Problems with Pine Oil
Over the last three weeks the soluble coolant at work as developed a problem. The contractor is using pine oil in the coolant,and in the water in the floor cleaning machines. This is done to hide the smell.
I was diagnosed with occupational asthma in 2004. At night I am waking with dry eyes and slight burning in my nose. Is this practice with pine oil allowed and if so how much should be used.
|
Pine oil is extracted from pine trees, roots or the left overs of paper manufacyrure by distillation. It is how terpentine is made. I think pine oil is meant to be free of the resin fraction, which is colophony, a major cause of occupational asthma. I dont know whether any of the colophony is left in the types of pine oil added to metal-working fluids. The main problem is why the pine oil needs adding. If the metal-working fluid has a bad smell it implies that it is fairly heavily contaminated with microbes, and that there are problems with the cleaning and biocide management. Occupational asthma and alveolitis from metal-working fluids is most often due to micobes growing in used oil. Other causes are the constituents of unused oil, particularly biocides and colophony (tall oil) and sometimes metals such as cobalt dissolved in used oil.
|
Please sign in or register to add your thoughts.