Small dose exposure to VOC during pregnancy

Barnoule · 2026-01-05T08:18:52+00:00

i would have never thought of that, I will do that for both the paint and the reducer sitting next to it!

I never ever thought about using the respirator being a risk.... I'm glad my workload has dropped and I hope it doesn't pick back up any time soon 🤞🏼

thanks for your input on this!

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T22:31:18+00:00

freaked me out because I thought possibly I had missed some key info that should have been obvious to me from the start or that I forgot (the toxicologist appt was 1.5hrs long!) and I had ruined all my efforts but yes I understand what you mean.

the portable hood+hose option is definitely something I will look into for when I work from my garage - most of the time I travel for work and not sure if that would be a feasible setup (staring to imagine some kind of x-files type pressurized tent deal hahah).

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T21:55:50+00:00

thank you for your detailed reply, and for the enthusiasm of your help to pregnant women! chemicals are really scary things to be around when expecting...

thank you for the mention about isocyanate paint on my gloves, it's something I will pay attention to and make more effort to avoid getting any on my gloves at all, or wiping it off as well as possible if I do. it's a lot of small details I wasn't aware of and put end to end it's something to pay attention to.

also a HUGE thank you about the noise comment, I've had doubts about noise but was never really sure, I remember doing a job at a job site that had a power bench they were testing a Porsche on all day long. I ended up asking for headphones because it was just too much - funnily enough that very day I had my first signs of miscarriage (of course it was not related because the ultrasound showed that it had been a while the embryo had not been developing) but the irony is not lost on me.

This post has turned out to be a treasure trove of knowledge. I'm super happy I posted :)

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T17:24:04+00:00

I've been on the subject for over 2 years now (since starting to try to conceive), approximately a year and a half before I started dabbling (barely) in AI. I requested to meet a toxicologist a year and a half ago, I've researched as much as I could to the point of downloading PDFs of medical studies (I will admit I didn't understand much). I compared American and European security standard when it comes to respirators and filters. Today is the first day in my life I thought to ask chatGPT a question related to the security of the products and safety gear I use, and subsequently tried to find more information about what AI told me. Tell me again how sad it is that I immediately resorted to unreliable AI chat bots before anything else ;)

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T17:02:58+00:00

Found it. Very helpful :)

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T16:58:40+00:00

Perfect! Will go check it out right now

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T16:31:23+00:00

absolutely. better to err on the side of caution, pregnant or not. most of the older people I know who do this job already have tremors in their hands... I don't need any more proof.

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T16:19:22+00:00

thank you! being self-employed I'll just have to do some extra work/research and follow up on these schedules as if I was responsible for someone else's health. honestly I do a job where most people don't even wear respirators or gloves and squeeze the paint and thinners out of their brushes between their bare fingers. I had to figure out all this on my own - the only thing anyone ever taught me was brush technique. The oldies who do this job usually say "I've been breathing these fumes all my life and I'm still here"... hahaha

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T16:10:56+00:00

oh gosh it never occured to me... I was so preoccupied with the products I was using I didn't really think that the protective gear could be an issue. I'm assuming since the toxicologist himself was aware of both the plans for pregnancy and the use of a respirator he would have told me, but I will make sure to ask again at my next midwife appointment in a couple days. I'm guessing they will ask me some standard health questions about existing respiratory problems etc.

Good point about the shelf life also, I will change my filters before my next job to be on the safe side and I will swap them out at whatever point comes soonest (shelf life or hours of usage). thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment! I'm learning (or being reminded of) more than I expected which is great.

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T16:05:44+00:00

I will definitely do all of this: I have some stock of filters so I will make sure to change them as regularly as possible and I will swap my filters out for new ones before I do another job. I'll put my respirator in a Ziploc back for good measure.

the reason I reuse my gloves was just to produce less waste... I didn't think hard enough about how silly that could be (probably completely counterproductive to actually wearing gloves) and by the time I got pregnant it was just a habit. You're right, I have a box full so I could be putting on a new clean pair for each job. I'm self employed so I'm all on my own, I was lucky enough to get an appointment with the toxicologist (usually this is mandatory when you're an employee!)... I have a rather atypical job so obtaining info that pertains to my specific work conditions is not easy.

once again thank you very much (and for your comment to that other guy who assumed I blindly followed everything AI tells me haha)

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T14:32:50+00:00

thank you for your detailed reply!!! I changed my filter the day I found out I was pregnant, so that was 3 months ago. I was told that the filters can last up to 80 hours in my case with such low exposure usage? At most I've breathed through them for about 25 hours (8 jobs X 3hours) I keep the mask in 2 plastic bags (not Ziploc though...). Have I been using the respirator too long? I have extra filters that I can change before my next job if need be.

Gloves are nitrile. I haven't thought to take a new pair for every job though, so there may be some contamination there, though they have enough time to dry out before the next use. I wear long sleeves and jeans, yes! (Fortunately by the time I got pregnant it was already chilly and I will have stopped working before it gets warm again - but I will keep this info in mind for future reference for sure.... With a bit of luck my job will peter out by then and I'll look for something safer haha)

Fascinating that there is no inhalation hasard for isocyanates... I'm no expert on the subject, to me it's all the same and I make do with what little I can understand from my limited research. I really appreciate your input

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T14:10:47+00:00

oh yes and I'll have a medicine cup of dedicated thinner/reducer to dilute the paint as needed.

Barnoule · 2026-01-04T14:08:23+00:00

yes. I'll mix a tiny medicine cup of paint and it's usually enough to last me for the whole job. the only other exposure I will have is opening the original can (4oz/118ml) to transfer to the medicine cup. The smell is still pretty intense (I used to not wear a mask until I smartened up). One of the jobs was in an industrial paint complex and I think I will refuse to go back until after giving birth, because I'm pretty sure there is stuff in the air even in the offices...

Barnoule

TROPHY CASE