Hawker wrote:
In all the googling I've done so far, I find that MEK is used (among other
things) to glue plexiglass together.

I need to know if MEK fumes have a short/long term effect on plexiglass.
My airplane is adjacent to another hangar (partition wall separates) where
airplane stripping/painting is occurring on a somewhat regular basis.

For the last week, a full 5 gallons of MEK was used to strip the latest
candidate; whenever I enter my hangar the fumes are strong.

Should I be concerned that damage will occur, if not now, sometime in the
not-so-distant future?


TIA,
Hawker.

Is this in the US? Is this a business or a couple of guys doing their
thing?

I hope they are using respirators whoever they are; from the EPA:

"Breathing MEK for short periods of time, such as when painting in a
poorly vented area, can adversely affect the nervous system. Effects
range from headaches, dizziness, nausea, and numbness in fingers and
toes to unconsciousness. MEK vapor irritates the eyes, the nose, and
the throat. Direct, prolonged contact with liquid methyl ethyl ketone
irritates the skin and damages the eyes."

MEK is some pretty nasty crap to be sloshing around as paint stripper
in gallon quantities and I thought such uses without a pile of equipment
to contain the fumes had been banned.

In addition to that, MEK fumes are highly flammable and explosive in
particular fuel/air ratios.

I'd be worried my body, the airplane and the hanger.

--
Jim Pennino

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