You’ve seen the headlines. Lateral harassment. Incivility at work. Adult bullying. Nearly every day, there is a story in the news about employees who are struggling with a toxic work environment.

Jana Raver works as an organizational expert and professor at Queen’s University School of Business. Her research into this issue shows that sixty percent of employees are exposed to disruptive behaviors at work and that the “bullies” are often women. That is bad news for healthcare–an industry which continues to be dominated by females.

Sixty percent. That makes workplace bullying a significant problem. But the bad news doesn’t end there. While six of every ten employees may fall victim to harassment, you can bet that the other four are affected by it indirectly. Inappropriate behaviors are distracting, especially for healthcare employees who must work as a team to meet the needs of their patients.

Ms. Raver says, “They start saying ‘this is not the place for me; I’m going to start looking for work elsewhere.’ And once you psychologically disengage from the organization then you’re not terribly motivated toward helping that organization to succeed, and you’ve always got one step out the door. Turnover is of course a logical consequence.”

This spells trouble, particularly for certified nursing assistants. Historically, the annual turnover rate for CNAs has exceeded 90%. If your organization has a “revolving door” when it comes to your nursing assistant staff, a culture of incivility only compounds the problem.

“Imagine how much more productive companies could be if they were to treat people with inclusion and respect and make sure that (workplace anti-harassment) policies are actually enforced,” Raver states.

This is exactly what the Joint Commission has in mind with their zero tolerance of disruptive or intimidating behaviors. Have you seen their statement on this issue?

“Intimidating and disruptive behaviors can foster medical errors, contribute to poor patient satisfaction and to preventable adverse outcomes, increase the cost of care, and cause qualified clinicians, administrators and managers to seek new positions in more professional environments. Safety and quality of patient care is dependent on teamwork, communication, and a collaborative work environment. To assure quality and to promote a culture of safety, health care organizations must address the problem of behaviors that threaten the performance of the health care team.”

The Joint Commission standards require that each organization institute “a code of conduct that defines acceptable and disruptive and inappropriate behaviors.” They also require that the institution “create and implement a process for managing disruptive and inappropriate behaviors.”

Creating policies that meet these Joint Commission standards are an important step. However, if your workplace has been infected with incivility, it’s going to take more than rubber stamping new policies to turn things around. Every employee, from the administration to the “front lines,” needs to participate in civility training. They need to understand the importance of civility–especially in a high stress environment like healthcare. The training should cover ethical behavior, teamwork and conflict resolution. And, it should emphasize this indisputable key point: that the power–and the responsibility–to overcome a culture of incivility rests within each of us.

So, to assess how your organization is doing when it comes to civility training, ask yourself one question. If a Joint Commission surveyor were to visit your facility tomorrow, would he or she think your workplace is toxic? If the answer is no, congratulations. Your employees are embracing civility! If the answer is yes, you’ve got some more work to do.

Toxic alopecia is a form of hair loss that occurs as a result of fever that can be caused by the following;

· High fever as a result of sickness such as malaria

· Severe poisoning by heavy metal

· Hyperthyroidism and other endocrinopathies

· Crash diets

· Certain medicines (chemotherapy) e.g. thallium and vitamin supplements

Diagnosis of this kind of alopecia follows some laboratory tests to determine the root cause of alopecia. Once the cause of this alopecia has been determined the following options for baldness may be recommended depending on the extant of alopecia.

Patients that have alopecia as a result of fever caused by illness can first be treated for the illness using drugs that are specific to the disease. Once the disease has passed including all its symptoms, the patient can now be treated for hair loss using minoxidil and anthralin topical creams. The 5% concentration minoxidil topical cream can be used to treat even severe hair loss (up to 90% hair loss on the scalp). Anthralin is a topical cream that is available in 0.1; 0.25; 0.5 and 1%. Anthralin is to be applied to the scalp and washed off after about five minutes. Time of stay on the scalp can gradually be increased with number of applications up to a maximum of an hour. Anthralin application is done once a day.

