SignaramaFL
New Member
No job is worth your health, especially if your employer isn't doing chit to help! call OSHA
-
I want to thank all the members that have upgraded your accounts. I truly appreciate your support of the site monetarily. Supporting the site keeps this site up and running as a lot of work daily goes on behind the scenes. Click to Support Signs101 ...
feeling sick all the time!!!
- Thread starter noack214
- Start date
Cross Signs
We Make Them Hot and Fresh Everyday
I've watched this thread all day and feel sorry for you. I have never had a headache so bad as to make me sick, but my wife has. My only advice would be to puke all over the printer and whatever was being printed. That might get your boss's attention.
jayhawksigns
New Member
When we were shopping for our JV3 nine years ago, one of the locations our dealer took us to was a descent sized partitioned office space that had the JV3 in a corner, without any ventilation. Just walking in the door I got a headache, couldn't imagine working their eight hours a day. I just know that I couldn't work around our printer if it wasn't vented, wish you the best in how you handle this.
Custom_Grafx
New Member
Could it be a relatively cheap and easy way for you and your boss to isolate this a little by investing in a $50 active carbon filter respirator mask? Maybe wear one for a day or two.
I think I could use more ventilation myself, but at least I have my door open at all times, and a couple of fans moving air a little, and I still find the smells from my eco sol and my laser machine discomforting. These are called nuisance level fumes, and so I wear a 3M VOC filter respirator especially when using the laser, and I have noticed a significant difference in how I feel, especially doing long runs of laser work.
Hope you can sit down with your boss and work towards some kind of plan together on how to tackle this. It's not only for you, but for someone who may replace you one day and the such. Talk your boss into looking into this as a long term investment and not just a quick fix to shut up a "whining employee" - which is probably the way they are seeing it by the sound of it.
Good luck.
I think I could use more ventilation myself, but at least I have my door open at all times, and a couple of fans moving air a little, and I still find the smells from my eco sol and my laser machine discomforting. These are called nuisance level fumes, and so I wear a 3M VOC filter respirator especially when using the laser, and I have noticed a significant difference in how I feel, especially doing long runs of laser work.
Hope you can sit down with your boss and work towards some kind of plan together on how to tackle this. It's not only for you, but for someone who may replace you one day and the such. Talk your boss into looking into this as a long term investment and not just a quick fix to shut up a "whining employee" - which is probably the way they are seeing it by the sound of it.
Good luck.
artbot
New Member
cheap scrubber
this is a good solution for a cheap air cleaner.
i have one of these hanging from beneath my print table.
http://www.mikestools.com/50-875-Delta-3-Speed-Ambient-Air-Cleaner.aspx
i get activated carbon air filters from lowe's for cheap. cut them up and you are done. at least your boss can spring for this guy in the near term.
this is a good solution for a cheap air cleaner.
i have one of these hanging from beneath my print table.
http://www.mikestools.com/50-875-Delta-3-Speed-Ambient-Air-Cleaner.aspx
i get activated carbon air filters from lowe's for cheap. cut them up and you are done. at least your boss can spring for this guy in the near term.
Jason_Elliott
New Member
If OSHA walks in there and measures the VOC level of the room and they tell your employer to fix it or else...trust me she will fix it OR close the doors. They will allow her a little bit of time, but after that, the fines get real expensive real quick.
Simple as that!!!
Simple as that!!!
Redz Signs Inc.
New Member
Before i would go possibly burning bridges and getting blackballed from any sign shop in your area!!!!! i would make sure that the printer is whats causing your symptoms .i have a jv3 160 sp running durafos bulk in a room thats 20x12 and yes it is vented and it does stink to high hell however i do get a headache from time to time no argument there. i would suggest that you try artbots idea becaus thats not the first ive heard about that option acually my mimaki rep told me thats way cheaper than a captiv air . and he suggests it to all of his clients and hes a mimaki rep! if your symptoms are envoriomental when you leave the area that is causing the problem with in a couple of hours you should be fine. if not then you might be the type that cant take strong chemical properties in the air. if thats the case id get out. but before you go calling osha or whoever i would sit down be level headed and explain to her whats going on and give her a list of options that she can change and if your a valued employee then she wiill most likely make a change. but if your her least favorite then she might tell you to go pound salt! but talk to her and explain or try artbots method he never let me down yet!!
artbot
New Member
+1 for red signz...
on one hand you can be "that employee" that is out to cave the business (in the owner's eyes).
or
you can be the employee perceived to be the one concerned about the survival of the business (that one gets the raise and promotion first).
to get a more apples to apples comparison, the air scrubbers have about 3-5 as much carbon filter depth as the little wimpy ones i use. but then mine cost only $9 each. so if you really want to get the right comparison, you might want to load it with about four filters worth. which is still cheaper than a $50 filter.
also the three speeds, i keep mine on low. high is 1200cfm. and at that setting it is really moving too much air for my small space. (jv3 in a 22x 22 room). so don't be distracted if an air scrubber boasts of 2000cfm. that is waaay too high of a setting for a small space. low (540cfm) will clean the air in five minutes, medium (730cfm) will do it in four minutes, and high (1200cfm) will clean the air in 2.5 minutes. so low is fine.
