In a well-ventilated area, the majority of epoxy fumes should dissipate in 1 to 3 days.
The smell will stop being strong after about 8 to 10 hours. Resin can sometimes take 3 days to cure, but that is generally a hard cure. Once it is at the soft cure or demolding stage, the fumes won't be a problem at all.
Finished, hardened epoxy products are practically non-toxic unless they are cut, sanded, or burned.
Epoxy and resin can be poisonous if they are swallowed or their fumes are breathed in.
When epoxy fumes are inhaled, they can affect the nose, throat, and lungs. Most symptoms from the inhalation of epoxy involve inflammation and therefore irritation of the nose, throat, and lungs. Repetitive and high amounts of exposure to these fumes can result in sensitization and asthma.
In a well-ventilated area, the majority of epoxy fumes should dissipate in 1 to 3 days.
Seek emergency medical help right away. Contact poison control for further information. DO NOT make a person throw up unless poison control or a health care provider tells you to do so. If the resin is on the skin or eyes, flush the area with water thoroughly for at least 15 minutes.
Usually, it appears much like a reaction to poison ivy and may include swelling, itching, and red eyes. Just as with poison ivy, the irritation can be mild or severe, acute or chronic. Inhaling concentrated epoxy vapors, if done frequently or for long periods, can irritate your respiratory tract.
What should I do if I inhale chemical or toxic fumes? If you have inhaled chemical or toxic fumes, you should get into fresh air straight away. Loosen tight clothing and open doors and windows wide. If you are with someone who has inhaled toxic fumes, seek medical attention immediately.
When you are working with Epoxy, you must wear your respirator mask. Mixing the resin with the hardener is a chemical reaction, and a harmful gas is released in the process.
Epoxy is safe to use indoors, in most home areas or garage type application. If using in larger quantities, use of additional ventilation tools may be needed. Most often a fan will suffice for any given epoxy. If repeatedly exposed to concentrated amounts, epoxies can cause itching and swelling.
While their use has been widespread for many years, both polyurethane and epoxy resins have been shown to contain carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic chemicals (CMR substances) that can be dangerous to the people who work with them.
This uncontrolled heat build-up is called uncontrolled exotherm. Epoxy heating out of control can foam, smoke, give off dangerous vapors and generate enough heat to melt its container or cause nearby items to catch fire.
So, once you've given your resin its due curing time and it is cured completely, it is safe to use. Cured resin is completely non-toxic, so be comfortable touching it, using it, or placing anything on it.
The resin should be at room temperature: let it sit out for a few hours or give it a warm water bath. The workspace should be at room temperature: keep it no lower than 72F/22C and, ideally, above 75F/24C. The workspace should stay stable at room temperature for the first 24 hours of curing.
Taking the resins we sell as an example, an open window to allow air to move is generally enough. The idea is that you want the fumes to move away from you and where you are working. Two open windows to create a cross flow is even better. It gets a little tough during the winter when you can't open a window.
Most people recover completely from accidental exposure to gases. The most serious complications are lung infection or severe damage that causes scarring of the small airways (bronchiolitis obliterans). Some studies have shown long-term impairment of the lung function years after episodes of exposure to gases.
What are the symptoms of a harmful chemical exposure? A small chemical exposure can cause tearing eyes and burning of the eyes, nose, throat, chest and skin. It may cause headache, sweating, blurred vision, stomach aches and diarrhea.
A majority of the patients with mild to moderate irritant exposure have a self-limited course with full recovery seen within 48 to 72 hours.
If the resin is inhaled or absorbed through the skin, the solvent can affect your brain in ways similar to alcohol causing dizziness, nausea, slurred speech, headache, confusion, and loss of consciousness. Bisphenol A is a chemical used in the production of epoxy resins and is thought to be an endocrine disruptor.
Epoxy resin allergy is diagnosed from the clinical history and by performing special allergy tests, called patch tests. Standard patch testing with test epoxy resin material 1% in acetone or petrolatum will usually find 75% of those allergic to epoxy, even though not every epoxy resin has the same chemical structure.
Epoxy products that contain volatile solvents may give rise to neurotoxic effects.
We ALWAYS recommend using a respirator mask. Regular dust masks/N95 masks will not filter out the harsh chemical vapors created when resin and hardeners are mixed. When you apply heat to your resin pieces to create effects and pop air bubbles, those fumes are blown around and should not be inhaled.
First, dry sanding epoxy resin produces more dust, so a face mask is required to prevent inhalation. A mask should always be worn when sanding resin since the particles can be toxic and carcinogenic if inhaled. The second consideration is the heat buildup from dry sanding.