In certain cases, such as when alopecia is caused by an overdose of vitamins as well as other drugs, it is recommended that the patients first be detoxified. When all toxic levels of the drug are removed, they can then be treated for hair loss. It is however, more advised that their body be given a rest so it would not be wise to administer to them some oral hair treatment drugs. It is therefore ideal that they are given hair treatment formulas like Revivogen. Revivogen is made from all natural ingredients. Revivogen exists in the form of shampoos that can boost hair growth. The advantage is that Revivogen has no side effects, so patients will not suffer any further stress that may cause further hair loss.

In other chronic conditions such as cancer, where the chemotherapy used to treat the disease can cause severe hair loss, other hair treatment procedures such as hair transplanting and low intensity laser therapy may also be considered. After chemotherapy, normal growth of hair is supposed to start. In some cases, that will not happen. This may be due to some follicles that would have been completely destroyed. In such cases, hair transplant therapy may be the possible solution. A hair transplant will introduce active hair follicles into the regions that have no hair growth. If the hair follicles are not dead but have just become dormant, they can be stimulated back into production by a low level laser intensity. This therapy is very effective and it is known to revive dormant hair follicles back into production by over 90%. So, do not let toxic alopecia ruin your looks, for it can be treated.

Toxic ski and snowboard waxes pose both human health and environmental hazards. The most hazardous ingredient found in toxic waxes are perfluorocarbons (PFCs). Perfluorocarbons are fully fluorinated compounds, synthetically produced by combining a hydrocarbon (like paraffin wax) with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). The acid strips the hydrogen atoms off the carbon backbone and replaces them with fluorine atoms. The term “fluorocarbon” refers to any carbon-based molecule which has been fully or partially fluorinated. Therefore, the terms “PFC” and “fluorocarbon” are often used interchangeably.

Fluorinated ski waxes (fluoros) are, thus far, the most durable and hydrophobic. The more hydrophobic a wax is, the better water repellency it has. It is well known that, in skiing, fluoros achieve the best times for racers. But what is less well known is that fluoros also have the highest health and environmental impact.

When fluorocarbons are exposed to high temperatures, toxic fumes are released. In ski and snowboard shops, technicians breathe these fumes. Prolonged exposure to the fumes of fluorocarbons is known to cause sever damage to respiratory passages, bloody noses, and increased levels of PFC in the blood. Some studies of such technicians have revealed PFC blood content levels up to 45% higher than the general population. PFC and PFOA are also known to be potent greenhouse gases.

The toxic impact of fluorinated waxes is further propagated when the wax is cast off from the base of skis and snowboards into the snowpack. In the spring, the toxins left by fluorinated waxes are carried down to watersheds as non-biodegradable, environmentally hazardous molecules. PFC and PFOA remain in the environment as persistent organic pollutants, and are not known to degrade by any natural processes. Results of animal studies of PFOA indicate that it can cause several types of tumors, neonatal death, and may have toxic effects on the immune, liver, and endocrine systems.

How many skiers does it take? Well, if one skier calculates how much wax he actually uses and leaves behind on the mountain over a season, it may not amount to much. However, it is the collective impact that is the problem. According to the National Ski Areas Association, the 2007-2008 ski season had 60.1 million skier days at resorts in the US. They estimate that between 1979 and 2009, the US has had at least 50 million skier days each year. That results in more than 1.5 billion pairs of skis and snowboards shedding wax into the snowpack for 30 years in the United States alone.

As the hazards of toxic waxes become more well known, conscientious skiers and snowboarders are becoming increasingly motivated to seek out non-toxic wax sources. Glide-on is one such alternative. Rather than toxic chemicals, Glide-on has an inert (environmentally neutral) polymer added that enhances its durability, speed and base protection. So you don’t have to sacrifice performance for non-toxic. At Glide-on, we are proud to provide an excellent alternative to toxic ski waxes and we believe this will be the way of the future.

