Vanadium poisoning

J.Marsillo

J.Marsillo

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Messages
1,255
I'm posting this more as a warning than anything else,this is coming from someone with a dozen or so osha classes under his belt...:o Shoulda seen it coming! I was in the shop on monday and I cut up some old buzz saw blade for a quick idea,this turned into firing up the welder and grinding too...all with no respirator,I thought the fan would suffice.
Tuesday morning i felt run down, a little headache and not very hungry (the strangest af all!!) by tues. night i thought i had the flu! and bad!!
spent all of wednesday in bed headache,coughing,no appetite,eyes hurt,body aches.
This morning I still have a headache and my eyes still hurt,but for the most part i'm feeling better.

I'm not sure on the alloy in those old buzz saw blades but I'm feeling a little vanadium :(
 
As I'm sure several on here can attest, there is no more important safety gear in knife-making than a respirator. Nothing coming off the metal is good for your lungs, vanadium or not.

PS: I'm with LRB, you probably did have the flu or something else. Inhalation of particles would likely result in a lot of coughing, wheezing, and other lung related problems. If you're truly concerned, see a doctor. Don't leave it up in the air.
 
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I have had the flu before, I never recovered so fast :confused: If i still felt like I did yesterday I would have gone to the Dr. I have been out of work for a while so unless its Reeeeeeeaal bad I'll take the suffering and keep my $...
Still one way or another...wear the damn respirator!!
 
I agree you got a dose of the flu or "Hong Kong Kungfooy"!



LouyVanadium poisoning: A type of heavy metal poisoning caused by excessive exposure to vanadium.Read more at http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/v/vanadium_poisoning/intro.htm?ktrack=kcplink#whatis

Symptoms of Vanadium poisoning
The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Vanadium poisoning includes the 11 symptoms listed below:

•Fever
•Shaking chills
•Headache
•Cough
•Anorexia
•Throat pain
•Nasal irritation
•Acute bronchitis
•Psychiatric disturbances
•Kidney dysfunction
•Greenish-black tongue
•more information...»
Read more at http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/v/vanadium_poisoning/symptoms.htm?ktrack=kcplink

You can read the entire thing here!

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/v/vanadium_poisoning/intro.htm#whatise!

And yes a respirator is a good thing, not only does it keep out the black buggers, the sinus infections and the lung problems!
 
I have to say Flu. I worked in the shop this week-end. Monday I felt draggy. Tues led to a bad case of draggy so I stayed home. I had weakness and joints hurt really bad all of them. Also slight headache. Wed my wife made me go to the doc. Got the flu. I would have never thought. No cough, no runny nose. Just really tired and weak with bad joint pain. Now I'm stuck at home till mon. and don't feel like working in the shop.
 
I'm still not 100% sure but I'm considering using only simple steels with no heavy metals in them. Just iron and carbon aren't too bad.

I cut up a bunch of titanium the other day and that stuff is just foul, smells strong even through the respirator. My shop is in a carport so it is well ventilated but the stench gets bad quickly. I make a cut then walk off about 50 feet, you can still smell it strong that far away after the cut.

I'm just learning about steel but I have been around silver for a while. I have met more than a few silversmiths that were a little "off." Metal fumes are bad and can be absorbed through the skin also.
 
Vanadium poisoning is bad news and nothing to trifle with. However, it sounds just like the flu my kids just had. Relatively short lived, 72-96 hours, and beyond what the current vaccine protects against.
 
Do you really think you were vaporizing vanadium and it got to you. When did these old saw blades start having any vanadium content. Perhaps some bad mushrooms? You just got some flue bug, Mr.. Frank
 
Frank Niro said:
Do you really think you were vaporizing vanadium and it got to you. When did these old saw blades start having any vanadium content. Perhaps some bad mushrooms? You just got some flue bug, Mr.. Frank
Click to expand...

Yeah I got it...no vanadium:jerkit: go phuck yer hand! Like i really need your pompous attitutde...
 
Settle down, everyone. We all know Frank is a little crotchety before he has his morning coffee. . . .

I think we're all relieve that it isn't vanadium poisoning. As far as sticking to just simple steels, iron and carbon only, I don't think that would really eliminate the need for a respirator. I don't do ANY work in the shop without my respirator, now. I breathe much better because of it.

I think the underlying question is: Do the alloying elements of the various metals cause harm if you inhale them without a respirator. Sure they can. So can the iron and carbon if you inhale them without a respirator. So can the burning coal in your forge. So can the sawdust from sanding. CA fumes are really bad. Fumes from electro-etching are bad. Wear a respirator!
 
zaph1 said:
Settle down, everyone. We all know Frank is a little crotchety before he has his morning coffee. . . .

I think we're all relieve that it isn't vanadium poisoning. As far as sticking to just simple steels, iron and carbon only, I don't think that would really eliminate the need for a respirator. I don't do ANY work in the shop without my respirator, now. I breathe much better because of it.

I think the underlying question is: Do the alloying elements of the various metals cause harm if you inhale them without a respirator. Sure they can. So can the iron and carbon if you inhale them without a respirator. So can the burning coal in your forge. So can the sawdust from sanding. CA fumes are really bad. Fumes from electro-etching are bad. Wear a respirator!
Click to expand...

When I referred to sticking to simple steels I should have mentioned that they were no excuse to go without a respirator. I always where one when I'm in the shop.

What I want to know is are the fumes bad to simply be around?
 
I believe they are mostly safe. Just because it contains a poisonous element doesn't mean that the molecule is poisonous. To paraphrase Stacy, neither carbon nor nitrogen on their own are particularly toxic, but in the right combination form cyanide. Cyanide is really bad, but add a few hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and you get octyl-cyanoacrylate which is used to glue wounds back together.
 
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