Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

I am new to this hobby, and as I have learned, you get slobbering wet sometimes with glow fuel. I get it on my hands, my clothes. I have had an engine spray accross my face.

If you read the label on my fuel, it says causes cancer...do not get in contact with skin...if get on your clothes, remove your clothes.

I have never seen anyone at the field remove their clothes. :-)

Seriously, I could see how long term exposure could make you sick.

How do you all keep your hands clean at the field?

Anyone have any thoughts?

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Yeah, find a hobby that uses sunshine as it's main input....oh wait, that causes cancer too. Guess you're out of luck.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Well let’s see as a young child I went to schools with asbestos I’ve worked as a mechanic exposed to all kinds of cancer causing chemical iv been welder now the say welding fumes can cause it I’ve smoked for over 30 years I’ve been in the hobby for over 20 years. And about 2 years ago I had cancer not caused by any of the above they thank Hodgkin’s lymphoma is caused by the Epstein bar virus the one that gives you Mononucleosis even thou I never had it. So the answerer is no I don’t worry about it. Personally I thank if your gona get it you get it if you don’t you don’t
Danny

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

PS id say the odds are probably higher of getting skin cancer form all the sun you get flying

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

You could die driving to work on monday morning.

You gonna quit driving?

My aunt died from lung cancer last year. Never smoked a single cigarette in her life. She wasn't a factory worker, and she didn't spend her time inside burning buildings. She was a home maker. Died from lung cancer at 58yrs old.

It's either in the cards for you to get cancer--or it ain't.

Did you ever consider how much methanol and klotz it actually took to make a rat develope cancer in a laboratory? Probably the equivelant of you bathing in it for 45 minutes a day for 5yrs straight. :eek:

Quit worrying and go get some glow fuel on your hands. ;)

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

i don't worry about it either. i lost my mother july 24 to carcinous melanoma resulting from breast cancer. she smoked for over 30 years and i always figured it would be lung cancer that got her but....goes to show you how much all these dr.s and scientists really know.

while we're on the subject of carcinogens.... do know the most common carcinogen on the market today? unleaded gasoline.

now do you wanna go back and rethink things through?

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

garywi,
Sounds like a sarcastic bunch of guys here.
And, they're right!
Fuel manufacturer's must put that label on the fuel in order to protect themselves from frivolous law suites.
Our society has become so litigious, that people sue for any possible reason they can.
I have been using glow fuel on a weekly basis for 29 years. I worry about getting cut by a prop,
getting fuel in my eyes and getting hit by planes. The thought of getting cancer from this hobby has never
crossed my mind!

Nearly all the people I knew that died of cancer, lived healthier lives than I do.
The ones who survived cancer, told their doctors about a problem, before it was too late.

When it comes to cancers, early intervention is the only thing you can do.PERIOD!
If I suspect I may have something really wrong with me, I tell my doc.
If he says it's nothing, I seek a second opinion. If the second doc says it's nothing, than O.K.!
If the second opinion is concerned, then I will do something about it.

Finally, this hobby is how I unwind. When I'm flying a model, I am not thinking about all of my problems.
And that my friend, is the best thing a person can do for themselves.
Find a hobby and quit worrying about everything all the time!

Doug

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

While most good things in excess will cause cancer.
I would imagine that if you worked in it daily you would need to take precautions but not on the part time exposure that we endure.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

i wasn't trying to come off as being "sarcastic" i was just stating facts. IMHO there are fine lines that separate the "sarcastic" and "truth" or "facts".........that line is obscured by each person that looks at it. what might sound like a "fact" to you might sound "sarcastic" to me.

.....and this post wasn't meant to be "sarcastic" either.........just stating a couple more facts. LOL:) i mean let's face it,.....it couldn't have been said any clearer than this.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

parrthd,
I was not referring to your comments. I am sorry to hear about the loss of your mother.
I know what it is like. My mother died a slow and painful death. She had Lou Garhigs disease.
No one knows why, it just happened. There was nothing that could be done but keep her comfortable.

Given my family history, I just live the way I want to. My job is my excersize (crawling around full scale aircraft as a mechanic)
I probably smoke and drink more than I should.
But, darnit! If I died today, I will die happy!!!!!
That is where I think my parents lived wrong. They were nearly always upset about one thing or another.

What did I learn from their early deaths????
Don't sweat the small stuff.
Do what you really want to do today, you may not get a chance tomorrow.
Give thanks to God for what he has given to you. (Can I say that here?)
Make as many friends as you can. Help those friends when you can.

Doug

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Many of the old guys who laid the foundations for this hobby died -very- old!
And some of them are still alive and kicking.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

EVERYTHING causes Cancer. Enjoy life to the fullest. Live every day as if it were your last. Try to be more like Jesus, it'll make you a better person. Enjoy your hobbies to the extreme. BTW, Jesus was a Carpenter, I can only imagine what his R/C planes would be like.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Not to ruin anybody's lunch here but when I was breaking in my airplane motor I was scratching my neck
in an area where a mosquito bite formed all while having oil on my hands. The mosquito bite went away
but, now I'm left with a very weird bump just above where the bite was under my skin that hasn't gone away in about 3 months.

