Stuff of interest

WOODS of the WORLD

WOOD TOXICITY*

SPECIES	Class	Reaction Category	Potency	Source	Incidence
Afromosia	irritant	eye & skin, respiratory	great	dust	rare
Alder	irritant	eye & skin, respiratory
Angelico	irritant	eye & skin, respiratory	great	dust
Arborvitae	irritant	respiratory
Ash	irritant	respiratory
Baldcypress	sensitizer	respiratory	small	dust	rare
Balsam fir	sensitizer	eye & skin	small	dust	rare
Beech	sensitizer	respiratory	great	dust	rare
Birch	sensitizer	respiratory, nausea	great	dust, wood	rare
Black locust	irritant	nausea	great	rare
Blackwood	sensitizer	eye & skin	great	dust, wood	common
Boxwood	sensitizer	respiratory	small	dust, wood	rare
Cashew	sensitizer	eye & skin	great	dust, wood	rare
Chechem	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin	great	dust, wood	unknown
Cocobolo	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin	great	dust, wood	common
Dahoma	sensitizer	respiratory	great	dust	common
Ebony	irritant, sensitizer	respiratory, eye & skin	great	dust, wood	common
Elm	sensitizer	eye & skin	small	dust	rare
Fir	irritant	eye & skin	small	rare
Goncolo alves	sensitizer	eye & skin	small	dust, wood	rare
Greenheart	sensitizer	respiratory, eye & skin	extreme	dust, wood	common
Guarea	sensitizer	eye & skin	extreme	dust	rare
Hemlock		nasal cancer	great	dust	rare
Ipe	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin
Iroko	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin	extreme	dust, wood	common
Katon	irritant	respiratory
Kingwood	irritant	eye & skin
Mahogany, American	sensitizer	respiratory, eye & skin	small	dust	rare
Mahogany, African	sensitizer	respiratory	great	dust	rare
Makore	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin
Mansonia	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin	extreme	dust, wood	common
Manzinilla	irritant	respiratory	dust	rare
Maple	sensitizer	respiratory	great	dust, wood	rare
Mimosa	irritant	nasal	extreme	dust, wood	common
Myrtle	sensitizer	respiratory	great	dust, wood	common
Oak, red	nasal	great	dust	rare
Obeche	sensitizer	respiratory, eye & skin	great	dust	common
Olivewood	sensitizer	respiratory, eye & skin	great	dust, wood	common
Opepe	sensitizer	respiratory	small	dust	rare
Orangewood	respiratory	rare
Padauk	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin, nausea	extreme	dust, wood	common
Pau ferro	sensitizer	eye & skin	small	dust, wood	rare
Peroba rose	sensitizer	respiratory	great	dust, wood	common
Peroba white	sensitizer	respiratory, eye & skin
Purpleheart	sensitizer	eye & skin, nausea	small	dust, wood	rare
Quebracho	nasal cancer	great	dust	rare
Ramin	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin	small	dust	rare
Redwood	sensitizer	respiratory, nasal cancer	small	dust	rare
Rosewood(s)	irritant, sensitizer	respiratory, eye & skin	extreme	dust, wood	common
Satinwood	irritant	respiratory, eye & skin	extreme	dust, wood	common
Sassafras	sensitizer	respiratory, nausea, nasal cancer	small	dust, wood	rare
Sequoia	irritant	respiratory, nasal cancer	small	dust, wood	rare
Snakewood	irritant	respiratory	great	dust, wood	rare
Spruce	sensitizer	respiratory	small	dust, wood	rare
Stavewood	irritant	respiratory
Sucupira	irritant	respiratory
Teak	sensitizer	eye & skin	extreme	dust	common
Walnut, black	sensitizer	eye & skin	great	leaves & bark	unknown
Wenge	sensitizer	respiratory, eye & skin	great	dust	common
Willow	sensitizer	nasal cancer	great	dust	unknown
W. redcedar	sensitizer	respiratory, nasal cancer	great	dust	common
Yew, Europe	irritant	eye & skin	great	dust	common
Zebrawood	sensitizer	eye & skin	great	dust	rare

*EXPLANATION
This information is an accumulation from several wood working magazines, old and new. Do NOT take it as gospel, but be aware, especially if you already have allergic reaction or sensitivity.

Class: Woods are either an irritant which cause a reaction fairly rapidly after exposure and will cause a similar reaction repeatedly, or sensitizers which may have a latency period of hours or months and may require repeated handling before reaction occurs. Sensitizer’s are the more severe, because once you’re sensitized, you’re sensitized for life and the reactions only get more dramatic

Reaction Category:
Eye and Skin irritation (hives, itching, redness).
Respiratory problems.
Nausea headache, or general malaise, possibly even liver or kidney malfunction.
Cancer of nose and sinus.
Statistics show that woodworkers have a 40 per cent greater chance of nasal cancer than the general population, but the majority of statistics on nasal cancer are based on data from 1920-1960 when the furniture industry became highly mechanized with little or no dust control methods. So don’t freak.

Potency: Small, Great, Extreme. This is the potential of the wood or sawdust doing harm and would vary with the individual i.e., those who are allergy prone might think twice about working with wood classed as extremely potent.

Source: Dust or Wood or both

Incidence: Common, Rare, Uncommon, Unknown. This is probably the vaguest of the categories as most doctors wouldn’t know an allergic reaction to wood if it bit them in the face.

Note that this data does not take into consideration Man’s penchant for trying to poison himself by using formaldehyde in plywood, treated woods, sodium compounds in white pine to prevent blue stain, etc.