Source for Info on Toxic/Poisonous Woods

[PeterB]

What is the best source of info.

 

[Stag & Steel]

Some woods don't bother most folks but others it can be deadly to. I have been in the emergency room from Cocobolo and in bad shape from African Blackwood, but it does not bother others. I suppose you could just do a Google for toxic woods...never tried it.

 

[GrizzlyBear]

Here is just one of several pages I have bookmarked.

http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/

Reactions are all specific per person...Cocobolo burns my nose when sanding like I've been inhaling black pepper. But that's all it does to me. Other people have massive breakouts and reactions.

 

[fast14riot]

Anything spalted. The spalting is a fungus and goes dormant when dry. When rehydrated it can start back up, wheater that is in your lungs or not doesn't matter. People have had some serious infections from it.


-Xander

 

[Phydeaux]

My skin on my hands will peel very slightly if I handle cocobolo too much. I read in a book, Know Your Woods by A. Constantine, that cocobolo is in the same family as poison ivy.

 

[Tai Goo]

It's pretty easy to find info., on. Just Google "toxicity of woods".

Keep in mind that wood allergies often develop over a period of time. Cholla cactus skeleton didn't bother me for years, but I developed a bad allergy to it and can't use it anymore.

 

[Jarrett Fleming]

Can these reactions happen even with a respirator on? I know skin reactions can, but what about nose or lung reactions?

 

[GrizzlyBear]

I don't believe so, as long as you have a good respirator and not just a dust mask....or a wet sock, which I had to use in a pinch LOL!

 

[Stag & Steel]

I still work with Cocobolo, I just use a respirator and an apron to keep the dust off my belly.

 

[jdm61]

The general rosewood family, whihc includes a lot of "non-rosewoods" like blackwood and IIRC, cocobolo, seems to be one of the worst offenders, although parts of the mango tree have the same active ingredient as poison ivy, albeit in much lower concentrations. With that said, I knew a guy in Palm Beach who installed teak on high end sportfishing yacths for at least 15 years including all of the fitting work at Viking's South Florida completion center and one morning, he woke up allergic to the stuff and had to sell his business. The only good news is that he sold at the top of the market before the crash. You never know when a wood allergy will finally catch up with you.

 

[PeterB]

That wood-database.com is a scary site.

 

[mete]

The distinction between 'toxic' and 'allergic' should be made .There are toxic [poisonous] woods but most are allergens.
ou can develop allergies at any time but more often it's as you get older .Exposure to large amounts of an allergen can initiate allergies to it. AFAIK most wood reactions are skin type or respitory. However allergic reactions can be almost anything .Avoidence is the major treatment.

 

[Tai Goo]

Can these reactions happen even with a respirator on? I know skin reactions can, but what about nose or lung reactions?

Don't forget eyes. Even with a dust mask and safety glasses, it can cause you a lot of grief. So far cholla is the only one I have a bad reaction to and I won’t go near it anymore. It gets to my eyes, nose, throat, and skin just from going into a room where there’s dust from it. Cleaning the dust up from it the last time was almost as bad as working with it.

With woodworking it seems to primarily be allergies, although some woods like oleander are considered directly poisonous. The chart GrizzlyBear posted shows some others.