# Pvc glue/primer health issues



## Plumbing_Dude

Just wondering if you ever heard of anyone having health problems that they can attribute to the use of PVC glue and primer.


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## TallCoolOne

Plumbing_Dude said:


> Just wondering if you ever heard of anyone having health problems that they can attribute to the use of PVC glue and primer.


No

I have had the primer spilt on my leg before in the Texas Heat, it feels like your leg is gonna melt off.


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## easttexasplumb

No, Maybe flux fumes, melting lead, asbestos, climbing ladders, heavy lifting, or any of the million dangerous things we do daily. The glue and primer is flammable so keep that in mind if soldering, get that glue away from the torch.


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## plumbpro

I've gotten primer splashed in my face and in my eyes. I can still see.


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## luv2plumb

Well if you would stop inhaling the fumes you wouldn't be worried about medical issues:whistling2:


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## Tommy plumber

I've heard that the purple primer, clear cleaner and cement are absorbed through the skin. I try not to get it on my skin. Once I splashed prple primer in my eye and it stung badly. Also a certain brand of pvc cement used to burn when it got on the skin. Can't remember the brand name, Oatey maybe? Probably goes to the liver.


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## LEAD INGOT

I have a carpenter buddy that spilled a quart of purple primer on his crotch. Other than dying his beanbag purple for a week, he was still able to make babies. Not sure if that helps, I just like telling that story.


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## ChrisConnor

LEAD INGOT said:


> I have a carpenter buddy that spilled a quart of purple primer on his crotch. Other than dying his beanbag purple for a week, he was still able to make babies. Not sure if that helps, I just like telling that story.



Probably glad they weren't naturally blue.:jester:


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## greenscoutII

So, while we're on the subject of primer and glue....

Does anyone else have trouble even smelling it anymore. When I first started, I could smell a freshly opened can across the room, now I barely notice.


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## Bill

I en driking it foor year now an it aint did not anything do it to me!


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## greenscoutII

Bill said:


> I en driking it foor year now an it aint did not anything do it to me!


:laughing::laughing:....

That reminds me of the Halcyon days of the construction boom when framing contractors in particular, were desperate for employees. There was a framer who walked into a house I was plumbing and picked up a set of glue & primer. (a set is what we called a can of primer duct taped to a can of cement).

Anyway, I was wondering what the heck he was doing, so he looks at me and asks, "ya mind"? Still confused, I said "what do you need, bud?"

He then proceeds to dump some of the primer into his T-shirt, holds it to his face and inhales deeply. Several times.

Now, I'm a pretty easy going guy, but I grabbed that scruffy bas-tard by the belt and tossed him right the hell out on the ground.

That's the last thing I need. A framer high on fumes running a worm-drive doing his back out around all MY freshly installed piping. Ugh..


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## plumbpro

greenscoutII said:


> :laughing::laughing:....
> 
> That reminds me of the Halcyon days of the construction boom when framing contractors in particular, were desperate for employees. There was a framer who walked into a house I was plumbing and picked up a set of glue & primer. (a set is what we called a can of primer duct taped to a can of cement).
> 
> Anyway, I was wondering what the heck he was doing, so he looks at me and asks, "ya mind"? Still confused, I said "what do you need, bud?"
> 
> He then proceeds to dump some of the primer into his T-shirt, holds it to his face and inhales deeply. Several times.
> 
> Now, I'm a pretty easy going guy, but I grabbed that scruffy bas-tard by the belt and tossed him right the hell out on the ground.
> 
> That's the last thing I need. A framer high on fumes running a worm-drive doing his back out around all MY freshly installed piping. Ugh..


What's wrong with a man "getting right".:laughing::blink::furious:


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## greenscoutII

plumbpro said:


> What's wrong with a man "getting right".:laughing::blink::furious:


Nothing...... As long as he's not doing it on the jobsite. Powertools+intoxicants=Missing digits. Or worse.....


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## plumbpro

Hey the only "straight" guys here are the trades. Drywall, flooring, framers, finishers, they all seem a little "off".


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## Eric

I wouldn't doubt if studies find it causes the Big "C" in 30 years.


