superglue burning eyes

[Mark Schecter]

Hi, John.

Thanks very much for your informative answer, and for the link. I was 
hoping a chemist would weigh in, and I must say I'm relieved that you 
had no major warnings to deliver. The organization hosting the document 
  you referenced looks like a high-credibility source of information on 
various chemicals. For the benefit of those not inclined to read through 
it themselves, I include this quote to establish the credentials of the 
organization:

"The International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS), established in 
1980, is a joint venture of the United Nations Environment Programme 
(UNEP), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the World 
Health Organization (WHO). The overall objectives of the IPCS are to 
establish the scientific basis for assessment of the risk to human 
health and the environment from exposure to chemicals, through 
international peer review processes, as a prerequisite for the promotion 
of chemical safety, and to provide technical assistance in strengthening 
national capacities for the sound management of chemicals."

Here's a link to their home page: http://www.inchem.org/

This is a great resource. Thanks again!

-Mark Schecter

John Delmore wrote:
> Cyanoacrylates in general have very low toxicity.  There are no
> "side-reactions" in the polymerization that would lead to toxic fumes.  The
> vapor pressure is pretty low, less than 2mm Hg, so you're not going to get
> much alkyl cyanoacrylate vapor ("whole" CA vapor).  One thing that may be
> bothersome is ammonia produced when the polymers crosslink with each other.
> Aldehydes (formaldehyde for MCA, acetaldehyde for ECA, butyraldehyde for
> BCA--these are all major health concerns) would only form on hydrolytic
> degradation, as stated before, not during the actual "curing".  Anyone who
> can bear the scientific gobblydegook can find a wealth of info here
> 
>   http://www.inchem.org/documents/cicads/cicads/cicad36.htm#9.2.2
> 
> The cure time is indeed controlled by the acid content.  The polymerization
> is initiated by a base, and terminated by an acid (water can act as both),
> so the more acid you have, the shorter the polymer chains, and the longer it
> takes to get all the monomers involved.
> 
> Accelerators contain much nastier fumes than the actual CA.  CA is an
> irritant, but in accidents where people got it in their eyes, even, there
> was no lasting damage reported.  There have been reports of people being
> sensitized to CA, to the point that they could no longer use it, but this
> seems to be pretty rare.
> 
> Hope this helps, sorry to sound so scientific, but I AM a chemist!! :-) 
> John
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
> Of Mark Schecter
> Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 12:40 AM
> To: Pianotech
> Subject: Re: RE : superglue burning eyes
> 
> Hi, Don.
> 
> I admit it had occurred to me to wonder, what with "cyano-" in the name,
> but clearly it's not cyanide. Interestingly, if you Google
> "cyanoacrylate fumes" you get a bunch of sites related to using fumes
> from _heated_ CA to react with fingerprint oils in forensics. CA boils
> at about 150°F. What I'm wondering now is, when we use CA cold in
> pianos, are the fumes we smell whole CA vapors, or are they some
> component/solvent/fraction? One thing I read said that the cure speed is
> controlled by the acid content, i.e. more acid cures more slowly. That's
> the flip side of a base such as baking soda or even water acting as an
> accelerant. Seems to me the irritating fumes may be, at least in part,
> acid fumes.
> 
> Either way, it seems to me that the fumes are irritating and noxious,
> but so far I'm not seeing info stating that they're toxic. Can anyone
> point to something definitive that says CA fumes are toxic? Thanks.
> 
> -Mark Schecter
> 
> Don wrote:
>> Hi Mark,
>>
>> You may well be right.  Here is a less technical description that clearly
>> states it is not cyanide.
>>
>> http://www.ca-plus.com/faq.html
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>