Read this!!!!!!!!!!!!! Safety warning

Holy Crap!!! Can there be a new sticky or even a thread on the HAMB dedicated to stuff like this? Almost missed this one. Shit!

 

Young guys, Listen to what everybody's saying here. I'm 57, may or may not make 60. Can't do most of the shit I used to love to do. Spend 1/2 my time hacking my lungs out. Can't see well enough to weld a good bead or feel enough with numb fingers to do a lot of the finish bodywork I used to do. Used to chase elk and bighorn sheep all over the mountains. Now I stop and rest on the way to the automotive section in Walmart. I was invincable at 18. I'm not 18 anymore. Washing PCBs off your hands in Tri-chlor solvents. Painting and grinding and welding and leading without the right mask or protection. It all just doesn't go away. Some of that crap stays with you. But you probably won't really listen, I never did either...

 

Two and a half mechanics billable time + the cost of the can of brake cleaner vs. filling it with air?????????????

 

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Crap, I buy this stuff by the case. Guess I won't need as much as before. READ THIS THREAD AND BE CAREFUL OUT THERE! READ ALL OF IT!<o></o>
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IF THIS WON&#8217;T BECOME A STICKY, WE&#8217;VE GOT TO KEEP BRINGING IT TO THE TOP.

 

This guy was very lucky. Man, I can't believe how many times I've used carb cleaner and brake cleaner for different things. I'll definitely pass this along to all of my friends.

I work at a large industrial site and this will be a safety topic next week.

We call it "Take a Minute" to discuss safety before we start any job. We have small laminated cards that we carry that have questions on them that we go through when we go to a job site. It works.

I agree with previous posts that we should have a sticky section that is for safety items only so we can watch out for each other.

Ryan, is there a way we can start a "Take A Minute" section?

 

PHOSGENE!!! Holy SHIT!!! THAT was one of the three gases the Germans used against our guys in World War I !!! BAD shit! Chlorene & mustard gases were burning, blistering agents to eyes, sinuses, lungs , but PHOSGENE was more like a NERVE GAS!!!

I have used brakes-parts cleaner and LIKED it because it cleans fast and leaves parts really clean.

BUT IF I ever use it again, I'll be darn sure & keep any heat source well AWAY, AND not breath any fumes, anyway!!!

 

I'm in the same spot at 48, I may not see 50. I played football, ran track, even ran rock/hike trails out in the mountains. I am legally blind now, can't drive, have siezures, and like you I run out of air before I run out of heart. The doctor is reccomending oxygen therapy. There isn't a damn thing they can do. I am 6'0/ 190 lbs, I eat right (1600 calories a day now that i am pretty much sedentary and bed-ridden), have excersized and worked manual labor all my life along with my managerial duties to stay in shape. To look at me, you'd never know. I did a stress test on my heart last year, and I couldn't even get my heart rate up high enough before I ran out of wind and hacked and hacked and passed out on the treadmill.

This stuff will fuck you up. All I did was clean parts and weld. I also painted without anything more than a dust mask, just primer, sealer, fill and sand, enamel and laquer, not poly, but it has caught up with me. My lungs will not heal, and a lung transplant? It isn't happening.

Please, please, please, heed this warning. I talked to Steve ( Brew Dude) and he is leaving the artilcle up so it can get to as many people as possible.

 

Smokin'Joe & BallingerSr: I wish the HAMB site editor could flag this thread for HEADLINE ATTENTION, somehow!

YOU GUYS are not asking for anybody's sympathy; you ARE just trying to WARN new guys about stuff YOU didn't know all your younger life (or, manufacturers &, maybe, the government downplayed the risks, too).

I, too, am nearly 59, and I wish I had back my hearing, eyesight, stamia, etc. When I was in school, I worked factory jobs for tuition. I worked with asbestos, carbon-tet, Chlorothene-VG and more shit I can't even remember the names of. Working on cars, I've abused my hearing with air-hammers & electric tools, 'cause I didn't take the warnings seriously. Yes, I have used the brake-parts cleaner described in the article. When I was in the foundry I didn't pay enough attention when guys would caution me not to look at an electric arc too long. On and on.

THIS is a fun hobby & sport . . . BUT it'd be better, the MORE people who stay around to enjoy it! Keep getting the WORD out!

 

I did ask about making this warning a sticky back when it had 10-12 replies, but stickies are for HAMB related posts I was told. It keeps popping back on top when new readers see it. I'm sorry to read so many guys have health problems due to years in the workplace.

