More poisonous: Vanadium or Tungsten?

flatgrinder

flatgrinder

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Dec 20, 2005
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A lot of cutlery steels are alloyed these days with some pretty nasty elements which don't need to be in high concentrations to really mess someone up ... given the same quantity, anyone know which is more poisonous Vanadium or Tungsten?

Thinking of using more "super steels" -but also considering the health impact as there's practically no way to remove all the dust in the air. :mad:

Thanks! :thumbup:
 
Well I'm wearing a tungsten carbide ring... and My finger has not fallen off yet so I say Vanadium.


My money if on V is I want to get the inheritance.
 
Me and heaps of my friends mined Tungsten both open cut and underground and there aint nuthin wrong with us, is there?????????:D
 
USE A RESPIRATOR
beyond that, there is little to really be concerned about with either one. Nickel and Cobalt are much more toxic (Nickel is the bleaching element in most commercial white gold and is toxic enough that some European countries have forbidden its use in jewelry alloys)
cobalt is a carcinogen.

-Page
 
The other thing that makes such a question hard to answer is the combination of elements and compounds in the mix. The alloy ingredients in steel are pretty well bound up, and are of little worry. A good comparison is that while the cyanide radical CN can be enormously toxic, once bonded with a little hydrogen and oxygen, it becomes something used to close up wounds...cyanoacrylate.

Not directed to Flatgrinder, because he knows, but to others reading this:
In the shop, the grinding dust, whatever it comes from, is not good to breath....wear a respirator.
 
Another issue is that different people will react different ways to different stuff.

Some people can't touch any alloy with nickel in it.

I personally have a respiratory allergy to copper dust.

A friend worked with purple heart and got a poison ivy style rash all over her hands and forearms.

Be careful, attentive and use a respirator and rubber gloves at the appropriate times.
 
The most toxic metal I've ever come across is beryllium, used to harden certain coppers. It is fantastically bad for you and I no longer allow it in my shop.

I don't think tungsten is particularly bad. They warn to to take precaution when grinding tungsten carbide tools, but that is due to the toxicity of the cobalt binder used, not the tungsten.

Vanadium, I don't know...
 
Don't forget about the fumes you get from arc and forge welding. The oxides aren't good for you either. A good hood for your forge is necessary for more than just the carbon monoxide.
 
yes I was going to comment on that too. I think that not only should we be concerned about the pur metal dust in the air, but also the oxides, as any of the bright sparks are almost certainly going to be metal oxides by the time you inhale them, which could also be bad for you. I work with allot of T1 and its got something like 18% W, but i havnt noticed any third eyeballs
 
Don't know much about tungsten (when you grind a TIG electrode, it's the radioactive thorium that's dangerous to breathe) or vanadium hazards, but watch out for chromium..especially if you are welding or forging.

I get a few "occupational safety" magazines and based on a couple recent short items, OSHA is starting to look much harder at exposures to chromium from welding stainless steel. We already know welding stainless exposes us to chromium 6, right? Well NIOSH and OSHA have drafts to lower the exposure limits considerably, so low that some manufacturers are considering the necessity of developing chromium monitoring plans for employees welding mild steel and other alloys where chromium is not intentionally added but may be a contaminant in scrap that is reprocessed into "new" steel. If you are working with any steel that has a recycled content you should now assume chromium is present and protect yourself accordingly. If you are working with stainless, there's definitely chromium in it
 
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