Everyday Industrial Hygiene: DIY Dangers

Why DIY?

Stemming from lasting effects of the Great Depression (1929-1939) when every dollar and item was stretched as far as possible, and from World War II (1939-1945), when Americans needed to be self-reliant, Do-It-Yourself culture began in the 1950s as a way for folks to keep up appearances without breaking the household budget.  

“DIY” is a term many people use to indicate that they’re about to take on a project that historically would have been left to a professional. DIYs can range from simple tasks like painting your front door to more difficult tasks like installing a new kitchen sink with granite countertops.  

Given that from 2020-2021 everyone was encouraged to stay at home, it made a lot of us question what we liked about our home – and many Americans began to seek out nicer homes with more space in lower-cost states. Even if you weren’t a part of the great migration out of major US cities, US homeownership rates reached an all-time high in 2022. With inflation on the rise in 2023, many homeowners might opt into doing more DIYs—but there are some dangers you should be aware of before you begin. 

DIY Dangers

Back in my first college apartment, I had to sign a waiver that stated I agreed to not eat paint chips that fell off the wall.  

Upon reading the waiver, my first question was, “…Why would I eat paint chips?”  

My second question was, “Well, why would they specifically be telling me not to? What’s in it?” 

Turns out—lead. Lead-based paint was banned in 1978, meaning that homes and apartments built prior to then could still have lead paint on the walls. Many of the homes bought during the great migration were fixer-uppers, older homes that needed some love and renovation, and the new homeowners discovered that their homes contained lead-based paints. 

If you’re the owner of a fixer-upper or a historical home and you’re planning to perform some renovations yourself, what do you need to know to ensure that you’re completing work on your house safely?  

Lead-Based Paint Exposure Dangers

The CDC provides lead surveillance funds to most state health departments, which is a program that tests homes for lead paint and dust. Many states require a certified professional to remove the paint if there is peeling, chipping, or if you need to perform a task that could create lead dust, such as sanding or replacing a window.  

Children are the most at-risk population for lead exposure because 1.) They have a higher mouth-to-hand frequency than adults – probably due to their lack of knowledge surrounding germs, and 2.) Children being lower to the ground puts them at higher risk for environmental exposures because they live at the level that debris gathers.  

Lead is a neurotoxin, which targets the nervous systems, and is a risk specifically to children because their brains and bodies are still developing, and their bodies are poorly equipped to metabolize toxic compounds. But…adults shouldn’t eat paint chips either. 

Knowing all this, it’s best to leave lead paint removal/renovation to the professionals and keep children and pregnant women away from any construction activity that could involve lead-based paint.  

If you’re tearing down a wall and lead can become airborne, leave that to a professional who knows how to minimize risk to lead exposure. If you’re just painting over it, then see the steps below on how to do that – which doesn’t involve lead exposure. 

The CDC provides lead surveillance funds to most state health departments, which is a program that tests homes for lead paint and dust. Many states require a certified professional to remove the paint if there is peeling, chipping, or if you need to perform a task that could create lead dust, such as sanding or replacing a window.  

Children are the most at-risk population for lead exposure because 1.) They have a higher mouth-to-hand frequency than adults – probably due to their lack of knowledge surrounding germs, and 2.) Children being lower to the ground puts them at higher risk for environmental exposures because they live at the level that debris gathers.  

Lead is a neurotoxin, which targets the nervous systems, and is a risk specifically to children because their brains and bodies are still developing, and their bodies are poorly equipped to metabolize toxic compounds. But…adults shouldn’t eat paint chips either. 

 Knowing all this, it’s best to leave lead paint removal/renovation to the professionals and keep children and pregnant women away from any construction activity that could involve lead-based paint.  

If you’re tearing down a wall and lead can become airborne, leave that to a professional who knows how to minimize risk to lead exposure. If you’re just painting over it, then see the steps below on how to do that – which doesn’t involve lead exposure. 

Woodworking Respiratory, Contact and Environmental Dangers 

With spring coming, the birds have migrated from the south to make a pit stop at your home, and they are HUN-GRY! After all that traveling, they deserve a nice spot to sit and enjoy a snack.

But unfortunately, your bird feeder is looking a little shoddy, and we can’t leave our feathered friends hanging! Building a bird feeder from scratch may appear like a harmless task, but there are some dangers you should be aware of before beginning construction.  

When sawing or sanding wood, wood dust is generated and becomes airborne. Wood dust particles range from 10-30 μm in size (one one-thousandth of a millimeter), which makes them larger on the particulate scale. This is interesting because the most dangerous particles are actually the smaller ones (~2.5 μm in diameter) because their size allows them to imbed themselves deeper into your respiratory tract.  

So even though they aren’t the smallest, wood dust particles are still a Group 1 carcinogen – meaning that there is strong evidence that they cause cancer when inhaled. Not only that, but some woods – like the kind for your cabinets, shelving, and furniture – are treated with formaldehyde, which is also a Group 1 carcinogen. Taking into account the size of wood dust and its Group 1 designation, wood dust can cause cancer in the sinuses, nasal cavity, and nasopharynx (the upper part of the pharynx, connecting with the nasal cavity above the soft palate). In terms of your immune system, the nose acts as a line of defense against inhalable pathogens and particles. 

Not all wood is treated with formaldehyde; some woods are treated with CCA (chromated copper arsenate), which is a pesticide that helps preserve wood used in outdoor construction projects against termites and fungi – which has a greenish hue to its color. CCA-treated wood (also called pressure-treated wood) was discontinued for residential use in 2003 but is still an option for purchase at your local hardware store chain.  

Additionally, if you have an old deck, play structure, or picnic table built before 2004, it was probably made with CCA-treated wood. The CCA treatment can leave sticky chemical residue on the outside of the wood, which is one route for skin contact exposure, and from rain and weathering it can also leach into the soil surrounding the structure, contaminating the ground or nearby water sources with arsenic.  

The main concern surrounding CCA-treated wood is the arsenic component which in an acute exposure can cause vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, later followed by numbness, muscle cramping, tingling, and in extreme cases – death. However, the first signs of long-term exposure are skin lesions which are a precursor to skin cancer. Arsenic can also cause bladder and lung cancer, as well as diabetes, developmental effects, cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Numerous studies have also shown that arsenic can cause adverse pregnancy outcomes such as infant mortality.  

So, how should you treat CCA-treated wood in your home? 

1. Apply sealant to your deck every 1-2 years if it’s made with CCA treated wood. 

1. Don’t allow children to play on or under structures made with CCA treated wood. 

2. Use alternative building materials when possible (or just research how to use them safely). 

3. Wear a mask when performing any wood dust activity (for use at home, an N95 should work just fine). 

It’s important to keep in mind that for all exposures, it’s necessary to be aware of the time spent exposed to the hazard and how many times you have been exposed. This is vital information for any emergency health responders to know so that they can properly assist anyone who has been acutely exposed.  

OSHA has PELs, or permissible exposure limits, for all these compounds, meaning that being exposed once to a very little amount of a hazard isn’t something to lose sleep over. Also, it’s incredibly hard without any industrial hygiene knowledge to perform an exposure assessment like the ones you can perform in the VelocityEHS Health Solution software.  

The best way to protect yourself and your family is to be aware of the hazards and reduce or eliminate contact with those hazards. So, stay tuned for more Everyday Safety posts to make sure that you’re keeping your home and family as safe as possible.