Banned Substances on Stage - Construction

[MrKev]

Does anyone have an update on what materials for set/scenic construction can and can't be used? You hear so many myths and tales its hard to know what to do! Particulary which woods, the use of polystyrne, expanding foam, cardboard and so on... Is there a link to a document or do any of you masterminds have some first hand experience of this?

 

Thanks for all comments and leads

[boswell]

I think it's all down to your risk assessment!

 

We ban polystyrene & expanding foam due to fire risk. We allow flame-proofed cardboard, paper mache. all wood is OK, all paint must be water based.

All cloth must be flame-proofed. (by flame proofed I mean treated with Flambar or similar retardant)

 

HTH

[tony g]

Does anyone have an update on what materials for set/scenic construction can and can't be used? You hear so many myths and tales its hard to know what to do! Particulary which woods, the use of polystyrne, expanding foam, cardboard and so on... Is there a link to a document or do any of you masterminds have some first hand experience of this?

 

Thanks for all comments and leads

 

 

contary to popular belief MDF is OK, you would be amazed how many school woodwork shops ban MDF because of it's "hazardous dust", there is no problem with current MDF products. Be careful with certain hardwoods like iroco & teak, they are known carcinogens and irritants in dust form, a basic paper mask will offer adequate protection.

 

Fire proofing of fabrics, card, mache and even cardboard colour frames is of course important. Styrofoam should be avoided and only used at safe distances from lanterns/pyro (probably not at all with pyro!!)

 

Asbestos is a no no, this might sound obvious but I have seen two sets this year made from in one instance asbestolux sheeting and another using cut sections of trafford tile (corrugated asbestos, so called because Trafford in manchester was the spiritual home of the UK asbestos business, shopping centre now I think)

[Andrew C]

We ban polystyrene & expanding foam due to fire risk.

You can get expanded PU that is blown with inert gas, and is acceptable. Used in window dressing type trades.

[boswell]

But not acceptable in our RA!! to avoid confusion and arguments about different types/makes/specs, it is not allowed in sets on our stage.

[the kid]

Intresting.

 

I have worked quite a few shows recently that have used exapnding foam. Trees, rocks, more rocks, all seem to be made from it.

[paulears]

Expanding foam, or at least the type I've used, can be used to seal cavities and gaps in fire breaks, the cans specifically state this purpose.

[Maddison]

Does anyone have an update on what materials for set/scenic construction can and can't be used? You hear so many myths and tales its hard to know what to do! Particulary which woods, the use of polystyrne, expanding foam, cardboard and so on... Is there a link to a document or do any of you masterminds have some first hand experience of this?

 

Thanks for all comments and leads

 

contary to popular belief MDF is OK, you would be amazed how many school woodwork shops ban MDF because of it's "hazardous dust", there is no problem with current MDF products. Be careful with certain hardwoods like iroco & teak, they are known carcinogens and irritants in dust form, a basic paper mask will offer adequate protection.

 

 

As I understood it, MDF doesn't release carcenogenic particles when it is cut/sanded, but the particles are irritants to the lungs (more so than "normal" dust, because of the resin used to bond the fibres together.)

 

This was the accepted wisdom passed on to me, so I've taken it as true. Am I incorrect?

[tony g]

Does anyone have an update on what materials for set/scenic construction can and can't be used? You hear so many myths and tales its hard to know what to do! Particulary which woods, the use of polystyrne, expanding foam, cardboard and so on... Is there a link to a document or do any of you masterminds have some first hand experience of this?

 

Thanks for all comments and leads

 

contary to popular belief MDF is OK, you would be amazed how many school woodwork shops ban MDF because of it's "hazardous dust", there is no problem with current MDF products. Be careful with certain hardwoods like iroco & teak, they are known carcinogens and irritants in dust form, a basic paper mask will offer adequate protection.

 

 

As I understood it, MDF doesn't release carcenogenic particles when it is cut/sanded, but the particles are irritants to the lungs (more so than "normal" dust, because of the resin used to bond the fibres together.)

 

This was the accepted wisdom passed on to me, so I've taken it as true. Am I incorrect?

