Sanding epoxy before it has fully cured can cause serious health problems. You should properly dispose of your epoxy to protect yourself and the environment.
Epoxy resin
is toxic to marine life and ecosystems. If liquid or uncured epoxy is disposed of in sewers, drains, or in your home trash, these habitats and creatures can die.In short, never throw uncured liquid or epoxy into the trash or dump it down a drain. Instead, dispose of any uncured liquid or epoxy at your local waste facility. Here, they will ensure that their epoxy is disposed of properly without harming the environment or organisms. You can also cure liquid epoxy by mixing the resin and hardener and allowing it to dry for at least 24 hours until it is completely hard to the touch.
You can then safely dispose of the inert, cured epoxy in your household trash. After curing, epoxy resins are generally considered non-toxic. This means that the concentration of chemical residues remaining in the cured material is very low and therefore not hazardous to humans. Epoxy resin is not poisonous after drying.
However, epoxy fumes can be harmful if inhaled, so always use a respirator when working with epoxy. Inhalation of epoxy resins does not cause problems, since they are not volatile. The curing agent generally has a pungent odor that can cause temporary respiratory irritation. Inhalation of amines normally does not result in any poisoning.
Less than 10% of epoxy users react when overexposed to epoxy resin or hardener. The most common reaction is contact dermatitis or skin inflammation. Both epoxy resin and hardener can cause acute contact dermatitis. The discomfort can be severe, but it usually goes away after you stop having contact with the irritant.
Repeated skin contact with resins and hardeners can also cause chronic contact dermatitis, which is usually milder but long-lasting. If left untreated for long periods of time, it can progress to eczema, a form of dermatitis that can include swelling, blistering, and itching. Partially cured epoxy sanding powder, if allowed to settle on the skin, can also cause contact dermatitis. Cured epoxy resins pose no risk to human health when handled professionally and the necessary safety measures are followed.
When sold in small quantities as two-component systems, composed of an epoxy resin and a hardener, the risk of exposure from handling epoxies is caused by contact with the skin when mixing these components. The necessary information on safe handling should always be available in the safety data sheet of the material sold with each product. When these precautions are taken, epoxies can be handled safely without any health problems. He has advanced his career specializing in epoxy resin flooring, providing excellent service to commercial and residential customers.
Running a flame quickly and systematically over the entire surface of the resin will eliminate any trapped bubbles and will not cause a flammability hazard. HOWEVER, this changes if foreign products are added to the mix. Be sure to open a window or door to allow fresh air to circulate while working with epoxy resin. The hardener, which often comes with the epoxy resin as part of the two-stage system, is also safe to use.
The Epoxy Resin Committee has developed numerous documents to help regular users handle epoxies safely. Read the material safety data sheets (MSDS) of the product to identify symptoms and apply preventive and first aid measures. Non-toxic transparent casting resin is not a rare thing on the market, fortunately, so it all depends on what you need. Of course, you will not suffer from epoxy poisoning, but some resin toxicity can lead to quite unpleasant consequences.
In general, pure epoxy resins can be said to be considered non-toxic, the risk of damage caused by ingesting epoxy resin can be considered very small. Well, if you are not allergic to epoxy resin or any of its components, inhaling its fumes is not dangerous. .
