shoe polish safety

Originally Posted by stickonatree

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MSDS info can be readily found on the internet (i.e., google).



length of exposure can give you estimates for acute diseases, but more importantly chronic ones (like cancer) are measured over multiple exposures (shoe polishing).


If I have my shoes polished at stand in lunchtime and walk back to my office and they then sit them feets under my desk - I get minor asphyxiation from the powerful smell (Kiwi polish). I often wonder what is in that stuff. When I polish them at home the smell hangs around for hours and the wife asks me why I have been polishing my shoes again...knowing all the while that I am a shoe tragic.

I am at work right now (Poison Control) and had a few minutes to look some shoe polishes. Most are various waxes along with mineral spirits. I checked Kiwi Paste; none of the currently available ones list naptha as an ingredient. The only hydrocarbon listed is mineral spirits (all colours/USA and Canada). I can't list all of the ingredients as they are considered confidential by the manufacturer. I don't see any that would cause serious concern when used as directed. The main concern would be aspiration pneumonitis if it was ingested. That basically means keeping it away from young children and not storing it in a drinking cup or bottle. As long as you are just polishing your shoes with it, you should be OK.

On a related note, I currently live in an apartment and do not have a balcony or building lounge with a window, and in any case it's getting too cold to have the windows wide open. I'm getting wary of polishing shoes because the fumes are trapped inside. Has anyone addressed this kind of problem, aside from polishing on the doorstep or the like?

Originally Posted by josepidal

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On a related note, I currently live in an apartment and do not have a balcony or building lounge with a window, and in any case it's getting too cold to have the windows wide open. I'm getting wary of polishing shoes because the fumes are trapped inside. Has anyone addressed this kind of problem, aside from polishing on the doorstep or the like?


Sometimes I just wear the shoes to Nordstrom and have the guy there polish them. It's $2.50 plus I give him another $2.50 for a tip. He does a good job and it keeps my hands clean (not to mention the hydrocarbon smell).

maybe you can research elevated (or not) rates of cancer among shoeshiners, car mechanics, and chimney sweeps

Originally Posted by josepidal

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On a related note, I currently live in an apartment and do not have a balcony or building lounge with a window, and in any case it's getting too cold to have the windows wide open. I'm getting wary of polishing shoes because the fumes are trapped inside. Has anyone addressed this kind of problem, aside from polishing on the doorstep or the like?
Press

/Tomasso

Originally Posted by duke

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As a long term user of wax shoe polishes and cream conditioners I have become more concerned about the potential long term health effects of their use.
You should put your faith in the Consumer Product Safety Commission. If these products weren't safe, there's no way this agency would let them be available for sale.

Originally Posted by Tarmac

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maybe you can research elevated (or not) rates of cancer among shoeshiners, car mechanics, and chimney sweeps

I haven't found anything regarding shoeshiners, etc. I have found some studies regarding occupational exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The cancer risk was evaluated from 5 cohort studies of 6,500 carbon electrode workers exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Two studies, involving 2203 workers, provided data on incidence; 52 cases of all neoplasms were reported versus 56.28 that were expected. There were 9 cases of lung cancer versus 9.93 expected cases and 3 cases of urinary cancer versus an expected 3.69 cases. Four studies, involving 5241 workers, reported data on mortality. There were 269 deaths reported from all neoplasms versus an expected 292.1 deaths. There were 82 deaths from respiratory cancer versus an expected 95.8 deaths and 15 deaths from urinary cancer versus an expected 12.7 deaths (LaVecchia & Bosetti, 2003).

With regard to gasoline and diesel:
1) GASOLINE - The majority of the used gasoline engine oils tested were carcinogenic in the dermal carcinogenesis bioassay (McKee & Plutnick, 1989). Fresh gasoline engine oil was not carcinogenic.
2) GASOLINE - The Tranguch Gasoline Spill leaked 50,000 to 900,000 gallons of gasoline from underground storage tanks. A retrospective cohort study of 663 residents was undertaken to determine the incidence of cancer among those potentially exposed to the spill. Cancers recorded included 2 with acute myeloid leukemia, 1 with chronic myeloid leukemia, and 1 with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The 2 residents with acute myeloid leukemia lived on the border of the projected gasoline plume which was within the affected area. The standard incidence ratio for leukemia was 4.40 (95% CI 1.09 to 10.24) for the gasoline-affected area (Patel et al, 2004).
3) DIESEL - Fresh and used diesel engine oils were not carcinogenic in the dermal carcinogenesis bioassay (McKee & Plutnick, 1989).
4) The carcinogenicity of the used gasoline engine oils may have been due to the high concentration of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in the used oil. Fresh gasoline oils and fresh or used diesel oils had low levels of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (McKee & Plutnick, 1989)


I personally would shine shoes in a ventilated area. Even if there is some risk of carcinogenicity, it is unlikely to be significant in people that are polishing their own shoes. It might be more of a concern in persons considering a career in shoe shinning.

Originally Posted by duke

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As a long term user of wax shoe polishes and cream conditioners I have become more concerned about the potential long term health effects of their use. Is there any information on particular brands/manufacturers/ ingredients of polish/conditioner being safer than others?
As a general rule of thumb, you'll be safe as long as you don't eat shoe polish or habitually snort the fumes. Unless you're running a shoe-shine stand, it's not anything worth worrying about.

I love the smell of Kiwi polish it reminds me of bootcamp.

I wouldn't worry about the health risks, we use to shine the hell out of our boots everyday (Im sure way more than the average non-military person.)

Originally Posted by josepidal

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On a related note, I currently live in an apartment and do not have a balcony or building lounge with a window, and in any case it's getting too cold to have the windows wide open. I'm getting wary of polishing shoes because the fumes are trapped inside. Has anyone addressed this kind of problem, aside from polishing on the doorstep or the like?
I'm not primarily concerned about health effects. The trapped fumes stink up the whole place, and much as I like a mirror shine, the fumes take the fun out of dinner.

open the window

Don't lick your shoes and you should be fine.

Originally Posted by Journeyman

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Don't lick your shoes and you should be fine.

I usually take a big whiff after I leather condition them. They just look so good that I feel they need some love since noone else will love em. Damn why can't 'regular people' notice nice shoes the way they notice nice other clothing ?

troop

Hey Tony, check your PM's Snappy Dresser