Health riks apart from radium?

[DerReparator]

Hello there,

Since some time now i wonder if there are any health and safety risks in this hobby.
For almost two years now I repair watches as a hobby now and occasionally i noticed a hint or two regarding some risky materials.

As Beryllium for example is in many alloys in use for watch movements for example and Beryllium alloys are often described as "very poisonous".
Also i wonder if any of the oils or cleaning products are hazardous...

As i never enjoyed a proper tradeshool or anything like that and i could not find proper information about health and safety risks regarding hobby watch rapairing,
I am very curious about your input.

Regards and greetings from Styria, Austria.

[wls1971]

2 hours ago, DerReparator said:

Also i wonder if any of the oils or cleaning products are hazardous...

Manufacturers have to produce "Safety Data Sheets" for any product they sell these can be requested from the manufacturer or supplier of the products a lot of the major manufacturers or suppliers have online downloadable sheets available, and in some countries it is a requirement that they must be included in the shipment of the product.

These sheets give any known health hazards and the correct protective equipment that must be worn when using, correct method of disposal and details of cleaning up procedures in the event of a spillage.

 

[nickelsilver]

As for beryllium, the parts in your watch are not poisonous. The typical beryllium alloy used has about 2% Be with almost all the rest being copper. The risk is in the manufacturing process; when machining it dust is inevitably produced, and if this is inhaled, over time, an amount can build up that might cause issues. It is quite safe as a 2% partner in the copper alloy, but the body will break down the copper and eventually leave pure Be. I machine it fairly regularly, I just keep it wet with cutting oil, and collect all my swarf and dispose of it. I might make 1/2 cup of metal chips from it in a year though, opposed to a large manufacturer who would make barrels of it. The industry is trying to phase it out, but it's such a fantastic material for so many things it will be a hard thing to do.

 

The scary stories of people dying from Beryllium exposure are from when it's necessary to use it in it's pure or close to pure form. Here you need to have the machine tool separated from the operator, with many precautions in place, and of course in the past some companies slacked on air filtration or whatever to save some money and ended up with class action lawsuits.

 

To put the CuBe alloy used in watches in perspective, it's like the asbestos content in colored crayons. The amount is so small it just doesn't matter. It you took out your Glucydur balance wheel and ground it up on some sandpaper then inhaled it it might not be great though (but there's a magic grain size of about 20 microns that's harmful over time, smaller and the body manages to deal with it, larger the body actually expells it).

[DerReparator]

Thank you very much. Dankeschön.

As I do my repairs in our living room and we are awaiting an additional family member this year I am quite sensitive regarding possible health risks for my family and myself.

Are there any other risks to be aware of while handling old and/or newer watches and movements?


 

[nickelsilver]

The biggest thing would be solvents and cleaning solutions. I'd recommend keeping that stuff away from pregnant women and babies. That said, when my daughter was still a bun in the oven I had my workshop at home, which was a very large loft space. You could definitely smell the solutions when I ran a watch through the machine; wife said it must go. Talked to her mom, an MD specialist in workplace health risks, she said it was no problem so whew I got to keep working.  But this was about 150 sq.m. open space with high ceilings and good ventilation.

 

I used to deliver to a small workshop, maybe 40m, with 4 watchmakers cleaning stuff in benzine jars at the bench all day, it reeked and I was glad to leave each time. As my mother in law said, it's about concentration and time. My daughter (now 14) was worried when she got a whiff of acetone one day. I told her her body actually produces the stuff. If she stuck her nose in the jar for 20 minutes that's bad. Drink a shot of it and we're at the hospital. "I know I know dad, it's all about the dose".

Edited February 10, 2021 by nickelsilver

[amello]

I'm over 60 now and have been exposed to all kind of toxic chemicals and other substances in my working life in everything from machine shops to autobody work and even a full time spray painter and still get exposed even though I'm kind of retired now. I still do a lot of woodworking so I'm constantly exposed to wood dust (I'm a cabinet maker now) which is quite dangerous itself. I wouldn't worry too much about the minute amounts of toxicity in a watch unless you have some kind of plans to eat one with your ice cream or some other extraordinarily silly idea..