Hi Roy and all
Out of the rope domain but if it serve to open some "eyes"and cover some respiratory tracts then thanks go to Roy .
Beware I am no allergologist and no specialist of industry biohazard, just a general practionner with a good brush of it, so what I say is bound to be "not complete"
First : there is a fad in circulation : bio is good ! Bio is safe
Sure strophantus from plant can kill an elephant in a few seconds, curare too, belladone too, germs, viruses too, acute reaction to a perfectly natural and BIO bee sting or snake bite too, I can assure you they are 100% percent natural and BIO, be sure of it
Too me it is BIO is potential hazard! BIO is reactivity so...
Remember Wells's War of the world ( the book not the movie), ( read Crichton's Prey)
That said DUST can be death and unfortunatly not a "good one".
"natural" dust can be mineral or organic ( I should add : chemical or synthetic)
dust can act by =
- surcharging the cleaning services of your respiratoty tract = mineral
- contamination ( germs, viruses, yeasts, ....) = organic ( remembre Carter's malediction ?
- getting your body to accept an hopeless hand fight : allergy = organic or chemical
- intoxication, poisoning : antimitotic dust
Allergy and contamination can result from a "once only" encounter
- poisoning : antimitotic dust
Surcharging usually depend on level of dustiness and time of exposition ( beware no reaction now do not mean , wooow I am safe : time bombs may be ticking in your organism!)
Too organic and mineral I added chemical : nurses preparaing antimitotics solution must make them with only their hands under a glass hood with a very strong aspiration ( beware of aspiration or of "repulsion" of dust : I have seen installation such that the worker manipulating the hazard source was quite safe, but some of his/her colléagues were just in the right place for an airborn strike by the "evacuated dust".
So if you do "dusty" work : every body else out, or with a mask, even the cat. ( For aquaria ownner always cover the tank with a film when dusty work is done and stop the air pump, please, thank you for the fishes!)
MINERAL ( fibers or particules ) ( size and particules count dependant, with accumulation of "doses" ) not exhaustive
- asbestos ( depending the type of asbestos and the size of fibers)
- silice ( silicose in French)
- coal, talcum, stannium, beryllium, uranium, pechblend, iron, titanium, baryum,...
ORGANIC
- sugar cane ( bagassose in French)
- pelts, birds dejections, bone powder, corn powder...
- wood : sequoia, mostly the "tropicals"
- yeasts and mould
- maple ( worker taking of the bark are affected = fungic contamination )
- worker roasting green coffee
- fishes preparation
- man growing mushrooms ( the eatable ones this time )
and what is our particular problem :
cotton, flax, hemp, and certainly other that I don't know of or don't recall.
Conclusion
:
first one :
do not mind what it will give you, you don't want to know, and you don't want to have it.
Just think of what it can take, and may take if you give permission by being "uncaring" of yourself. Do not forget those around you.
second :
breathing is a double-bind : stop doing it and you are soon dead
continue doing it with "dust" and you will somehow regret it.
Just as with shooting on a range whaterver the caliber ( in hunting action it would be too dangerous) you must , even if you are only a spectator, wear ears protectors, when doing "dusty" wear ( and your admirers too )must use respiratoty tract safety measures.
No need to go cast a hangman knot in a dust-free synthetic rope in dispair.:-) Just a few precautions are enough
Do not be alarmed, be warned.
Happy knotting and long life in good health too all of you.