Whales Polluted with Heavy Metals.

Startling results from a study carried out over 5 years of almost 1,000 tissue samples, has exposed high levels of toxic heavy metals in the blubber of sperm whales.

Revealed at the recent International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting, biologist Roger Payne, president and founder of Ocean Alliance, which conducted the research, found levels of cadmium, aluminium, chromium, lead, silver, mercury and titanium are the highest found in marine mammals.

The scientists warn the health of both ocean life and the people who consume seafood could be at risk. Fish is a primary source of animal protein for one billion people.

Mr. Payne is quoted “These contaminants, I think, are threatening the human food supply. They are certainly threatening the whales and the other animals that live in the ocean”

“The entire ocean life is just loaded with a series of contaminants, most of which have been released by human beings” said Mr. Payne, who is best known for his discovery and recordings of songs by humpback whales in 1968 as well as his findings that some species of whales can communicate to each other over long distances.

Starting out in March, 2000 from San Diego in the ketch ‘Odyssey’ the object of the study was to document the health of the ocean by taking tissue samples from the sperm whales during their annual migration from the tropics to the poles.

By August 2005, 955 samples the size of a pencil’s eraser was collected using a dart gun that the animals barely noticed. The samples were then sent to marine toxicologist John Wise of the University of Southern Maine. The animals’ DNA was compared to ensure they were only tested once.

Remarkably, the study of the heavy metals was an after thought as the main purpose of the research was to measure chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants.

It has been deduced that the contaminants in the whales’ blubber had formed in the Polar Regions suggesting the animals had absorbed the metals far from where they were emitted. This shows that pollution is reaching to the ends of the oceans and every where in-between. The contaminants were most likely carried by wind and currents.

“When you are working with a synthetic chemical which never existed in nature before and you find it in a whale which came from the Arctic or Antarctic, it tells you that was made by people and it got into the whale” said Mr. Payne, who went on to say “The biggest surprise was chromium”

Used in stainless steel, paints, dyes and the tanning of leather, chromium is a corrosion-resistant material found to cause cancer in people who work in the industries where it is commonly used.

John Wise found the chromium concentrations in the whale tissue were several times higher the levels required to kill healthy cells in a Petri dish.

For health minded individuals concerned about toxic fumes going into their food when they cook, the Waring TCO650 toaster oven offers them a way to bake or toast without this worry.

The Internet is flooded these days with reports showing how the use of non-stick cookware can be toxic to a person’s health. Most of the information is about Perflurooctanoic Acid (PFOA), which is used in the production of non-stick cookware and other common household items. Therefore, many people are naturally looking for products without these kind of materials.

However, while reports indicate that non-stick materials could be bad for our health, most toaster oven manufacturers haven’t yet made any changes to the materials that they use. That is except for Waring. At this time, the Waring TCO650 is one of the only toaster ovens on the market that isn’t made with non-stick materials.

Not only is it uniquely made without toxic materials, it is also one of the most favorably rated ovens as well with very little serious complaints or negative reviews. This is quite remarkable considering almost all toaster oven reviews are filled with complaints and poor reviews.

So, what makes the Waring TCO650 so special?

To begin with, it toasts and bakes really well. Most models usually do one of those well, but not both. For example, you either get a toaster oven that bakes great, but toasts slow or poorly, or you get a unit that toasts great, but bakes unevenly. The TCO650 excels at both cooking functions. Customers reported that the food is always evenly cooked and comes out just to their liking.

The oven is also digitally controlled, which helps make the results more consistent and precise. One of the biggest problems with a classic turn knob toaster oven is inconsistent cooking results. With turn dials, it is harder to produce the same results each time. The digital controls on the TCO650, however, are easy to use and produce the same results each time.

After reading that it is non toxic, cooks great, and is very well liked, you may be thinking that this unit is perfect for you. However, there is one key issue you should know that people have with it, and that is the beeping sound it makes.

