things work out okay for you. And thanks for the safety reminders too, all too easy to think we’ve got everything figured when really we’re just not paying enough attention. I wish I could have answered “no” to all the questions but I failed on the first one — smoked for nigh on 30 years. One of the stupidest if not foulest things I’ve ever done…

-frank

 

[extropic]

Thank you for the good wishes.

"This is OK", "I'll be alright". Those are the types of things that I've told myself many, many times. I was dealing with common things like carburetor cleaner, Stodard solvent, acetone and on and on. No rocket fuel or nuclear waste that I'm aware of. It's taken a long time for this to rear it's ugly head but I would have preferred to cross the finish line first.

A smarter attitude would have been "This may not be OK. I'd better use the PPE".

Here's hoping that you all work and play as smart as you can.

 

[markba633csi]

I smoked for 30 years and really enjoyed it. Quit 11 years ago. Cold turkey. Wasn't as hard as I thought.
Now my only vices are German beer and good coffee. And pizza. And steak. And lamb chops. And...
-M

 

[hman]

My very best wishes to you, @extropic! Cancer diagnosis is always frightening. Mine was a lot less so than yours (tongue, treated successfully with radiation and chemo), but still quite an emotional trip. I'm sure we all wish there were more we could do for you ... but I'm sure you'll have an extensive rooting section keeping you in our thoughts an prayers.