hearing and eye protection who uses it?

[Lobo]

I'm no pro -- just a weekend warrior. Almost without exception, I wear chaps, my Husky helmet/muffs/screen, gloves and boots.

This is an interesting post -- it's amazing how many folks wear only limited protection (even pros?). I try my best to wear my PPE at all times. Accidents rarely wait for times when you have all the right stuff on.....

Pros also get injured bad. Over confidence and complacency are deadly ennemies with anything as dangerous as saws, vehicles, firearms to name but a few.

 

[mbb]

I hate to say it, but anyone who uses any power tool is a ????ed idiot if they dont wear eye protection. Its not the routine things that you expect that get you, its the mishaps, and it will occur in the blink of an eye. Eyes are very easily damaged, and not easily repaired. When an eye is penetrated, you can become blinded by sympathetic opthalmia , in BOTH eyes, not just the one injured. And it can occcur up to 50 yrs later. You can spend the rest of your life wondering if you will go blind some day.

This occurs because material from inside the eye wall is introduced into the interior, the body doesnt recognize it and attacks it, an autoimmune disfunction. Only it attacks both eyes. Many famous persons throughout history became blind this way, as many as 25% of eye injuries during the civil war resulted in blindness due to this too.

Infection greatly increases the risk, so with todays antibiotics risk is minimized, but still there. The only sure way to prevent it is to remove the damaged eye within a couple of days, but thats not what you want to do if it can be saved. So you are left with the choice of trying to keep both eyes and risk blindness , or give up the damaged one.

Yes I have 1 eye left.

 

[asb151]

With the saw I use hearing and eye protection. Steel toe boots and chain saw pants. Occasionally a saw resistant shirt.
Over the years I have started to notice just the slightest loss in hearing. Maybe it was the years of Heavy Metal music, I don't know. Now I even use hearing protection cutting the grass on the rider mower. Eye protection almost all the time. It's all too precious to lose.

 

[Dadatwins]

I am surprised also by the lack of simple eye and ear protection from a lot of folks. Back in the 70's & 80's I never bothered with ear protection, the old "I need to hear what is going on around me excuse" Now I can barely hear what is going on around me without a saw running and I wear the ear muffs to save the hearing I have left. As for protecting your eyes, that should be a no-brainer, they are the easiest target and can be lost in less than a second. I am guilty of not wearing chaps when using a saw on the ground but eyes, ears and head are valuable to me and should be to everyone else. The old saying ,"it's not IF I will get hurt, but WHEN" Be careful.

 

[rustyb]

Interesting thread,........mostly in the sense that I only got one response when I asked if anyone else wore a respirator. And that individual wears one due to his allergies.

I can't help but wonder why more folks aren't concerned with inhaling something (two stroke emissions) that is known to cause cancer......especially the pros.....the guys that cut day-in and day-out. Is it because the dangers aren't immediate like a chain to the knee or stick in the eye? If it appears I'm trying to be some kind of ass here, I'm not. I'm 100% serious and genuinely curious.

C'mon guys. I can't be the only one here that is concerned with the long term effects of breathing exhaust.

Why shouldn't a respirator be every bit as important as a pair of glasses or ear muffs or chaps?

 

[neverenough]

I can't help but wonder why more folks aren't concerned with inhaling something (two stroke emissions) that is known to cause cancer

You've been reading too much crap from California. Everything in California causes cancer. The other halfs dad ran saws and a saw mill for 50+years, plus all the farm equiptment. He also mixed all those so called cancer causing pestisides and herbisides, BY HAND! He's almost 80...no Cancer. He has plenty of check ups too. Friends of the family own a third generation full service gas station, they pump ALL the fuel, none of the family ever got cancer. Both my grandfathers chewed snuff for many decades, neither one died of cancer, and they both lived well into their 80's. Then again, my grandmother died from breast cancer. Never smoked, drank, lived a clean life. My mother just got done with cancer treatment. Never smoked, drank, lived a good clean life. So I ask, how is it KNOWN 2-stroke exhaust causes cancer?????

 

[pinus]

No less important as safety gear are the "reliable" legs of logger. Personally I convinced of this when I had problems with my back

 

[rustyb]

Hey Neverenough,

You've been reading too much crap from California. Everything in California causes cancer.

No, but it has always been my nature to make myself aware of things. And that trait was just hardened after watching my sister die of cancer.

I am curious though. What deems something that is read crap in your eyes? And, what does California have to do with anything?