The unit will beep throughout the cooking cycle, for example when it reaches set temperature or when it is finished. Most people don’t mind the fact that it beeps to let them know that the food is ready, but the problem that they have with this model is the sound that it makes. Many reported that it is simply too loud for their liking and that it can be a problem if people are sleeping since the loud beeps may wake them up.

Every toxic man can’t be transformed, some are not worth the effort in reality, but many are just clueless and don’t know how to become a good guy. He very possibly down inside wants to make you happy but just does not know how. He may not know how and he may not realize he is toxic, but many can be transformed. I have seen very difficult men change. I have seen toxic love turn into a healthy relationship.

The key lies in knowing how to inspire him to want to change and help him do this through your relationship. It is not in the words you say to him that will make him change, we all know this does not work. How many times have you complained, voiced your wishes only to have them fall on deaf ears. Its your actions that he will respond to.

The change starts in you and how you respond to his toxic behavior. The way you think, talk and what you can do affect your relationship dramatically and inspire changes in your man that evolve naturally. If you can change the way you feel about yourself on the inside, it changes the way you act with your man and can turn the relationship around.

Take yourself out of toxic dynamic between you and your partner and focus on being the best you can be. Use that energy to improve yourself instead. Stop telling him what to do and focusing on his toxic behavior. You will start feeling better and you positive vibe can inspire your partner and completely change your relationship. Transform your toxic man and have the relationship you want.

In May 2008, the BBC Watchdog programme alerted viewers that a number of people were reporting itches, blisters, burns and rashes after buying imported Chinese leather sofas.

The reason: sachets containing the chemical dimethyl fumarate (DMF) had been used by Chinese manufacturer Linkwise to prevent mould from growing on their leather sofas during transportation and storage.

Unfortunately, the chemical, which is sometimes used as a fungicide, led to severe allergic reactions in some people using the sofas.

Tests have shown that DMF can cause severe eczema, a term referring to a range of skin conditions which are difficult to treat. The allergic reactions occur when the substance warms up.

Consultant dermatologist Dr Sandra Winhoven explained the condition at the time: ‘The substance that’s causing the sofa dermatitis outbreak is a fungicide, and this fungicide has a very low vapour point. So when it gets warm, more of it gets released.’ As a result, the summer months led to higher numbers of allergic reactions.

Symptoms of eczema

Eczema, which is sometimes known as dermatitis, can refer to a range of unpleasant and distressing symptoms including itching, blistering, redness, swelling, dryness, crusting, flaking, cracking, oozing and bleeding of the skin. These symptoms can be very damaging to a person’s quality of life, and some of the sofa rash sufferers reported symptoms of depression as a result.

With up to 50,000 households having been sold a contaminated sofa, and many people suffering from increasingly severe reactions, sufferers were often unaware that the reaction they were experiencing was connected to their sofa.

Some sufferers even unwittingly aggravated their injuries by staying at home to recover from their symptoms, thereby further increasing their contact with the problem sofa.

How the stores reacted

The sofas were sold by Argos, Land of Leather and Walmsley Furnishing. After learning of the problem with their sofas, the shops selling them responded in different ways. According to a Daily Mail report from June 21, 2008, Argos, who had sold the most contaminated sofas, withdrew the sofas from their shops and notified buyers, contacting them to arrange collection of the products.

Land of Leather, meanwhile, withdrew the sofas but was criticised for not notifying buyers, while Walmsley said they had removed the sachets from sofas they sold after they learned of the issue, though they also did not recall the sofas which had already been sold, as Argos had done.

Claiming compensation for sofa rash

In the UK’s largest ever consumer injury claim, thousands claimed for compensation against the stores where they bought their sofas. Compensation is expected to total up to £10m for this initial class action.

Along with the thousands already claiming compensation, an estimated tens of thousands could have suffered or still be suffering from burns which have not yet been linked to their sofas. These cases could lead to further claims for compensation.