 

I agree as well as a lot of other people with this guy, does need a small section, yes this site is about traditional rods, but I don't want someone getting badly hurt or killed due to lack of experience or being young, nothing wrong with guys on here watching each others backs so we can all enjoy this hobby and be ABLE to enjoy it. Building a car is no fun if you end up too sick to enjoy it, people used to think wearing a mask or glasses was dumb, lots of people didn't know better, better to take a few seconds to protect your health so you have lots of years to enjoy this hobby. Guys like Bill Hines are just very lucky to have not had the ill effects at their age, I think bill actually has a big S on his shirt lol, coolest guy i've ever seen. The point is a lot of people develop health problems from this stuff later, there's no reason too in the future anymore,with the advent of good masks and glasses to protect your eyes, and stuff to protect your ears, I'm only 37 and i'm losing my hearing already and wish I had listened. It's not being retarded or a wuss or uncool, it's making sure you have plenty of time to enjoy this hobby and are around to pass it on to another generation.

 

how is keeping each other safe while working on our cars not HAMB related? I saw a guy the other day working on his car supported with four jacks, he didn't know any better, well i'm sure most here know that,there may be tips and advice some of these old timers with years of experience can pass on. It's one thing to go out rolling down the road doing what you enjoy, thats a good way to go, getting killed because of something dumb in the garage is not.

 

I'm going to bump this back up because I USED to clean stuff with brake clean just before I welded to be sure it was clean, notice I said USED to. After reading this article I will no longer used brake clean for this job and I hope someone else will read this and do the same! Thanks The37Kid, you may have saved my life!

 

The37Kid: With EVERY respect to Ryan, rules -- any set of rules -- need to be examined occasionally to see if a tweak may be in order here or there. Safety is no laughing matter.

Besides chemicals, fire, electrocution, threats to your eyesight, pinchpoints, etc., etc., there's dumb, INADVERTENT situations you can put yourself into. WHEN "OUT THERE" MENTIONED A GUY UNDER HIS CAR, WITH ONLY FOUR JACKS HOLDING IT UP, I JUST CRINGED! I don't think those jacks come with safety instructions, or if they do guys don't take TIME to read AND FOLLOW them. You put a breaker bar on, say, a U-joint yoke. You can easily rock the car enough to bring it DOWN on you. You got NO time to get out o' here!

I grew up hearing stories about poor guys having to work under their cars with only a bumper jack, jus because they had to get to work the next day. Frequently, they wound up dead, instead.

 

I have in the past had very bad sinus infections and now i'm finding that most were caused by chemicals. Last fall from using chemicals for cleaning and then a small spray paint job in the garage with my torpedo kerosene heater after it burned the fumes. I've noticed this from propane heaters as well. I have also gotten sick from smoking around chemicals. If the fumes are harmful it's probably not a good idea to inhail the through a straw with an ignition source at the tip. I hate having to heat my garage with a portable heater. Being 32 years old and walking half way across the parking lot before your back straightens out after driving is not cool. I will continue look for all causes for all my defects as I get older and post like these can keep us and our traditions going for much longer.

For every cause there is an effect and for every defect there is a cause.

 

Jack stands for that matter. Four years ago I was working on my 1998 Jeep Wrangler, upgrading the axles and suspension. I had the Jep on 4 Jackstands, each one rated @ 6000 Lbs, NOT the cheap Chineese ones. Well anyway, I was pulling the tailpipe out of the muffler, I guess I pulled a little too hard, the jeep lurched back, and rocked off all 4 stands, and on to my chest. It knocked the wind out of me, and was compressing my chest so I could not breathe. Of course I was in the garage alone, and I really thought to myself I was a goner. I'm still not sure to this day exacly how, but I lifted the Jeep enough to weasel my way out. I made my way into the yard, and still could not breathe, I tried to yell, but of course all theat came out was a muffled growl, at least that allowed me to breathe in some air. I walked up to the house, had a glass of water, and decided I needed to go to the Hospital. Ended up with 3 broken ribs. While recovering I found and bought a 2 post lift and installed it in the shop. Even with the lift, I usually strap the vehicle to the lift arms, and support the ends with some muffler stands.

Be careful out there!!!!

 

yea there is nothing traditional about getting hurt, having a basic safety section might prevent some of the guys new to cars from being hurt, It's hard to enjoy the car you built when you are dead!! Nothing to do with the crazy protect yourself from everything possible mentality today, but some basic stuff to keep each other safe and alive. I wonder how many people this thread will prevent from having severe lung damage? I know way back in shop classes in junior high, we sure were told all the important stuff, and waaay back when my dad was a kid he said they got the safety stuff in shop classes too. See it is traditional!! nothing cool about getting hurt, threads like this help everyone look out for each other. Oh while I was at the emergency room the other day with my stepdaughter, they brought in a guy, who had an angle grinder cutoff wheel explode, no safety glasses, no gloves,no guard, nothing, and now he's down to one eye.

 

Knowing how often I ignored (or just didn't have "time" for) safety measures when I was young, and knowing how much I miss having sharp eyesight, hearing and full range of motion in all joints, I cringe because two young men in our family circle have the SAME mindset I did at their age!