 

Over time the resins have been changed, the original recipe for MDF was the same as for bakelite being a mix of wood flour and Phenol-formaldehyde, but in a vastly different ratio. formaldehyde is a carcinogen which lead to concerns over the safety of MDF, as you correctly say the resin component was the issue. New MDF is supposed to contain different resins that don't represent such a hazard, of course all dusts represent a potential for lung diseases, but generally there is a daily tolerance that the body can cope with and it is highly unlikely you would go anywhere near the danger levels in the course of normal set construction.

[boswell]

Quite agree Paul, we use the correct foam to maintain fire breaks/ etc when we have put cables through walls etc, but as we don't know what has been used in the set construction (we don't always build the sets) the following applies.

 

to avoid confusion and arguments about different types/makes/specs, it is not allowed in sets on our stage.

[Parser]

I think it's all down to your risk assessment!

 

We ban polystyrene & expanding foam due to fire risk. We allow flame-proofed cardboard, paper mache. all wood is OK, all paint must be water based.

All cloth must be flame-proofed. (by flame proofed I mean treated with Flambar or similar retardant)

 

HTH

 

I've used expanding foam quite extensively in scenic construction, and have also used it once when an actress made a nice hole in the stage with her high heels, and I needed a quick fix. You can get fire rated expanding foam nowadays.

 

Funny you mention the polystyrene. I once worked on a show where the entire set was contructed out of polystyrene, with hardboard somehow attached to the front. Was an absolutely aweful set which wobbled whenever somebody so much as moved their eyeballs!

[Ynot]

Expanding foam, or at least the type I've used, can be used to seal cavities and gaps in fire breaks, the cans specifically state this purpose.

You do have to be careful which to use if you do so.

 

At my pre-show safety check of one of the pre-Xmas pantos last year I found (amongst other items) a coal effect made by use of exp foam. Their guy stated it MUST be FR because it was the type used all over in buildings....

I put it to the test and lo - no self extinguish, and some nice black smoke ensued! instruction issued to MAKE it FR or the prop wasn't to be used. Fortunately for them, when they'd treated it with Flambar (supplied by us) and I retested a while later it passed.

[Robin Pratt]

Expanding foam, or at least the type I've used, can be used to seal cavities and gaps in fire breaks, the cans specifically state this purpose.

You do have to be careful which to use if you do so.

 

At my pre-show safety check of one of the pre-Xmas pantos last year I found (amongst other items) a coal effect made by use of exp foam. Their guy stated it MUST be FR because it was the type used all over in buildings....

I put it to the test and lo - no self extinguish, and some nice black smoke ensued! instruction issued to MAKE it FR or the prop wasn't to be used. Fortunately for them, when they'd treated it with Flambar (supplied by us) and I retested a while later it passed.

 

To the best of my knowledge, fire rated exp foam is coloured pink to distinguish it from the normal, usually yellow sort. Certainly all the fire rated exp foam I've ever used has been pink.

[robloxley]

Quite agree Paul, we use the correct foam to maintain fire breaks/ etc when we have put cables through walls etc, but as we don't know what has been used in the set construction (we don't always build the sets) the following applies.

 

to avoid confusion and arguments about different types/makes/specs, it is not allowed in sets on our stage.

But then how do you know papier-mache or cardboard, that you allow, is flameproof - I guess you either test it or require evidence of how it has been produced. Why not apply that to expanding foam, or for that matter paint foam/polystyrene/styrofoam with Rosco Flexcoat, your current policy seems inconsistent.

[Simon Lewis]

As I understood it, MDF doesn't release carcenogenic particles when it is cut/sanded, but the particles are irritants to the lungs (more so than "normal" dust, because of the resin used to bond the fibres together.)

 

The first MSDS for MDF I found (albeit dated 2003) suggest that formaldehyde doesn't have much strong evidence to to suggest it's carcinogenic, whereas wood dust in general does.

 

I've been out of the chemical industry for a few years now, so can't comment on present wisdom, other than to say the HSE's guidance suggests this:

 

WATCH endorsed the conclusion of the hazard assessment that there is no evidence that the ill-health effects associated with exposure arising from the machining of MDF are different from those associated with similar exposure arising from machining other forms of wood.

There is some evidence for more frequent reporting of respiratory symptoms in workers receiving exposures arising from machining MDF compared to other forms of wood or wood products.

 

Simon