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## Plumbing_Dude

The reason I brought it up was I was diagnosed with a rare cancer last year at the age of 28. One of the causes of this cancer may be some of the toxic chemicals in glue/primer. I can't be 100% sure that this is the reason I got cancer. It could just be sh$t luck. I was just wondering if anyone ever heard of anyone getting cancer from it.


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## luv2plumb

Plumbing_Dude said:


> The reason I brought it up was I was diagnosed with a rare cancer last year at the age of 28. One of the causes of this cancer may be some of the toxic chemicals in glue/primer. I can't be 100% sure that this is the reason I got cancer. It could just be sh$t luck. I was just wondering if anyone ever heard of anyone getting cancer from it.


Sorry to hear that.....but no I haven't heard of any long term issues


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## plbgbiz

Plumbing_Dude said:


> The reason I brought it up was I was diagnosed with a rare cancer last year at the age of 28. One of the causes of this cancer may be some of the toxic chemicals in glue/primer. I can't be 100% sure that this is the reason I got cancer. It could just be sh$t luck. I was just wondering if anyone ever heard of anyone getting cancer from it.


Modern medicine is amazing. I had a recent bout with colon cancer and all is well. I hope the best for you PD.

I copied this from the Oatey's MSDS sheet on Clear PVC Glue:

_*Emergency Overview: 
Clear 
liquid with an ether-like odor. Extremely flammable liquid and vapor. Vapors may cause flash 
fire. May cause eye and skin irritation. Inhalation of vapors or mist may cause respiratory 
irritation and central nervous system effects. Swallowing may cause irritation, nausea, 
vomiting, diarrhea and kidney or liver disorders. Aspiration hazard. May be fatal if 
swallowed. Symptoms may be delayed.*_

No mention of cancer.

Here's the link to check all their sheets... http://www.oatey.com/Channel/Shared/ProductResource/MSDS_Sheets.html


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## Redwood

plbgbiz said:


> Modern medicine is amazing. I had a recent bout with colon cancer and all is well. I hope the best for you PD.
> 
> I copied this from the Oatey's MSDS sheet on Clear PVC Glue:
> 
> _*Emergency Overview:
> Clear
> liquid with an ether-like odor. Extremely flammable liquid and vapor. Vapors may cause flash
> fire. May cause eye and skin irritation. Inhalation of vapors or mist may cause respiratory
> irritation and central nervous system effects. Swallowing may cause irritation, nausea,
> vomiting, diarrhea and kidney or liver disorders. Aspiration hazard. May be fatal if
> swallowed. Symptoms may be delayed.*_
> 
> No mention of cancer.
> 
> Here's the link to check all their sheets... http://www.oatey.com/Channel/Shared/ProductResource/MSDS_Sheets.html



Carcinogenicity is listed further down in Section 11

Medium PVC Cement...
None of the components are listed as a carcinogen or suspect carcinogen by 
NTP, IARC or OSHA

Purple Primer/Cleaner...
None of the components are listed as a carcinogen or suspect carcinogen by 
NTP, IARC or OSHA.


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## DUNBAR PLUMBING

The stuff is horrible. VOC's are known to do bad things. It has future effects on the Central Nervous System. If you all know anything about that structure in the body, ask anyone who has problems with it. It's the electrical system of your body that controls everything.


And since you can't pour/spill this material on your kidneys and liver, that's being mentioned due to the long term exposure that is created by inhalation and the constant contact to the skin. If you can smell it, it's in contact with your skin.

What's evident is the smell of glue and cleaner is so strong that our noses go numb in short time to the smells of the product, not realizing how overbearing it is...

but when another person enters a room, hell; when someone comes into an open structure like a house being plumbed, EVERYONE always comments on that smell, and how strong it is.


Anything that can bond two pieces of plastic together and is highly flammable, is horrible to the human body. 

We are literally (If you're in your 30's-40's) first generation to full careers around plastic piping involving solvent weld assembly.


First part of my 20's involve massive exposure to VOC's due to new construction. 

It'll be outlawed eventually... 20 years from now. Push fit drainage systems I know are soon to come, replacing solvent weld joining. 

