Latex-free respirator

Monona Rossol <actsnyc [at] cs__com> writes

Carol Wickenhiser-Schaudt <watercolorist [at] schaudt__us> writes

>>Due to chemical sensitivities, I am in need of a latex-free
>>respirator so that I can work with turpentine or mineral spirits. I
>>can find latex-free respirators for use with dust, but not one for
>>chemicals. Would any of you know where I can purchase one?
>
>So no one can really advise you.  Each individual is different and
>the only one who will know if there is something in the respirator
>plastic that will cause you symptoms is you.
>
>And if you have a choice of working with turpentine or mineral
>spirits, mineral spirits wins hands down.  And the best petroleum
>distillates in the mineral spirits boiling point range is a highly
>refined one called Gamsol, sold by Gamblin paint.  There's another
>one called Isopar L from Dow I think. These both have TLV-TWAs of
>100 ppm.

I agree with both of Monona's points quoted above, however I must
add a caution to her second point. A personal experience explains
why and offers a tip to other colleagues who develop symptoms of
contact dermatitis.

In 1962, the year I was introduced to conservation and became a
volunteer in the Brooklyn Museum's conservation lab, which was then
headed by Caroline Keck, my hands became very itchy and blistered. A
local physician diagnosed that I was allergic to something I was
handling at work and said I should chose another career, such as
secretarial work, which didn't involve contact with solvents.

Fortunately Mrs. Keck suggested that I seek a second opinion from
her own physician. Dr. Love (his real name) advised me to do a
simple patch test: have someone at the lab attach several Band-Aids
to my back (skin that is normally covered), first applying to each
gauze center a bit of one of the materials that I handled frequently
at the lab, including the hand-washing soap. Within a few hours, the
area under one Band-Aid felt itchy. Thus I discovered that I am
allergic to petroleum benzine, the 'safe' solvent that I and others
had been handling with bare hands, in solvent-soaked cotton swabs
used to remove excess wax-resin adhesive from a recently lined
painting, and whenever we needed to clean wax off our hands.

Jean D. Portell


                                  ***
                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:27
                Distributed: Saturday, December 3, 2011
                       Message Id: cdl-25-27-002
                                  ***