If you have been affected by a ‘toxic’ sofa and experienced skin problems as a result, you could be entitled to claim compensation for your injuries and money lost due to time off work.

1. Hear the part of you that is crazy, repetitive and destructive

Half the time we live in agony because we are fearful of facing our doo-doo and think somehow if we avoid it – it will go away – it won’t.

When you accept your mess without trying to push it away, you allow an opportunity for your fears, hurt and anxiety to be released and released for good.

MOST of the suffering you may experience when you break up are the voices in your head telling you – you did this wrong, your ex did that wrong and that somehow you created this hot mess of a bad relationship. Some of those thoughts cycle in a horrible destructive way: “I wasn’t attractive the way he wanted”, I wasn’t young enough”, “I’m not making enough money”… I’m sure you have a long list that goes on and around in circles.

When you hear these thoughts in your mind, the common practice is to ‘focus on positive thoughts’ and push away your negative thoughts. However, that does not work with a break-up because you are so hurt and the hurt is stronger than any positive thoughts you may try to focus on.

You can always focus on the better future you want, but you won’t get over the relationship if you run away from the bad feelings you have in your body and emotional brain.

These bad feelings need to be felt, experienced and released.

Telling yourself to stop focusing on them and to think of something else – is not going to make them go away and only keeps repeating the cycle of negative thoughts and feelings.

2. Turn to a higher power to break the cycle of your negative emotions.

There’s only about a 5 to 10% success for AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) program.

Meaning only 1 out of 15 people who go through the program actually stop drinking. That’s a really LOW success rate considering how popular the AA program is.

So WHY do people keep coming back to AA?

One of the core principles of AA is that they believe in a higher power that has the person’s best interests at heart that champions their success. So even if you “fail” when on the program, there is someone besides you who has got your back. They call it god, on they call on a friend, their sponsor, whatever and whoever it takes, to not rely on the person doing the program by themselves.

Do not rely on you ALONE to make your way out of your mess. You need to call on a higher power or connection to love to take you out or your habits of poor self talk and lack of love.

God has become a dirty word in our modern culture. And that’s because we are sick of religion’s version of god and in desperate search of a personal, loving and transformational version of a higher power.

Your emotional brain is set to destruct when you’ve been in a toxic relationship.

You’ve loved, you’ve been hurt and your emotional brain, your nervous system and your body is living in fear because you have stored up your hurt and you’re like a wounded animal just waiting for someone to strike.

If you have left your relationship and you’re still carrying that hurt or fear (or both – they are always entangled) then you’re going to react from that emotional brain.

The emotional brain is a thousand times more powerful (and older) than any other part of your brain.

It’s important to be able to interrupt the emotional brain with a power that is more powerful than it. And if you try to use your rational-logical brain – it simply isn’t powerful enough.

What has been proven to break the power of the emotional brain, is a feeling of love, comfort, safety and connection to something more powerful than you. That feeling of pure love that you can connect to and you can call it whatever works for you: ‘god’, greater consciousness, a faith in a love that you knew when you were young with a loved one or a character you love from a movie or story. It just has to be the best version of love you can imagine and connect to.

Anything that makes you FEEL connected to a love that is BIGGER than you is necessary to support your emotional brain to begin to feel safe – so you can unlock the negative cycle of hurt and fear that your brain has got itself trapped or ‘hard-wired’ in.

3. Release your hurt in a healthy and empowered way.

The most important way to release your past is in a way that you feel powerful as you are doing that – like a champion who has worked hard and achieved a great reward.

The main reason most people avoid facing hurt in a relationship is they are scared of being a mess or coming across to others like they can’t control their feelings and themselves.

Why is AA only 5 to 10% successful? Why do people go back to drinking if it got them into trouble in the first place?

When you get to a part of you that is hurt, it’s natural to be scared and go to your old habits and ‘soothers’ that took away your fear of the hurt or your fear of not knowing what to do.

