Possible warning: Early onset cataract due to Methyl Isocyanate (URETHANE FUMES)

[metamorphicsfx]

Hello everyone.

I've been working in the film business making miniatures and special effects props for the past 20 years. I am now 41 and have severe cataracts in both eyes, the condition has deteriorated quickly in the past 14 months. I've started researching for a possible cause that might be linked to my work environment, they are hazardous chemicals after all. I' ve come across a couple of articles that links Methyl Isocyanates, the primary ingredient of the urethane products we all use to make props, as a direct link to the formation of cataracts.

I' m looking for anyone that might know someone, that has had early onset cataract that worked with urethane on a daily basis for many years. I'm not trying to be alarming, but if this is right, it's not mentioned in the MSDS sheets and people should protect themselves.

Thank you, any leads would help.

 

[benhs1898]

Thanks for the heads up, I always work with a woeful lack of protection. Not anymore.

 

[metamorphicsfx]

I protect myself relatively well, latex or Nytril gloves, glasses in case of splashes, in my homemade spraybooth (10 x15). The air exchange is relatively good, we can laminate fibreglass and it doesn't smell out of the spraybooth, even with the door open, its a negative draw airflow. I had already heard that Isocyanates can cause emphysema, so I've always done my best to protect myself, short of wearing a gas mask all day...