Health Effects from Overexposure to Epoxy

We have a long history of working with and around epoxies daily. As builders and epoxy manufacturers, we’ve had a much higher risk of exposure to epoxy than the average builder or casual epoxy user. Through our own experience and the experience of other builders, we can estimate the likelihood of health effects from handling WEST SYSTEM resins and hardeners.

The following are the most common health effects stemming from epoxy use. Nearly all of us can prevent these problems. The majority of those who do develop a health problem can continue using epoxy with adequate precautions.

Allergic Dermatitis (Sensitisation)

Allergic dermatitis is one of the more serious health effects, but less than 2% of epoxy users are likely to get it. Allergic dermatitis is when the body overreacts to an allergen. Sensitisation is the condition of being allergic to a substance. Your immune system and the degree and frequency of exposure to epoxy affect your chance of becoming sensitised. You are most susceptible if you have been grossly overexposed to epoxy or if you are inherently sensitised or allergic to a component of epoxy. You are also more susceptible if you have fair skin, if you’ve already been exposed to other sensitising substances, or if you have hay fever, other allergies or are under stress.

You may become sensitised to epoxy after many exposures or just one. It could take ten days of exposure, a month, or even years. It is best to avoid all exposure because you cannot know ahead of time how much you can tolerate before you become allergic.

Allergic reactions to epoxy can result in irritated skin or respiratory problems. Irritated skin is by far the more common of these two health effects. 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 vapours, if done frequently or for long periods, can irritate your respiratory tract. Exposing sensitive skin areas, like the eyelids, to highly concentrated epoxy vapours may cause itching and swelling.

See a physician if irritation persists or worsens after avoiding epoxy for several days. There is no specific antidote for epoxy sensitisation, but symptoms can sometimes be treated with medicine.

Once sensitised, additional (and sometimes increasingly severe) reactions become likely upon future exposures, even to tiny amounts of epoxy. It is difficult, but not impossible to prevent recurrences. Resume epoxy use only after symptoms disappear, and strictly follow the recommended handling procedures to prevent exposure. Read the product’s safety data sheets so you can identify symptoms and employ preventive and first aid measures.

Respiratory Irritation

Breathing highly concentrated epoxy vapour can irritate the respiratory system and cause sensitisation. At room temperature, epoxy vapours are unlikely to be highly concentrated. However, if you are already sensitised to epoxy, exposure to low concentrations of epoxy vapours can trigger an allergic reaction. At warmer temperatures and in unventilated spaces, the epoxy vapour levels increase.

Never breathe the sanding dust of partially cured epoxy. Epoxy chemicals remain reactive until they have cured. Serious health problems can result from sanding epoxy before it is fully cured. When you inhale these dust particles, they become trapped in the mucous lining of your respiratory system. The reactive material can cause severe respiratory irritation and/or respiratory allergies.

WEST SYSTEM fillers present few hazards by themselves. However, breathing any nuisance dust will worsen existing respiratory problems. Smokers and others whose lungs are under strain are far more likely to develop serious respiratory problems.

We strongly discourage spraying epoxy because it increases the amount of hazardous volatile components released from epoxy compared to other application methods.