Gravers and Health Risks

[Steve Lindsay]

Here is a Safety Data Sheet for our gravers. https://airgraver.com/images/sds.jpg

It has come to my attention that information is being circulated by a manufacturer phone representative that Lindsay gravers can cause cancer. When the public is told that gravers made by one company are healthy and a competitor's gravers are unhealthy it may be misleading. It is true that the points on gravers are sharp and care should be taken to avoid puncture wounds. In addition, precautions should be taken with the dust created when grinding metals including the gravers points. However, I would like to assure people that nothing harmful can be absorbed through our skin by holding or using gravers. This would be true no matter who made them or what metal was used to make them.

Along with the cautions about the sharpness of a graver point I would like to provide information about grinding metals and gravers and the precautions we should take with the grinding dust. This is something we should all be aware of.

Breathing grinding dust from all metals is unhealthy. This includes all gravers regardless of who made them or what metal they are made of. Tungsten carbide, carbalt, high speed steel, M42 (high speed steel with cobalt) as well as other tool steels and proprietary gravers all have the potential to be unhealthy. Dust from grinding metals can cause nose, throat, skin and eye irritation and temporary or permanent respiratory disease. Therefore, precautions should be taken when grinding metals.

The binder used in tungsten carbide is cobalt. Cobalt is an ingredient in vitamin B12. However that doesn't mean it is good for us in larger quantities. This is true of iron vitamins as well.

Along with other ingredients tungsten carbide contains:

Nickel: Considered a carcinogen by IARC and NTP. Poisonous by ingestion, intratracheal, intraperitoneal, subcutaneous, and intravenous routes.Hypersensitivity to nickel is common and can cause allergic contact dermatitis (nickel itch), pulmonary asthma and conjunctivitis.

Chromium Carbide: (as Chromium dust) Primary hazard - respiratory effects. Chromium metal is relatively non toxic. There is little evidence of significant toxicity from chromic or chromous salts. Exposure to chromium metal does not give rise to pulmonary fibrosis. Unlike nickel, chromium metal does not produce allergic contact dermatitis.

Tantalum Carbide: (as Tantalum dust) Some industrial skin injuries from tantalum have been reported. Systemic industrial poisoning however, is apparently unknown. Tantalum has a low order of toxicity but has produced transient inflammatory lesions in the lungs of animals.

Cobalt: Considered possibly carcinogenic to humans by the IARC. Moderately toxic by ingestion. Inhalation of the dust may cause pulmonary damage. The powder may cause dermatitis.

Cobalt has both beneficial and harmful effects on human health. Cobalt is beneficial because it is part of Vitamin B12. Cobalt has also been used as a treatment for anemia, because it causes red blood cells to be produced. Exposure to high levels of cobalt can harm your health. Effects on the lungs, including asthma, pneumonia, and wheezing, have been found in workers who breathed high levels of cobalt in the air. In the 1960s, some breweries added cobalt to beer to stabilize the foam. Some people who drank large quantities of the beer experienced nausea, vomiting, and serious effects on the heart. However, effects on the heart were not seen in people with anemia or pregnant women treated with cobalt.

The following are the ingredients of high speed steel, with and without cobalt (M42)

Ingredients Percent by weight of ingredient
Iron 0-0.7
Silicon 0-0.5
Manganese 0-0.5
Chromium 3-5
Molybdenum 0-10
Tungsten 1-19
Vanadium 1-8
Cobalt 0-12

Iron, an ingredient of high-speed steel has no toxicity. A disorder caused by iron is usually due to mechanical stimulation. As a result, disorder of skin and respiratory organs is induced. That is, though the steel does not have toxicity itself, its dust may cause mechanical stimulation or disorder in respiratory organs such as pneumoconiosis.

Manganese, chromium and cobalt contained in the steel may cause disorder in respiratory organs such as pneumonia, cough, shortness of breath, and asthma, if the dust and fumes are inhaled.

