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Author	Comments
Matt Ganz Posted: Sep 29, 2006 02:00 AM	Health safety Hi spray foam.com forum members and guests. Glad to find the board! 4 months ago I joined the ranks of spray foamers. Pleased to be aborad. I was having a home built and the spray foamer we hired asked me to join in partnership in his one rig LLC. He wooed me away from my ten year gig as a wildland firefighter. 5 as a hotshot and 5 as a smokejumper. We are doing well. Sprayed a recording studio for bone daddy....some custom homes....shops and crawl spaces.....oh and a geodome! Learning a ton from my partner. 28 year general contractor. 15 year spray foamer. Using 1/2 llb and 2 llb. My very first question is :) Should I expect any mild tangy flegm sometimes after I apply foam? (yeah Im a nerd...butI do use a full outside air supplied face mask and skin protection with latex gloves. cheers!
Matt Ganz Posted: Sep 29, 2006 03:07 AM	Crazy.... so I found some info on osha's website..and obviously I need to study my msds book in the rig..not glance through it. I couldn't find the exact chemical components on oshas website...though I did study up on isocynates. Many case studies that appear similar...but no exact cases of spray foam applications....and many with differing chemicals after isocynate. shortness of breath is not new to me in my life....I have mild allergies and sucked wildland fire smoke for years.....this after I experienced very asthma like symptoms 16 years ago when the farmers would burn the field grass during double days in football. Yet I sucked smoke for ten years and To this day I still run and bike and hike. I am a ski patrolman as well and understand the importance of medical symptoms and early identification. Like the slight mucous I cough up and an occasional tight chest, for a night after a multi day job. I have also resigned a previous career (with no regrets) to be a spray foamer. And Im really crossing my fingers at this point that I am experiencing mild symptoms that are acceptible. My partner has told me of guys getting sensitized to the point they could no longer spray. He does not seem to be alarmed by my observations I have reported. What is making me stay up toolate,(gotta bid in the morning..Doh!) are the similar lung reactions discussed in the osha documents after I spray sometimes. cheers
Gerry Wagoner Posted: Oct 05, 2006 06:25 AM	If a person becomes sensitized, he will know it. There are other contributory factors, such as allergies, lifestyle, etc which are sometimes mistaken for sensitization. Each person is unique. 99% of Osha's impositions are exaggerated at various levels. gcw
Aaron Scurlock Posted: Oct 05, 2006 08:53 AM	I would say that if youre sucking in vapor while wearing a full air respirator, you either have a leak in the mask or your air pump is in the mix. Check the mask and move the air pump outside and out of the danger zone, upwind. Sensitization can be fatal, so be careful.
Posted: Oct 08, 2006 12:03 PM	as your previous work hx is laden with respiratory risks,,, as well as a medical hx of respiratory problems,,, i would recommend you arrange for a complete physical includeing pulmonary function studies... a base line would be good to have to see if you are progressing in a positive or a negative direction with your symptoms... your previous occupational exposeures may have deemed you a not-so-good canidate for ANY spray type venture....i mean the smoke from burning timbers is some real toxic stuff...and while im confident you took appropriate safety measures,,,time in the field is certainly a contributing factor...and "secondary" exposure is a given... i'd be skipatrolling and running a ski-in-bar if it was me...just the 2nd hand tobacco and the BS bar talk to get ya there...hee hee good luck
Matt Ganz Posted: Oct 17, 2006 03:29 AM	Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it. I have mitigated for some problems I discovered. If opening and operating a slopeside bar was a snap of the fingers task I might consider it. Luckily Ive got other realestate projects in the hopper. Really Id rather be skiin the pow and ordering the drinks than building a ski bar business. Oh yeah and building our spray foam enterprise. With safety and quality as our foundation. At this point it looks like with added precautions I will be fine. Ive got a ski patrol buddy that is seriously considering being our spray tech....so eventually I can limit my spray time and focus on sales and growth. Thanks again forum members. GREAT resource! 'toe

