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    CDC: 13 deaths tied to bath refinishing chemical

    By DAVID N. GOODMAN | Associated Press – Thu, Feb 23, 2012

    DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning Thursday about using a common paint-stripping chemical to refinish bathtubs after tying it to 13 deaths in 10 states.

    The CDC said the alert was based on research that began at Michigan State University. Scientists found 13 deaths between 2000 and 2011 of workers using products containing methylene chloride to strip paint from residential bathtubs. Three of the deaths were in Michigan, and the remaining 10 were reported in nine other states.

    Methylene chloride is widely used as a degreaser and paint remover in industrial and home-improvement products.

    "Each death occurred in a residential bathroom with inadequate ventilation," the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. "Protective equipment, including a respirator, either was not used or was inadequate to protect against methylene chloride vapor."

    The report said the chemical "has been recognized as potentially fatal to furniture strippers and factory workers but has not been reported previously as a cause of death among bathtub refinishers."

    Using methylene chloride-based products in confined spaces like bathrooms presents great risks, the CDC said. It urged worker safety and public health agencies, manufacturers and trade groups to "communicate the extreme hazards" of their use to employers, workers and the public.

    "Employers should strongly consider alternative methods of bathtub stripping," it said.

    The alert's co-author, Michigan State's Kenneth Rosenman, said it is better to keep the chemical out of the bathroom. Its vapors are heavier than air and likely remain in bathtubs after each application.

    "To use products containing methylene chloride safely, work areas must be well-ventilated, and when levels of methylene chloride exceed recommended exposure limits, workers must use protective equipment," Rosenman, chief of the school's Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, said in a statement Thursday. "In a small bathroom, it is unlikely these products can be used safely."

    The co-author of the CDC warning, Michigan State industrial hygienist Debra Chester, first investigated the 2010 death of a 52-year-old man who owned a bathtub refinishing business. She then discovered two other Michigan deaths, leading to a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigation that turned up 13 deaths.

    ___

    Online:

    CDC report: http://1.usa.gov/yIh2MK

    Michigan State report: http://bit.ly/xLyeqq

     

    11 comments

    • SilverAcorn
      SilverAcorn  •  3 mths ago
      Had a similar experience many years ago while remounting a fiberglas tub liner. As a volatie organic compound (VOC), you get a pretty zippy buzz from methylene chloride, and then... unless you realize it and get fresh air fast, you pass out and may well suffocate or suffer cardiac arrest! There are warnings all over the containers to use with adequate (!) ventilation, and that the stuff can cause heart arrhythmias, cardiac arrest, and other rapid onset health problems.

      As with any chemical, use with care, adequate ventilation, and READ THE FREAKIN' LABEL for health warnings; ignoring them at your own risk!

      And remember, hundreds of people die annually from OD'ng on the very common chemical dihydrogen oxide! It's called "drowning"!
      • John
        John 2 mths ago
        it's dihydrogen monoxide, and it's a highly dangerous chemical
    • John
      John  •  Minneapolis, Minnesota  •  3 mths ago
      Any product containing this chemical MUST be used ONLY when wearing an approved ORGANIC cartridge respirator and the area WELL ventilated!! People READ and HEED the label warnings!! This chemical has an effect similar to chloroform, but is far more deadly!!
    • phillythekid
      phillythekid  •  Dexter, New Mexico  •  3 mths ago
      ...buy a new tub..it would be cheaper..
    • larry
      larry  •  San Francisco, California  •  2 mths ago
      !!Hey!! Any of you workers out there, if you're using industrial solvents, as I did, !WEAR A RESPIRATOR/MASK with the appropriate filters for the chemical! I bought my own, when the right respirator was not available. !Don't let the "Tough Guy" syndrome, from you're fellow workers, peer pressure you into their self-destruction. !Believe it!; life today, at 62, is fun and healthy. The "Tough Guys" will tell you, "We all gonna croke from this junk anyway". !Wear rubber gloves and drink lots of water. You gotta hit the head too much---tell 'em "tough"! Go for a run after work. I saw guys smoking around the trych tank!!; those vapors passing though the intense heat of a cigarette head and charged into the bloodstream!! !!Wake up"!!
    • edeltraud
      edeltraud  •  3 mths ago
      ...very stupid people.....the unfit do not survive.
    • AAK
      AAK  •  3 mths ago
      An informative and interesting article! Thank you! I'll be more careful to read the labels on all products.
    • John Adams
      John Adams  •  3 mths ago
      This is what's in Jasco paint stripper...Very toxic & carcinogenic to boot.Stay away from this crap at all costs. Like drywall dust; it's just not worth the dollars you make at the job as the resulting physical disability & medical costs later in life are potentially astronomical. I'm living (dying) proof.
    • AtomicDawg
      AtomicDawg  •  3 mths ago
      Hmmm chlorine gas , closed room ...
    • Rob
      Rob  •  3 mths ago
      Now, a warning?
      Seems like regulation of unsafe products isn't proactive or strong enough.
      But many, including politicians, propose less regulation. They prefer a world where businesses try to get away with cost cutting until the market, like the unfortunate bathtub refinishers, find out the dangers the hard way.
      Many products don't cause sudden death or illness but take long periods to show effects.
      Unless there are regulations to thoroughly test, we become the guinea pigs and companies take their gambles to beat the odds.
      They could lose the company but we could lose our lives or health. That's not right.
      • dummy
        dummy 3 mths ago
        READ THE LABELS ON THE PRODUCTS! Step one:Throw away the directions.
      • Don R
        Don R 3 mths ago
        Rob? Is it your suggestion that we overregulate any and all dangerous chemicals? Do you have any idea how many people die every year sniffing and siphoning Gasoline? I will give you a hint..it is in the HUNDREDS! Since gasoline is so freaking dangerous do you propose making it much difficult to purchase. Pool Chlorine, Antifreeze, Motor oil, laquer thinner, Acetone....the list is endless! Look how many people drown each year, Perhaps we need to regulate water to prevent it sold in quanities large enough to drown..
      • Rob
        Rob 3 mths ago
        When testing a product for risks is too costly for a given company they may choose to take the risks even if it doesn't seem like much more, cost cutters do what they do.
        A government agency would hopefully take the time to do real-world simulations to see if consumers get the message on warnings for particularly dangerous products.  Or they would require the company to do so.
        Doesn't seem to costly when lives are at stake.
        I don't think regulation will run rampant a over regulate products out of existence.   That would be counterproductive.
    • HomelessDudeOnLibraryComp ...
      HomelessDudeOnLibraryComp ...  •  Denver, Colorado  •  3 mths ago
      ...And ieei will always love you, Whitney...
      • Daddy'sGrrll
        Daddy'sGrrll 3 mths ago
        Tequila shots with the daughter, and god knows what kind of pharmaceuticals. An American Heroine, like Lady Diana (sigh).
      • HomelessDudeOnLibraryComp ...
        HomelessDudeOnLibraryComp ... 3 mths ago
        You are one smart lady Drinky...
    • Steven
      Steven  •  Tucson, Arizona  •  3 mths ago
      Keep the government out of my bathroom. No more job kiling regulations.
      • L K
        L K 3 mths ago
        So you prefer chemicals that will kill you?
      • Yahoo IsCrap
        Yahoo IsCrap 3 mths ago
        The "government" is a toilet.
      • A Yahoo! User 3 mths ago
        Ba dum bum.
     Post a comment
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