The dust of manganese, chromium and cobalt may irritate eyes and skin and, as a result, may cause erythema and inflammation.
+++++++++++++++++++++

Take the following safety precautions when grinding gravers or anything out of metal:
1. Always grind gravers wet. If using a diamond lap, coat the lap with a light coat of oil or water to keep the grinding dust from becoming airborne.
2. Grind with adequate ventilation.
3. Avoid breathing dust or mist.
4. Minimize prolonged skin contact with grinding dust.
5. Wash hands and clothing thoroughly after being exposed to grinding dust.Wash hands after grinding and before eating or smoking
6. Clean up grinding dust with wet paper towels or rags and discard of properly.

[Ray Cover]

That is really pathetic. I guess some folks will do or say anything to make a buck.

I guess it won't be long until we hear that one school increases intelegence and the others cause brain damage.:willy_nilly:

Simply pathetic.

The following is my theory based on previous facts and putting 2+2 together.
Take it for what it is worth.

Let me shed some light on what I think really happened here with the cobalt scare. About 7-8 years ago the price of cobalt went through the roof. Cobalt became hard to get and tool cantaining cobalt got real expensive. I can rmeember trying to buy some 1/8" cobalt lathe tool blanks from a supplier and they would not even take the order becaseu they did not know how long it would take to get them from their manufacturer due tot he shortage. In short they were not selling any cobalt bits they did not already have in stock.

It was about this time that the Glensteel showed up on the market. I have no proof but I suspect the main thrust behind the development of glensteel was due to the fact that cobalt had gotton so pricy at that time. another more affordable alternative had to be found.

It was about this time that tool companies also started using safety as a marketing ploy to sell the alternative tools. Painters have known for years that cobalt was a health risk and eating blue paint could have long term health hazards just like eating lead based paint. The tool industry capitalized on this and started (in my oppinion) over exagerating the hazards of cobalt. This was a short lived shortage and it was not long until cobalt was again available and the price dropped. Notice how now that cobalt is readily available again all the tool suppiers are again selling cobalt containing tools and they are now very quite about the hazzards of cobalt in their tools.

Apparently some salesman has taken the scare to heart or is counting on the fact that folks won't call him on it.

The real hazzards of sharpening gravers is not the risk of heavy metal poisoning. It is brathing microscopic shards of shar metal into your lungs and airways. These tiny shards can acculilate and irritate and cut up the soft tissues like asbestos does.

Again this is just my oppinon take it for what it is worth.

Ray

[Ray Cover]

Boy steve you really need a spell check on here.:D

[toyhatsu]

If I am putting the 2+2 together correctly it is my opinion that the certain manufacturer is in fear of the superiority of carbalt and the Lindsay AirGraver...pathetic tactics indeed.

[Ray Cover]

Well, I don't know if it is the manufacturer's fault unless they are instructing their salespeople to say such things.

This could just be a salesman trying to up his monthly sales commision or he could just be drastically missimformed.

Either way it isn't to cool to use cancer as a sales tool.

Ray

[Dave London]

Steve
Thanks for the heads up, good info re any metal dust grindings etc. Not to worry small minds will allways be small.

[Ken Hurst]

Hooo Boy, I sure do love that comment Mr. London "small mines will always be small". Ken

[Ray Cover]

I went and looked it up and I was wrong about the dates. I had remembered the cobalt scare as being in the late 90s but it was a few years earlier than that more like in the 94-95 range so I guess its been more like 10-12 years ago rather than 7-8 years ago.

How is that time has such a way of slipping past faster than we can keep up with or remember?

Ray

[Tim C]

I'll bet that "OTHER" company is behind some of this. Too many nice things are being said about Carbalt gravers on this site.
It would be just that kind of thing that would bring about a reaction from them.
You would think they had better things to do.
I'm sorry if I stepped on any toes or whatever saying this, but I say what I think.

[Steve Lindsay]

We should try not to breath or eat any metal. However, I guess we eat cobalt if we take Vitamin B12. Just don't ingest a whole bottle in one serving.

When I was reading through the warning about metals, it appears nickel in alloys is potentially more harmful..
Lindsay Carbalt gravers are nickel free. The binder in carbide is either cobalt or nickel. Therefore, if you have carbide gravers that claim there is no cobalt in them then they would contain nickel. Information about the signs and treating nickel poisoning.

Steve