The other halfs dad ran saws and a saw mill for 50+years, plus all the farm equiptment. He also mixed all those so called cancer causing pestisides and herbisides, BY HAND! He's almost 80...no Cancer. He has plenty of check ups too. Friends of the family own a third generation full service gas station, they pump ALL the fuel, none of the family ever got cancer. Both my grandfathers chewed snuff for many decades, neither one died of cancer, and they both lived well into their 80's.

I'm not sure where to begin. What I will say though is that times have changed in what we are exposed to in everyday life. Humans are exposed to far more chemicals now then of the generation you speak of. There are tests available now that will detect the varying chemiclas in ones body but what isn't known is what the combination of all that stuff will do, over long periods. Statistics don't paint a favorable picture though.

Also, what affects one may not affect another. Does that make something safe for you or me? That's the $64K question. I'm going to continue wearing my respirator though. I have no reason not to.

So I ask, how is it KNOWN 2-stroke exhaust causes cancer?????

I do not know the specifics but this IS the information age, if you are really concerned (ever follow the Yellowstone snowmobile fiasco? The AQ is so bad in the park due to two-stroke emmisions, park workers are required to wear respirators). Anyway, as in most other studies, I would assume indicators are used such as mice.

 

[Newfie]

In any event I'm sure they had a much larger group in the scientific study to determine gas fumes to be carcinogenic then the anecdotal evidence of a half dozen of neverenough's relatives.

 

[neverenough]

I do not know the specifics but this IS the information age, if you are really concerned (ever follow the Yellowstone snowmobile fiasco? The AQ is so bad in the park due to two-stroke emmisions, park workers are required to wear respirators). Anyway, as in most other studies, I would assume indicators are used such as mice.

Now see, that is the "California crap" I refer too. It's a generalization. That Yellowstone story was such a load of BS it beyond Pathetic. It was a bunch of tree hugging idiots "playing victim" in order to advance their cause. They just want snowmobiles out of the park. They will lie and do anything to make it happen. I could go on for pages on the Yellowstone story. Go to the park ANY winter day with sleds around, and I GUARANTEE you, you will NOT see one park ranger with a gas mask. I know, I've been there.

The under lying issue is Cancer happens, and most of the time doctors don't know why. In order to place blame, instead of saying "I don't know", they blame it on things the general public knows nothing about. All those examples I gave, they are off a list of "Known to cause cancer in the state of California". A lot of the things we are told can cause cancer stems from what comes from California's "research".

 

[neverenough]

In any event I'm sure they had a much larger group in the scientific study to determine gas fumes to be carcinogenic then the anecdotal evidence of a half dozen of neverenough's relatives.

Then again, I'm sure you read, understood, and double checked the study to make sure it was all proper and accurate.

Why isn't all the old time Arborist/loggers dropping like fly's from 2 stroke exhaust Cancer??? The saws of yesteryear spewed much more "dirty" exhaust than nowdays. Is that a large enough sample for you??? It's best to believe everything you read and never question anything.

 

[pbtree]

I always wear hearing protection and glasses - I need to do better on the chaps and gloves...

 

[Sprig]

I will not start my saw without earplugs in if I can help it and always wear decent wrap-around (ones with sidepanels) glasses as I have had several close calls with chunks bouncing off the side of my cheek. If I am doing lots of bucking, especially in the colder months I'll use my helmet with the brush screen as the closed safety glasses tend to fog up and I consider that to be just as dangerous as not wearing them. I have had chunks go under the screen as well. Generally I'll wear the hardhat anyhow as I like the addition of the muffs as extra sound barrier. Good footwear I deem a must especially in the traction dept., I preffer the nylon safety toes over steel as they seem to be warmer, caulk boots in the woods. When I was in the sawmill I did much chainsaw work and always used half chaps, plugs/w/muffs, goggles, and occasionally a dust mask if dealing with cedar (yellow being the worst health-wise, a known aggressive carsinogen, cedar (I believe mahogany and teak as well) has a barbed fiber that is very hard for your lungs to expell much like asbestos) and very dry pine and fir. As for gloves I like the grip of the webs and feel that they also take up some of the high frequency vibration esp. in some of the large screamers. My first new saw was a 2100 Husky with a skip-tooth chain and massive bar (34" I think) and my hands would hum for a couple of hours after a day cutting shakeblocks, I think that wearing decent gloves saved them (my hands that is). Complacency is probably the biggest cause of accidents next to fatigue and stupidity IMO but even if your alert the ????edest things can happen, I wear a nice scar on my chin from a bouncing piece of knot 30yrs ago. Anyhow I've blathered enough here, bottom line is to look after your ears and eyes and other valuable body parts, you'll be glad you did in the long run. The best piece of safety gear you'll ever own is the common sense generated by your brain.
I may as well add my pet peeve for people bucking with powersaws and that is standing in front of the saw rather than to the left, expecting the chain brake will save their faces during a kick-back. Do you really want to test that theory?
Nuff said.

