Hi all,
Thinking of buying a whistle made of phenolic resin. Just curious about the relative safety of these materials. I know I’m not eating the thing, but one also reads about the unhealthy effects of various plastics. Any thoughts? Is phenolic resin as safe as delrin or ABS or whatever most whistle heads are made of aside from metal?
Thanks

Google says Phenolic Resin is used as the basis for Bakelite. I've not heard of any problems from those older materials.

Wiki talks about the different forms & common products:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenol_formaldehyde_resin

One Material Safety Data Sheet for Phenolic Resin states:
Formaldehyde
POTENTIAL CANCER HAZARD (A2) Based on animal data and limited epidemiological evidence, NTP and IARC have listed formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen. OSHA regulates formaldehyde as a potential human carcinogen. May cause allergic skin reaction. Some reports suggest that formaldehyde may cause respiratory sensitization, such as asthma

Phenol
Can cause liver, kidney, bladder, and cardiac damage. Pre-existing heart or circulatory disorders may be aggravated by exposure. This material has not been listed by NTP, classified by IARC, nor regulated by OSHA as a carcinogen (A4)

Primary routes of entry: Skin and eye contact, inhalation and ingestion.

I think, however, that the hazards are mainly from the ingredients prior to stabilization in the product, dust from working the material, or when subjected to flame.

Dupont Delrin:
INHALATION - No specific intervention is indicated as the compound is not likely to be hazardous by inhalation.
SKIN CONTACT - The compound is not likely to be hazardous by skin contact, but cleansing the skin after use is advisable. If molten polymer gets on skin, cool rapidly with cold water. Do not attempt to peel polymer from skin.
EYE CONTACT - In case of contact, immediately flush eyes with plenty of water for at least 15 minutes. INGESTION - No specific intervention is indicated as compound is not likely to be hazardous by ingestion

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Phenolic is used in applications that require incredibly inert, stable, low-outgassing materials (I've used it in these applications).

Yes, phenol and formaldehyde are precursors, but if you never exposed yourself to anything made with formaldehyde, you'd never set foot into a building made since about the 50's (plywood and carpeting), and phenol is a precursor to many many different kinds of plastics.

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Whorfin Woods
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