Safety is not an option. By your choices, you can make yourself old (or dead) before your time. Often in real life, a pound of "cure" doesn't make up for failing to know safety precautions AND take a minute to just f---ing DO IT! I'm glad this thread hasn't gone away, because safety is a message that needs to be seen and re-seen.

 

thanks for the heads up......I'm sorry you had to go through your terrible ordeal ......... paradoxically,the pain and suffering you have endured and probably will continue to endure will be beneficial to so many people like me who have knowingly and often, unknowingly played the "Russian Roulette" game with chemicals and were blessed the proverbial "chamber" was empty...I hope your conditions can be managed and you can live a productive, happy, life........ thanks man...........

 

Rockabillyrodder, Welcome to the HAMB, and thank you for bouncing this thread back on top again. I don't find any joy in reading about peoples health problems, but if it causes others to think about working safely then it is well worth sharing.

 

Thanks for posting this...

 

You Honestly use Brake cleaner to pre-clean weldments?In college they told us before we picked up the leads,chemicals and welding DO NOT go together.There are a great many welding prep sprays out there,antispatter and a rag works.
-G-

 

In the Air Force, they do not pay for hearing-related disabilities anymore, and I'm pretty sure it is the same throughout the Armed Forces. The USAF figures that it provides aircrew and maintainers with ear plugs, whether they be the full-cup ear defenders or just the foam rollers you insert into the ear canal. I was aircrew nearly my entire 20 years in, and I made it a point to wear ear protection everywhere on the flight line. I know a lot of people that did not, and are wearing hearing aids because of that. And, they receive zero disability compensation for it. They were warned long ago, and made the choice to ignore that advice.

Use the protection that is available, folks. I know this is sounding like a broken record (you young guys are wondering "what's that?"), but safety is paramount. Period. No further needs be said. Remember those three words, and you will live to wrench another day.

 

Glad to see that you are ok. Really glad you posted this, very very easy to snuff your self out or add more problems as you get older. I was a Union Pipe fitter and plumber close to 30 years. I have been on disability for 8 years. Was exposed to a bunch of chemicals and solvents, acetone, MEK,and pipe cleaners and so on. Acetone we used a cleaner on stainless pipe and fittings prior to welding. Now I have severe head aches, short term memory loss, extreme vertigo, other side effects. Some times even in at wally world, Kroger, ect. the type of floor cleaners make me sick. Brake cleaners , starter fliud , spray paint, or any thing of that nature makes me sick. So do not let people or your buddys say they have been doing that for years . Becase you or your buddys may not be here for very long..............................Kickstart

 

BTW...the little form ear plugs have a higher DB. rating then the muffs, easy to stick in one's jacket pocket or coveralls...
I use to be cool, now I have permanent ringing from 32 years of machine noise...not so cool now...
No job is so important and no service is so urgent that we can not take time to perform are work safely.

 

I hate to keep shooting my mouth off. BUT, like SlooRider, I live with PERMANENT ringing in my ears -- day AND night, 365 days a year. Comes a time when that doesn't clear up after 2-3 days, guys.

 

ChopOlds wrote: On a personal note....the VERY talented man, who taught me how to do custom paint and bodywork, is now in a nursing home. He's been there almost 10 years, and he's probably about 68 years old now. He used to paint without a respirator, and do bodywork, and leadwork without a dustmask. Now, he can't remember what he said to you 2 minutes ago. He talks with a bad slur, like he's drunk, cannot walk, or even dress himself. Most likely he got this way by ignoring safety warnings, but back in his era, I dont' think any body guys took any precautions. So many suffer from lung cancer, nerve damage, kidney ailments, and ALzheimers/dementia. Aside from the physical problems (bad backs, knees, eyes)
So whenever I see someone not working safely, I gotta react.


Jimi's Hemi wrote follow-up: ChopOlds, in a relatively FEW words, you delivered a GREAT safety message. WELL STATED! Safety's never been a really popular topic, and lot of guys want to be macho & just laugh it off -- then, maybe, pay for bad judgement down the road! SAFETY precautions are not a laughing matter. It would be BETTER if ALL the guys who love rods & customs are AROUND to keep on enjoying the hobby/sport. Would you MIND if I submit your above quote on the recent SAFETY thread (citing YOU, of course)?

 

Keep in mind there are "Anti spatter" sprays comercially availible that have nasty chemicals in them too. In our shop we only use non toxic nozzle dip. Had one A-hole welder that would soak his wire wiper with Klotz racing 2 stroke oil cause he "liked the smell" OSHA guy about kicked him in the head. He still kept using it, till we all left him a note and took away the wire wipers.

 

Just happened upon "Two Guys Garage" and watched the hosts use spray lubricant while they cut some tubing- one of them almost leaned into the smoke that he created...

Can't believe this is STILL going on!

 

Bringing this back to the top for the new guys.

 

and it doesn't even work that well, get a can of tap and die spray, it's not that much