Is the resin still in the air?

[ItIsMe]

Hello forum! I apoligize if this is not the correct area. Thanks for clicking in my link.

Over the course of approximately the last month, I poured some resin (orgonite). I poured a total of one liter, in my balcony. I'd say it's well ventilated, it has 4 big windows. The balcony itself is roughly the side of about 9 meters x 3 meters or so. 354 inches x 118 inches. 29 x 10 feet. A little bit less then that perhaps.

I did not use a mask, however I took the mould outside to let it harden, it did not harden here, except for the very first piece I poured, which I left it here overnight (bad idea lol). That was one month ago, a little bit more.

I also for a period of time had the finished product in my balcony while it was still a little smelly. And also the container wasn't 100% well closed (I had a hard time closing the lid lol) but I had it in a bag- This open container remained like that until I finished the resin, which was like 10 days ago.

At a point, I then decided to take all of that outside due to the smell, the finished product and I threw away the bag which held the resin container which was kinda stinky.

For the past week or two (more like 10 days) the balcony has been 100% resin clean (no resin whatsoever in it, except for a container of 1 liter which I have not opened, it's still sealed as it came from the factory, wrapped into a t-shirt for safety lol).

It was a POLYESTER resin.

Anyway my lung is kinda hurting me and I have had a sore throat too... this happened when I first poured the resin too. The sore throat feels the same type. But the sore throat I got when I poured in the resin went away after like 1 day. Now I got a sore throat after the balcony had been clean of resin for 9 days? Could it be the balcony?

I also get a bit woozy if I am in my balcony. The problem is that my room is right next to the balcony and I'm here for a big portion of the day.

The windows have been opened all this while. Could the resin still be in the air? Or is it my imagination?

I don't smell it whatsoever, mind you, but when I go to the balcony I feel a bit woozy! Am I imagining it or what?

I never had a lung pain when I poured the resin the first time, I only got it yesterday, when the room had been clean of the resin for like 9 days, so could it be something else? Or do you think the resin is still in the air?

Is it my imagination or do I feel worse when I go to the balcony, even if it is just for 5 seconds?

I read that styrene totally evaporated after 1-2 days, so it shouldn't be there, but can there by some other component? Can the styrene have been trapped in the walls or some tables/desks I had in the balcony?

What can I do except give it more time for it to outgas? Thanks for reading. Have a great day!

[mangozac]

Mate I think you're just be a hypochondriac! Polyester resins are indeed nasty stuff, but such a brief period of exposure will have had no lasting effects, certainly not a month later. If you were that sensitive/allergic to the resin then the immediate effect would have been far more severe.

BUT

Nobody here is a doctor (that I know of). The only way you can know for sure is to go and get a professional opinion from a doctor.

[ItIsMe]

[Fleafa]

1. Use a mask. USE. A. MASK.
2. You have probably caught a cold.
3. USE A MASK!

[mangozac]

[Nostok]

Caught a cold... excellent. Use a mask, they cost next to nothing.

[RageofAchilles]

Wear a mask definitely! And if your wearing a mask and can smell resin , you need a new mask!

Plastic resin poisoning is a real thing. some resins are carcinogenic, meaning they poison you over time with a cumulative effect and this can lead to nerve damage and cancer.

Ingesting resin will most likely be lethal up to a month after ingesting as it continues to poison you, there is no cure either!

Sadly I have personal experience of this kind of thing. Someone I worked with was using polyester resin for just a couple of hours without proper ventilation or a mask and lost 20% of his lung capacity as a result.

My Dad was in the Auto repair business using fibreglass and polyester based car body fillers his whole adult life. He died at 52 years old from a rare form of throat cancer. Five years later his business partner died from exactly the same cancer!

So be very, very careful . There is a real reason why these products carry warnings. if in doubt seek medical advice and give them all the information you can about the product you have used.

Hopefully it's nothing,but better safe than sorry!

[mangozac]

Indeed polyester and epoxy resins are quite hazardous. That's why polyurethanes are by far the most appropriate material for modelling casting work - while they still exhibit potential carcinogenic effects, overall they are much less noxious.