Glass Reinforced Plastic

[joe86]

Just a quick question. If I didn't live in Michigan and was not laid off, I'd pay the $10 fee for an answer since it's been on my mind the last year. I worked 2 months with Glass-Reinforced plastics. I trimmed parts 8 hours a day with a file without a mask or any protection. I was young and thought they were just plastic, even after itching. They were reinforced with continuous glass filament. I tried not to make too much dust trimming away excess, but I was using a file. I also worked 10 months with another fiberglass product containing E-glass continuous filament. The majority of the fibers in this product were trapped between sheets and cooked, and I do not think the exposure was too high. But there was still exposure for almost a year and sometimes the vent on the oven would become unattached to the outside of the shop and release fibers in the working area. I also dry swept quite a bit. I did research and fiberglass in general did not seem to cause cancer. But this was E-glass and I'm worried about how much exposure I had to the respirable fibers since they are very durable compared to regular fiberglass. I haven't had any chest pains until recently. But I also haven't been as paranoid until recently. I keep telling myself I will not live to see 50 (I was 18 during exposures) because of this job I had for a year. I'm also not a smoker.