One of the reasons you attract the “wrong guy” in a relationship, is because you are being challenged to actually see what parts of you that you are scared to see!

But instead, you blame the “wrong guy” for triggering these deep dark negative cycles of feeling. And then you say, I did something wrong and that’s why I attracted the ‘wrong’ guy.

You’re missing the point.

You’re actually being shown a part of yourself that is desperately wanting to learn HOW to LOVE but you never had the opportunity to learn HOW to LOVE.

When you grow up and you get hurt, no-one teaches you how to be open to hurt or not be fearful of the hurt or to say sorry or to look for someone to help you!

Most of the time, the hurt gets ignored, pushed under the carpet and life continues. Meanwhile, your emotional brain is remembering the hurt and creating the feeling that goes into your nervous system and emotional memory that relationships are not safe for you to express your emotions and hurt is something better to avoid or ignore.

The empowering part of learning HOW TO LOVE when you are hurt is the only healthy way to heal that hurt completely so it can go.

And you can feel a champion when you learn how to feel your hurt and how to ask for help or love.

I have worked with clients who have had decades (or a lifetime!) where they avoided their hurt and fear, but when they learn that it is possible to create a space of love – with you own version of a “higher power” – the shift is immense. Like somehow, they had this secret hero and champion for what they wanted in love and all they need do was connect to the feeling that it’s OK to be hurt, vulnerable and there is an incredible strength in that authenticity and no-one can hurt when they own that.

The biggest joy I have had working with clients is watching them learn their unique and individual way of how to give themselves the space of love required to end the destructive cycle of thoughts and heal the hurt that stopped them from allowing love into their body again.

The negative cycle gets replaced by a different love of who you are that you might not have known before or you may have had glimpses of and with the sessions and practical exercises, they gets to see how powerful they can be.

The sessions open up that space of love within you and your body, so that you don’t have to think about your feelings and you get to experience love that is permanent, and that lasts in your body. That experience of love in the body and the nervous system actually rewires the negative cycle in the emotional brain, until the clients can connect to their own joy, and the power of their unique personal love story.

I’ve been quoted as saying “the most important love story of all is yours”.

Until you claim the way you want to love yourself, by being and feeling and experiencing that love in your body, you can’t really experience the love you desire.

The term “toxic relationship” was beginning to be heard in the United States approximately twenty years ago. Recently this author came across an amazing chart included in Rorie Raye’s material “Have the Relationship You Want.”

A questionnaire in Rorie’s material asks about the actions of the person with whom you are involved identifying whether you have a “good” person, a “clueless” person, a “difficult” person, or a “toxic” person.

A good person is described as someone who can play ball with you. If you throw them the ball, they catch the ball and throw it back to you and you catch the ball and throw it back to them.

Reciprocity is present. The relationship works smoothly.

The “clueless” person is someone that is aware they are playing a game of catching ball with you, but when you throw the ball towards them, they are looking the opposite direction. When you inform them that you threw the ball their direction and they missed it, they immediately apologize and begin looking for and retrieving the ball.

They find the ball and throw it back to you and you both resume playing ball with one another.

The “difficult” person can be described as one wherein the previous scenario occurs. Instead of “catching on” to how the game is played, however, you spend a lot of time teaching, reminding, and reviewing how to play the game on frequent occasions.

A “toxic” person is one who looks directly at you, sees you’re about to throw the ball, stands there looking blankly at you, you throw the ball, the ball drops to the ground, and the toxic person looks at you like you’re ridiculous and says, “Didn’t you see I wasn’t ready?”

You respond by going over and chasing the ball apologizing that you didn’t see they weren’t ready. You resume to play ball and the same scenario happens again and again.

You say you want to play ball. That means ball games, not head games! Is it possible with narcissistic emotional abusers?

When you decide you want to go play with someone else, it is then that the toxic person engages and plays a few rounds of ball successfully catching and throwing the ball back and forth with you. The toxic person, however, soon returns to the same initial way of playing ball when you begin to become comfortable playing catch with them.