on one hand you can be "that employee" that is out to cave the business (in the owner's eyes).
or
you can be the employee perceived to be the one concerned about the survival of the business (that one gets the raise and promotion first).
to get a more apples to apples comparison, the air scrubbers have about 3-5 as much carbon filter depth as the little wimpy ones i use. but then mine cost only $9 each. so if you really want to get the right comparison, you might want to load it with about four filters worth. which is still cheaper than a $50 filter.
also the three speeds, i keep mine on low. high is 1200cfm. and at that setting it is really moving too much air for my small space. (jv3 in a 22x 22 room). so don't be distracted if an air scrubber boasts of 2000cfm. that is waaay too high of a setting for a small space. low (540cfm) will clean the air in five minutes, medium (730cfm) will do it in four minutes, and high (1200cfm) will clean the air in 2.5 minutes. so low is fine.
Rooster
New Member
Take the MSDS sheets for the Mimaki UV curable inks into hi9s office and have little chat.
I took the time to read the sheets for a couple of colors and they're anything but safe for use in an unventilated area. Your boss probably thinks that UV inks are as safe as Eco-sols over even safer. This isn't the case (with Mimaki's inks anyhow).
If they don't do anything at that point then throw the book at them with OSHA and find another job.
I took the time to read the sheets for a couple of colors and they're anything but safe for use in an unventilated area. Your boss probably thinks that UV inks are as safe as Eco-sols over even safer. This isn't the case (with Mimaki's inks anyhow).
If they don't do anything at that point then throw the book at them with OSHA and find another job.
jayhawksigns
New Member
Looked into the Delta unit mentioned earlier and when I searched for some carbon filters I came across zeolite filters. They say that they are specifically to traps VOCs, would those be better then the activated carbon most scrubbers use?
John Butto
New Member
Charcoal filters are the best way to take the VOC's out of the air. The more weight the better the filter. A good air scrubber will have a good amount of weight in its charcoal filter. The delta unit you talk about is designed for dust from wood working tools, VOC is heavier than air so unless it is down low it will not do much of anything to take out what you really need taken out as far as your health goes. VOC gets embedded in the charcoal filter and has to be replaced after so long and they are not cheap.
artbot
New Member
i wouldn't get too "fancy" with what kind of activated charcoal is used. the basic stuff works. i remember a long time ago at woodcraft they sold a filter that fit in the unit. it was $50 and worked for about 2-3 weeks. still wasn't a better solution than getting filters from lowe's and cutting them up. in the end you are wanting to buy as much carbon for as cheap as possible.
and yes keep the unit low, mine is suspended between the legs of a work table. just sitting it on the ground doesn't work as well because the air comes out too low and tends to blow aggressively across the ground. just raising it a foot off the ground allows for it not to stir up so much dust on the floor.
there are some other interesting links that i looked up that have inspired me to maybe change my design a bit. i might use granules in a shallow screen box instead if i can find them cheap enough.
https://tokecity.com/forums/showthread.php4?t=2269
http://www.instructables.com/id/Activated-Carbon-Air-Filter/
http://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/7074-easy-build-diy-carbon-filter.html
http://forums.mycotopia.net/cannabis/8038-diy-carbon-scrubber.html
and yes keep the unit low, mine is suspended between the legs of a work table. just sitting it on the ground doesn't work as well because the air comes out too low and tends to blow aggressively across the ground. just raising it a foot off the ground allows for it not to stir up so much dust on the floor.
there are some other interesting links that i looked up that have inspired me to maybe change my design a bit. i might use granules in a shallow screen box instead if i can find them cheap enough.
https://tokecity.com/forums/showthread.php4?t=2269
http://www.instructables.com/id/Activated-Carbon-Air-Filter/
http://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/7074-easy-build-diy-carbon-filter.html
http://forums.mycotopia.net/cannabis/8038-diy-carbon-scrubber.html
John Butto
New Member
Artbot, I can see you now carrying 30 lbs of charcoal from the tropical fish store out to your car. If I am ever on a plane and it crashes deep in the jungle, hope you are on it because you would be the one to help us survive with your Gogo gadget stuff. I say that with respect for people who can adapt things to work instead of just buying them off the rack.
artbot
New Member
thanks! it's more the necessity of being a small shop. i'm known to raid the local stores for chemicals daily. my favorite is when i go to walmart and buy 48 quarts of hydrogen peroxide for etching aluminum. it looks like i must be building a bomb. or i send my gf to pick up acetone, copper sulfate, hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide.... she complains that if a cop pull her over, he's going to think she runs a meth lab.
here's the way i have my scrubber set up.
here's the way i have my scrubber set up.
Attachments
premiercolour
Merchant Member
Health is far more important than anything else. I'd rather work in a mcdonald knowing that you are not killing yourself slowly - only if you don't consume their food neither.
Love that option
skyhigh's Avatar
3) go on workmans comp and see how she likes that
Love that option
skyhigh's Avatar
3) go on workmans comp and see how she likes that
thehamsterman
New Member
I have this problem at my work too, but the place smells like rotten poop on a daily basis. I think there is a sewer line backing up or something.