I say this because look at everything else in this profession that has went from skilled multiple task process of joining materials to open up a plastic bag, cut a pipe and push/crimp it together, on your way.

Last couple jobs I did involved some considerable usage of glue and cleaner and I kept fans running and doors open, but that wasn't working well with the cold. So, I sat in a closed up basement full of those VOC's for hours, that's exposure that the skin and lungs inhaled. 

Nobody is a hero stating, "I've been around this for years, no problems." 

Not yet. And we won't know you anyway when the time does come later in life *when all of this adds up to years of exposure.*


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## Eric

Knew a couple of 80 something year old plumbers, who would tell stories of mixing asbestos in the basement to put it on heat lines. Big cloud of dust in the air. They just kept on working, hey it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It was used on almost anything. 
Both passed from Lung cancer.

There is a product with lower VOC's advertised on the label but I'm not sure which brand it was. I think it was only the cleaner/primer.​


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## luv2plumb

Eric said:


> Knew a couple of 80 something year old plumbers, who would tell stories of mixing asbestos in the basement to put it on heat lines. Big cloud of dust in the air. They just kept on working, hey it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It was used on almost anything.
> Both passed from Lung cancer.
> 
> *There is a product with lower VOC's advertised on the label but I'm not sure which brand it was. I think it was only the cleaner/primer. *​


I think most brands are starting to go with low VOC's....I know IPS (weld-on) and Oatey have them.


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## Airgap

Eric said:


> Knew a couple of 80 something year old plumbers, who would tell stories of mixing asbestos in the basement to put it on heat lines. Big cloud of dust in the air. They just kept on working, hey it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It was used on almost anything.
> 
> Both passed from Lung cancer.​
> 
> There is a product with lower VOC's advertised on the label but I'm not sure which brand it was. I think it was only the cleaner/primer.​


Were they smokers as well? Smoking increases the percentages of AB related disease by an incredible amount(I'd have to look up the exact %'s). That's a little obvious though. 

Still the best insulation we've come up with. I'd like to put it on my wood boiler....


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## plumber666

Did a reno on a swimming pool, 12" PVC in a 24-18" crawlspace, four big fans to blow the fumes out. After every joint we still had to scurry out of there to get our sh*t together, we were stoned out of our minds. Had a headache for 2 weeks.


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## Scott K

plumber666 said:


> Did a reno on a swimming pool, 12" PVC in a 24-18" crawlspace, four big fans to blow the fumes out. After every joint we still had to scurry out of there to get our sh*t together, we were stoned out of our minds. Had a headache for 2 weeks.


You didn't wear a mask with an Organic vapour cartridge?


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## DUNBAR PLUMBING

plumber666 said:


> Did a reno on a swimming pool, 12" PVC in a 24-18" crawlspace, four big fans to blow the fumes out. After every joint we still had to scurry out of there to get our sh*t together, we were stoned out of our minds. Had a headache for 2 weeks.


 





​ 
Every single time I have to rework drain lines underneath a kitchen sink, involving glue and cleaner, my small 12" fan is put inside the cabinet blowing out while working inside. 





​ 
I've done crawlspace jobs like you're mentioning above, did a job recently in a basement where it was so cold outside we had to keep the doors closed, lady thought her house was gonna blow up when she opened the front door and the smell of glue and cleaner was so strong.







​Those exposures add up just like this:



Sitting in a room, somebody else comes in and keeps knocking over a can of glue and cleaner... whole room fills up with that chemical in the air.





​ 

Now think of every single job you've done running plastic, add up the hours right now, 


and put yourself back in that room. Think about how many years of that exposure is. 

Can't reference "back then" because we'll be 1st generation to put full careers in, being around this stuff. 








I feel sorry for new construction plumbers that have been running plastic for both waters and drains. MS, Parkinsons, severe nerve twitches, optical nerve degeneration from the eyes being exposed, skin cancers where the glue/cleaner repeatedly hit the hands or arms.







​


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## PLUMB TIME

Not sure about cancer DB, but maybe think about a steady girlfriend.


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## Redwood

PLUMB TIME said:


> Not sure about cancer DB, but maybe think about a steady girlfriend.


:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:
That's Funny Right There...
I don't care where you're from...:thumbup:


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