This cycle continues for years with the toxic person never figuring out how to play catch for any length of time the way normal people play catch because one of two reasons. One reason is that they don’t want to play ball the way you want to play ball or the second reason being that they simply can’t play ball the way the normal game of playing ball is played.

Ask yourself what kind of game of ball catching would you prefer playing? Have you ever played catch with someone who really knows how to play and can read how you can catch and then throws the ball in a way that feels good for you and works?

Or, are you so used to chasing dropped balls with your partner who never seems to “get it?”

There comes a time when you will realize that for once in your life you’d like to really play ball instead of scrambling after balls that not only fall on the floor, but most of time fall in places you really don’t want to put your hands.

Perhaps an important choice to consider would be to think about playing ball with a different person while you still can.

There is a video on “YouTube” by “A Gossamer Heart” with a slide showing a picture of a young child evolving to a middle-aged woman and to a mature-aged woman. Similarly to the video, look at the stress lines in your face and begin to realize that those lines are there to stay and that the years existing in a relationship that is everything but satisfying are gone.

Time waits for no one.

Industrial floor coatings are designed for use in settings where large and heavy equipment is used. Therefore, the coatings are most commonly used in two settings: residential garages and parking for cars and trucks and industries with large and heavy machinery. It is therefor important that the coating used is level, impact resistant and durable. This ensures that the floors are protected against wear and tear, loose chemicals, and mechanical abrasion. Besides protecting the floor against cracks and general weakening, industrial floor coatings also ensure that all pores are covered and therefore its not easy for ground water to seep through.

By using industrial floor coatings, cleaning of grime and dirt becomes quite easy with just soap and water without having to use industrial cleaners that are toxic in most cases. However, it is vital that you don’t settle for any type of coating since many coatings contain substances like isocyanates which are create toxic polyurethane. The best part is that not all coatings contain toxins. This means that isocyanates were not used at any stage during the manufacturing process of such coatings. Such coatings contain hybrid polyurethane which is not only safer but also cheaper than most toxic coatings.

Exposure to isocyanates occurs when they are evaporated in the plastic making process and accompanying vapor and mist can be released during a variety of activities.

The most common activities that may cause exposure include:

Spraying foams and paints that contain isocyanates

Heating of plastics that contain polyurethane

Using the hot wire methods to cut polyurethane foams

In the manufacturing process of urethane forms

Rolling and hand painting isocyanate coatings

Health effects caused by exposure to toxic polyurethane can cause irritation to the skin, eyes and respiratory system. Even exposure to small amounts of this toxic substance can cause serious health effects such as asthma. Short-term exposure causes irritation, dermatitis and burns to the throat, eyes and nose.

Approximately one in every twenty workers exposed to isocyanates become sensitized which is permanent and even deaths from asthma have been reported as well. Sensitization is quite dangerous since such workers develop severe reactions when exposed to isocyanates.

Symptoms of exposure to isocyanates:

Chest tightness

Running nose

Sore eyes

Sore throat

Coughing

Wheezing (may develop to asthma)

Nausea, Headaches

Drowsiness

Vomiting

Overexposure, which in most cases means direct contact, may lead to:

Conjunctivitis (the lining of eyelids and part of the eyeball become irritated)

Damage to the eye tissue

Blistering

Rashes

Lung problems

Sensitization of the whole body

Isocyanates have a musty, fruity or pungent odor. However, you shouldn’t use odor to identify its hazardous concentrations. If you are able to smell it, then the concentration is above the permissible levels. It is not possible to detect over-exposure to isocyanates using your sense of smell since by the time you realize it will be too late.

Accompanying fumes are also very dangerous, especially to asthma patients, elderly people and children. It goes without saying that they are extremely dangerous to unborn children and pregnant mothers. It is therefore vital that you read and research the contents of the coating you intend to use. It is highly recommended to research alternative methods without toxic substances before adding unnecessary risk to your job.