PSA: Don't inhale carbon fiber

Evidence has been piling up recently that broken or machined bits of carbon fiber can release microscopic rods much like the ones asbestos is infamous for, including all of the same health risks:

https://hackaday.com/2024/08/07/on-carbon-fiber-types-and-their-carcinogenic-risks/

If you know anyone who works on RC aircraft you should share this with them as well, because they're cutting a lot of mass-produced carbon fiber tubes (often to replace broken ones which they're also working around) these days.

Where was this information when I was agressivly trimming part of my RC10L chassis with a Dremel thirty years ago?  That fine, black dust went EVERYWHERE. 

Im honestly surprised it took this long for the problem to start getting more attention. 

I mean, at this point, shouldn't everyone habitually be wearing a dust mask any time they sand or cut anything?

Remember, at one time asbestos was safe.

Duke said:

I mean, at this point, shouldn't everyone habitually be wearing a dust mask any time they sand or cut anything?

 

Pretty much this.

In reply to ShawnG :

So was smoking. Actually, even worse, smoking was promoted as good for your health.

I worked a dozen years in the composites industry doing all kinds of R&D with carbon fiber, glass fiber, nickel coated carbon fiber, kevlar, ceramic fiber, and more. Some days if you looked in the light coming in from the window you could see it in the air.

Then I worked in powdered metal for 25 years...

I went to work with carbon fiber the first time with the impression that it was at least as bad as coal. Lots of coal mine black lung stories made me treat carbon fiber with maximum dust protection day one. It is worse than coal, so maybe I am OK,

Years as a composite trimmer wearing the flimsiest dust mask the management could find has left me with a pretty bad cough and the near certain knowledge that I will die of lung cancer.

After about 3 years we got a union and PAPR units, but the damage was done.

The first time I worked with carbon fiber, the people I was working with on the project laughed and told me I looked like Michelin man because I was in a full PPE suit, goggles and respirator. But the joke was on them because after we were done cutting the carbon up their arms and necks were itching for days. With suff like carbon, it is no joke. 

Why would it be different from media blasting or any other process that releases a lot of fine particulate? Wear PPE. 

I had some carbon fiber archery arrows that were not repairable (tip ends split).  

 I broke them in half so they would fit into the trash bag and got some of that carbon fiber dust on me.  I itched for days from that stuff.  Took several showers and finally got it all off.

Piguin said:

In reply to ShawnG :

So was smoking. Actually, even worse, smoking was promoted as good for your health.

We did some development work for Phillip Morris.  At one point, they actually required all their employees to smoke.