Author

Comments

Matt Ganz

Posted: Sep 29, 2006 02:00 AM

Health safety

Hi spray foam.com forum members and guests.
Glad to find the board! 4 months ago I joined the ranks of spray foamers. Pleased to be aborad. I was having a home built and the spray foamer we hired asked me to join in partnership in his one rig LLC.
He wooed me away from my ten year gig as a wildland firefighter. 5 as a hotshot and 5 as a smokejumper.
We are doing well. Sprayed a recording studio for bone daddy....some custom homes....shops and crawl spaces.....oh and a geodome! Learning a ton from my partner. 28 year general contractor. 15 year spray foamer. Using 1/2 llb and 2 llb.
My very first question is :)
Should I expect any mild tangy flegm sometimes after I apply foam? (yeah Im a nerd...butI do use a full outside air supplied face mask and skin protection with latex gloves.
cheers!

Matt Ganz

Posted: Sep 29, 2006 03:07 AM

Crazy....

so I found some info on osha's website..and obviously I need to study my msds book in the rig..not glance through it.
I couldn't find the exact chemical components on oshas website...though I did study up on isocynates.

Many case studies that appear similar...but no exact cases of spray foam applications....and many with differing chemicals after isocynate.

shortness of breath is not new to me in my life....I have mild allergies and sucked wildland fire smoke for years.....this after I experienced very asthma like symptoms 16 years ago when the farmers would burn the field grass during double days in football. Yet I sucked smoke for ten years and To this day I still run and bike and hike.

I am a ski patrolman as well and understand the importance of medical symptoms and early identification. Like the slight mucous I cough up and an occasional tight chest, for a night after a multi day job. I have also resigned a previous career (with no regrets) to be a spray foamer. And Im really crossing my fingers at this point that I am experiencing mild symptoms that are acceptible. My partner has told me of guys getting sensitized to the point they could no longer spray. He does not seem to be alarmed by my observations I have reported.
What is making me stay up toolate,(gotta bid in the morning..Doh!) are the similar lung reactions discussed in the osha documents after I spray sometimes.
cheers

Gerry Wagoner

Posted: Oct 05, 2006 06:25 AM

If a person becomes sensitized, he will know it. There are other contributory factors, such as allergies, lifestyle, etc which are sometimes mistaken for sensitization.

Each person is unique.

99% of Osha's impositions are exaggerated at various levels.

gcw

Aaron Scurlock

Posted: Oct 05, 2006 08:53 AM

I would say that if youre sucking in vapor while wearing a full air respirator, you either have a leak in the mask or your air pump is in the mix. Check the mask and move the air pump outside and out of the danger zone, upwind.

Sensitization can be fatal, so be careful.

Posted: Oct 08, 2006 12:03 PM

as your previous work hx is laden with respiratory risks,,,
as well as a medical hx of respiratory problems,,,
i would recommend you arrange for a complete physical includeing pulmonary function studies...
a base line would be good to have to see if you are progressing in a positive or a negative direction with your symptoms...
your previous occupational exposeures may have deemed you a not-so-good canidate for ANY spray type venture....i mean the smoke from burning timbers is some real toxic stuff...and while im confident you took appropriate safety measures,,,time in the field is certainly a contributing factor...and "secondary" exposure is a given...
i'd be skipatrolling and running a ski-in-bar if it was me...just the 2nd hand tobacco and the BS bar talk to get ya there...hee hee
good luck

Matt Ganz

Posted: Oct 17, 2006 03:29 AM

Thanks for the feedback! I really appreciate it.
I have mitigated for some problems I discovered.

If opening and operating a slopeside bar was a snap of the fingers task I might consider it. Luckily Ive got other realestate projects in the hopper. Really Id rather be skiin the pow and ordering the drinks than building a ski bar business. Oh yeah and building our spray foam enterprise. With safety and quality as our foundation.

At this point it looks like with added precautions I will be fine. Ive got a ski patrol buddy that is seriously considering being our spray tech....so eventually I can limit my spray time and focus on sales and growth.

Thanks again forum members. GREAT resource!

'toe

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