You definitely don't want to get glow fuel exhaust residue in any open wounds and then aggitate the situation
by scratching it. While I don't think this is cancer or anything, it does show that skin can have a bad
reaction to either the castor or the nitro in our fuels. I now try to always wipe my hands with a paper towel
after starting a motor and it also keeps your radios cleaner too.

I really wouldn't worry too much about cancer just be careful around irritated or open areas on the
skin...Have Fun!:D

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

What ingredient of glow fuel is the problem? Is it the synthetic lube? My fuel has no warning.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Between smoking, drinking(not much but still) eating to many Big Mac's(general unhealthy eating habit's... tastes good though:D) All the Chemical's I work around not to mention motor's, gears and HV electricity I'm fairly certain something will kill me before old age... cancer from glow fuel is WAY down on the list of probable's so I don't worry one bit about it;)

sportflyr,

you may have an allergic reaction to something in the fuel...anyone can... I've had raw and burned fuel on open WOUNDS... not mosquito bite's or paper cut's... it may burn a bit on contact but I've NEVER had any adverse reaction... swelling, itching, infection, bump's or so on... if that bump hasn't gone away in 3 months you may want a doc to look at it... something is keeping it from healing... you may have something in there.

John

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

After 15 years or more using it I FINALLY looked at the what the back of my PowerMaster glow fuel can has to say...


" WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the state of CALIFORNIA to cause cancer and possible birth defects"

that say's it all for me... AIR is known to cause cancer and birth defects in California[sm=72_72.gif]

John

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Dang! Ya beat me to it. It seems EVERYTHING causes cancer in Californy.

Simply stay out of California and you'll be A-OK! :D

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

You know, the main ingredient of Glow fuel is wood grain alcohol. Wood grain alcohol consumed in even small quantities can cause blindness..... So does something else my mom warned me about.....

I have 20/20 vision......... . Now if you want to really talk toxic, lets talk gasoline.... Destroys your kidneys if absorbed through the skin, and is systemically TOXIC to the body. That means it shuts down all your innards slowly when you absorb it through your skin.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Doesn't seem that this has anything to do with the bite, or if it does you ought to check with your Doc for either West Nile disease or Lyme Disease, both from mosquitos.

40+ years in the oil and chemicals industry showed me how toxic gasoline is. Make sure that you stand upwind of the gas fumes while fueling your car/truck!! The gasoline vapors - especially the benzene which is a component - are one of the worst things for you, and a whole lot worse than any glow fuel!

By the way, question everything that you read or hear about dangerous chemicals, especially from governmental agencies (and especially, especially from Californmia as has been pointed out). For example, the often quoted report by the EPA that resulted in the banning of lead from gasoline actually had no data that leaded gasoline was bad, but stated that if you were exposed to leaded gasoline and had eaten lead-based paint (the study was based on Chicago data) you were in danger. Well duh! Eating lead-based paint and drinking water has the same danger.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

There are some components that used to be used in glowfuel that were pretty bad. We don't find them in fuel nowadays.

But the threat they posed is like a lot of our "everybody knows that bla bla" modeling wisdom. It's myth still around even if it's no longer true.

One of the major glow fuel compainies got started in model airplane fuels back when the original owner (who was only selling to drag racers) got skin cancer and sold out to an RC hobbiest. The original owner got cancer from the junk they were using back then.

BTW, I'm rather thankful for the state of California. As long as none of it's residents move here from there. And personally, I prefer that they break it off from the continent and paddle it over to France or wherever they wish they were, but don't expect them to do that anytime soon.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

What class!!

I think I'll sell a house in CA and buy one of the Carolinas, but not the North one...the Capital Gains tax would kill me unless I donated the change to charity.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Well, I hear the everything causes cancer argument a lot. Everything does not cause cancer, but there is a reason for everything. If someone gets cancer, there is a reason. So we can go throught life with our blinders on, or we can ask questions, and take in all avaialble information, and then decide how to respond or change.

If you don't think glow fuel has any impacts to humans, please take a drink and let me know what it tastes like.

Now this is my sarcasic answer.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

Practically everything related to RC seems to have the “WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the state of CALIFORNIA to cause cancer and possible birth defects” label. A package of Dubro control horns (steel screw, aluminum nut, some nylon parts) had it. I honestly do not know if any of those items pose a threat but it seems unlikely. I believe some companies put the label on everything “just in case.”

Glow fuel does contain some nasty chemicals. I do not worry about it much, but I do clean my skin with Windex and a paper towel if I get a bunch of fuel on me. Of course, the Windex could be dangerous too.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

The human body is an aqueous solution. I try not to get anything on me or in me that upsets the applecart so yes I wipe off fuel immediately.

RE: Fuel - Are you worried about Cancer?
 

OMG, get a life..Been in this hobby for 43 yrs, and I'm still kicking..I've used glow fuel, and gas for my engines..if you're going to worry about every damn label on a bottle or can,you better get a new hobby...How about tinker toys?..