[Jewelry making - Article 00194] - [Orchid] Unvented basement workspace and health

[Zen Sojourner]

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    The chemical fumes include: 

    Hydrochloric acid
    Sulfuric acid
    nail polish (they use it as an acid resist)
    acetone (to scrub off the nail polish after copper plating)
    lacquer
    copper sulfate (don't know if this releases fumes when exposed to the
    acids during plating)

    I'm breathing this stuff every time I go to work for these folks.
    There is no venting.  All fo this stuff is in their basement.  There
    are acid-filled tubs used for the copper plating process in rows,
    with lids that just lie loosely on top.  Furthermore, they apparently
    do not have a neutralizing step between the acid bath and polishing -
    they scrub off the nail polish in acetone, rinse, and give to me to
    polish.  Some of these things are hollow and still smell strongly of
    acid when I get them, I assume its mostly acid that has not rinsed
    out of the interior. 

    I am experiencing peeling skin, hair breakage, unexplained bruising,
    and a cough within 24 hours of working in this environment.  While
    polishing, I wear a surgical mask, goggles, and a hat to keep the
    crap out of my hair (which doesn't work as well as one might hope). 
    I wear rubber gloves while lacquering.  There is no other safety gear
    used during any other time. 

    I suspect acid residue mixed with buff fluff (which layers my
    exposed arms and gets under my shirt sleeves) is the cause of the
    peeling skin, which peels in patches.  Bruising and peeling skin
    occur on my upper arms.  I wear gloves during the polishing because
    the copper plated statues get very hot while polishing, so there is
    no noticeable effect to the skin on my hands, only my arms (whether
    exposed or where it gets up under the sleeves). 

    The other day the rubber gloves I was wearing for lacquering blew
    out and I got this lacquer all over my hand.  It burned.  I had to
    scrub it off with the toothbrush I'm supposed to use for cleaning the
    polishing compound off these things.  It did not leave any visible
    marks, but it burned until I got it all scrubbed off.  Could acid
    residue from the interior of the hollow pieces get into the lacquer
    when you dip the pieces?  I've never had lacquer burn when it got on
    my skin before.  Also managed to splash some of this stuff into my
    mouth by accident and that wasn't fun either (dropped a large piece
    into the lacquer which splashed onto my face). 

    So am I being a wimp, or am I right to be concerned about the
    chemical stew I'm swimming in?  It doesn't seem to be affecting the
    macaw upstairs, and birds are usually VERY sensitive to fumes. 

Sojourner

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