 

[mktest]

I'm almost paranoid when it comes to eye protection. I have reduced sight on one eye (always been like that, no accident), and even if I can read with it I would NOT want to lose "my good eye". I feel almost naked if I'm in a forest and have no protection for the eyes. And I don't mean just when felling trees, I mean when WALKING in the forest, I much prefer my old glasses then, not my new lenses

Protecting the eyes and ears is so easy, I can't understand why people don't do it. Wearing thick clothes in warm summer, that is uncomfortable, I can understand why people are reluctant to do that.

 

[rustyb]

Is that a large enough sample for you??? It's best to believe everything you read and never question anything.

Now how & what are you going to question if you don't read??

Obviously, nothing I or anyone else writes or studies will budge your head from the sand pile it's buried in. I'll just accept what I saw in Yellowstone and what I read was nothing but a figment of my imagination or some kind of conspirocy. The EPA & DEQ and the various cancer research centers are so less in tuned to what's going on then you. I'm sure you have spent even more time than I or any of those researchers pouring over the facts, numbers, etc.

 

[Mr_Brushcutter]

I can see the point for wearing resporators the two stroke oil contains stablisiers which would more than likely contain benzene which is carsongenic. Not to mention working in close proximity of exhaust fumes which cotain SO2 CO CO2 NOx and probally lot of other nastys. Mineral chain oil mist probally isn't too good for health anyway

Personly i don't bother because i'm going to get a larger dose having my window open or walking to/from work or the shops. I have them avaiable (the paper kind) if anybody wants one, nobody bothers though. How many people wear gloves when refueling especially if its diesel thats carsongentic too you know. Bio chain oil should wear gloves when handling that because its rotting plant matter if it gets into the blood stream it can cause septicemia.

Bottom line with this i think yes it probally is bad for you but its unfair to single it out as a single cause - your much more likely get a higher dose driving with the window open on the moterway or walking down the pavement on a busy road. Its a lot of could happens really.

 

[pbtree]

I do not know that I have enough medical knowledge to state anything with certainty, but I do know that I see no constructive purpose in poking at or making fun of anybody who wants to play it safe -

At time I wear a mask, becuase I find the combination of dust and fumes to be a bit much - then again at time I do not bother (weather, duration of the job, etc.)

Besides, anyone can quote this or that to create credibility to their positions - but statistics would indeed indicate that overall you are better off limiting your exposure to certins things - I owuld be willing to bet exhaust fumes are one of them. :angel:

 

[Newfie]

Then again, I'm sure you read, understood, and double checked the study to make sure it was all proper and accurate.

Do I have to have done all that to have an educated opinion? I'm sure you haven't and seem confident that you are qualified to have an opinion of your own. Your "prove it" mentality shows your ignorance and fear. "If I deny it's truth then it can't be true" is convoluted logic. There's a big scary world outside of your own.

Let Rusty wear his respirator, he isn't hurting anything or anybody.

 

[bwalker]

Now see, that is the "California crap" I refer too. It's a generalization. That Yellowstone story was such a load of BS it beyond Pathetic. It was a bunch of tree hugging idiots "playing victim" in order to advance their cause. They just want snowmobiles out of the park. They will lie and do anything to make it happen. I could go on for pages on the Yellowstone story. Go to the park ANY winter day with sleds around, and I GUARANTEE you, you will NOT see one park ranger with a gas mask. I know, I've been there.

Neverenough is spot on. I have been to the park also and the snowmobile ban thing was the product of the Klinton admiistration throwing a bone to its supporters in the radical enviro movement.

Alot of things cause cancer, including the ingrediants in gasoline and oil. Are some of these carcinagins ingested while operating a saw? Maybe, but I dont see sawyers and arbos developing lung cancer left and right. Heck, bar-b-Q'ing meat causes the ingestion of carcinigins also, but I am not about to stop.

 

[lumberjach]

I use ear protection most of the time. I need to use eye protection, I have had a close call. I think it would also be wise to use a helmet when in a tree.