A former student of mine recently contacted me about burning
denatured alcohol while pregnant, I told her to ask her doctor- of
course. But I also mentioned I’d ask the forum. Anyone have any
experience/ opinions?
Thanks-
Amery
A former student of mine recently contacted me about burning denatured alcohol while pregnant
I donated my copy of “The Jewelry Workshop Safety Report” by Charles
Lewton-Brain to my local community college and can’t recall exactly
what it says regarding safety during pregnancy, but there are a few
pages on that. It can be ordered through the following link
and is worth reading in any event.
The topic of safety during pregnancy has come up on Orchid before, I
believe about 3 years ago.
Neil A.
Alcohol is only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It will not form any
harmful combustion products. Better than most other fuels for
cleanness of burning.
Nick Royall
The Question was: A former student of mine recently contacted me
about burning denatured alcohol while pregnant,
Unfortunately there is no correct answer to the question, other than
saying that the person will have to get the MSDS for that brand of
denatured alcohol and then post it here and / or show it to her
doctor.
The term denatured alcohol usually means that it is drinkable alcohol
which the manufacturer has added a poison agent or an agent to cause
vomiting to the alcohol so it can be sold without being taxed as
something you can get drunk on…
Not a direct answer to her question, but here is a safer
workaround… Go to a liquor retailer and buy some straight alcohol
(sometimes called neutral grain spirits) and use that instead.
Kay
PS if her doctor gives her an answer without seeing a MSDS he is not
to be trusted IMO
Found a great web site that discusses the many different types of
denatured alcohols.
Alcohol burns very cleanly. I’m betting she’s safe as long as she
doesn’t drink the stuff
Have fun and make lots of jewelry
Jo Haemer
timothywgreen.com
Thanks everyone. I remember when we used to teach in a larger class
session we told the students that they should ask their doctor,
especially because there would be 12-15 lamps going at once in a
small room. There was ventilation, but only so much, otherwise, the
lamps would flicker too much. We had one student (in 6 years) drop
out due to pregnancy, but only because the smell of the fumes made
her nauseous. She said she was fine working by herself because it was
only one lamp burning, and she turned it off when she wasn’t actively
using it, so it wasn’t burning for a solid 3 hours at a time.
PS if her doctor gives her an answer without seeing a MSDS he is not to be trusted IMO
The MSDS is not the only source of available to a
doctor.
Al Balmer
Pine City, NY
Pregnancy and jewellery making.
Kicked my daughter out of the workshop when she was pregnant. Better
safe than sorry.
Now she is back, Eliza is one crazy and wonderful granddaughter.
Richard
Several comments:
Since there are different denaturing formulas, some might be safer
than others.
It hasn’t been explained what she is using it for. If it is with
boric acid as a firecoat, there are other materials involved in
soldering that are more likely to be harmful. Pregnant or not, she
should have good ventilation. If it is just a little alcohol lamp to
heat dops or wax working tools, if it is determined to be a danger
there are many heating alternatives.
Malpractice liability in relation to birth defects and pregnancy
complications has made millionaires out of many tort lawyers. Your
doctor, or for that matter anyone supplying any potential harmful
products, has every incentive to warn you not to use any product that
has the slightest doubt as to safety. It costs them nothing to say,
“don’t do it” but could cost them dearly to defend themselves if they
give you the green light and you have a problem.
Al,
The MSDS is not the only source of available to a doctor.
I stand corrected, I should of phrased it as: PS if her doctor gives
her an answer without seeing a MSDS or consulting a poison control
center or other authority while knowing the exact manufacturer and
product name he is not to be trusted IMO
I was referring to the type of Doctor (Unfortunately all to common)
who would give an off the cuff answer that either “it’s a deadly
poison” or “Naw it’s harmless”
Happy?
Kay
hi ray blundell from southport uk. i assume shes concerned about
absorbing alcohol through the fumes. well i used to work for a
company where we would do diamond milling using meths as a spray lube
during milling,well you would feel a little high at the end of a
shift on the machine,but thats using pure meths, burning meths would
burn off the alcohol much like cooking ,so i dont think she would be
exposing the unborne to any exposure to alcohol, i dont feel theres
much to be concerned about.
In a small alcohol burning lamp for heating up tools, wax carving,
dripping wax, etc…
Amery Carriere Designs
Romantic Jewelry with an Edge.