<p>I will make a comparison with wood. Ever have a splinter before? They can hurt and bleed and become infected in some cases. Now imagine small microns of bone dust in your lungs. They can cause minute tissue scars inside you that you cannot repair.</p>

<p>This is not because of the carving itself so much as the smoothing and finishing with other tools like sand paper. </p>

<p>Wood dust is a known carcinogen and I imagine that bone dust is in the same boat for the same reason. Most types of dust are in this category. Once that gets into your lungs it can cause irreparable damage. It takes very little to get into the air and stay there for a while before settling long after the work is done. This increases the exposure time. For more details of what happens you can read <a href="https://crafts.stackexchange.com/a/2962/44">magerber's answer</a>.</p>

<p>Not only should you be wearing a mask and eye protection but you need to be sure you are wearing a mask that is capable of stopping small microns. Something simple like a bandanna or a cheap mask used for simple paint jobs will not be enough. True, you might only be doing this for a short period of time in your life but it is very easy to mitigate the risk of this and getting new lungs is hard. </p>

<p>When looking at masks or respirators pay attention to the micron size they are rated for. Something in the 5 or lower range would be a good fit. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-11T00:08:31.167Z
thanks for the tip I appreciate it. So I have only worked on antler once and I was using a triple wrapped T-Shirt as my mask and in a extremely well ventilated area. So maybe next time use a respirator.  Thanks!
Sanskros
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-11T00:18:04.483Z
@terrariabat While I appreciate the check and rep you don't _need_ to be quick to  accept. Someone might come along with a better answer then me.Or I might be some crazy person perpetuating silly ideas (i'm not)
Matt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-11T00:06:29.597Z
2017-04-13T19:00:48.497Z
2017-04-13T19:00:48.497Z
Matt
<p>My husband is in a large hospital, with serious lung damage, and he has been cutting (deceased) cattle bones extensively. Including woods and Red Cedar. These doctors are having a difficult time wrapping their heads around the idea that it could be caused by an 8 year buildup of bone dust, using no mask of any kind. Both lungs are collapsed now, and air is leaking into his body. Putting this in here, for others to use caution.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-25T17:55:59.803Z
Thanks, that is an important warning.
Willeke
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-01-21T17:56:53.863Z
2021-01-21T17:56:53.863Z
Gloria Whitchurch
<p>I think @matt's response is exactly correct, but I wanted to add a bit more to it. There are two concerns about inhaling dust--the size of the dust particle and the chemical composition of the particle.  There are lots of articles on-line that talk about how dust inhalation causes problems, but I will summarize <a href="http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/lungs_dust.html" rel="noreferrer">this one</a> from the Canadian Centre of Occupational Health and Safety.</p>

<p>In general, your body has lots of systems designed to move dust particles back out of your lungs when you breathe them in. The first line of defense is a layer of mucus--the dust gets caught in this mucus and then these teeny hairs called cilia all wave together (imagine a crowd doing "The Wave," or someone crowd surfing at a punk music venue) to move that dusty mucus out of your lungs and into your throat where you can cough it out (or swallow it--blech).  </p>

<p>Some very small dust particles can get past the mucus and cilia and end up in the very tiny air sacs in your lungs called alveoli. When this happens, your body produces cells called macrophages that surround the dust particles, and physically move it to the cilia so that they can do their job and move the particle out of your lungs. The lungs also produce a protein that neutralizes the dust particles.</p>

<p>But, if you are inhaling a large amount of dust at one time, or over a long period of time, it can overwhelm your body's ability to produce microphages.  The dust particles accumulate in your lungs and reduce your ability to breath deeply--I imagine it something like a roof drain pipe clogged with leaves. </p>

<p>And some dust particles are composed of chemicals that interact with your body in nasty ways--apparently cigarette smoke actually paralyzes the cilia--so even if your microphages were working perfectly, it wouldn't matter. And there could be pathogens, bacteria or mold spores in the dust that could make you ill.</p>

<p>So, in general, if you are working on something that is likely to create small dust particles like woodworking, carving antlers, using dye powder to dye fabrics, working with ground glass for fusing, etc., you want to limit the amount of dust that you inhale into your lungs.  Each exposure may not be dangerous on its own, but combined exposures over the course of your life can really build up and cause problems. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-13T18:53:10.820Z
Yes. This is the more detailed compliment to what I was saying. Great answer.
Matt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-13T22:10:05.530Z
Yeah thanks for the information! I went to the store and bought some FFP2 Rated dust masks for grinding bone.
Sanskros
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-13T18:01:30.547Z
2017-04-13T18:01:30.547Z
magerber
<p>Why do people get so concerned over antler dust when knife carving. I wear a mask when I work with it. But what if you didn't wear a mask? What would the dangers be?</p>

<safety><carving><bone>
Why is wearing a mask recommended when carving antler?
Sanskros
# Why is wearing a mask recommended when carving antler?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-04-10)

Why do people get so concerned over antler dust when knife carving. I wear a mask when I work with it. But what if you didn't wear a mask? What would the dangers be?

**Tags:** safety, carving, bone


---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-04-13. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

I think @username_1's response is exactly correct, but I wanted to add a bit more to it. There are two concerns about inhaling dust--the size of the dust particle and the chemical composition of the particle. There are lots of articles on-line that talk about how dust inhalation causes problems, but I will summarize [this one](http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/lungs_dust.html) from the Canadian Centre of Occupational Health and Safety.

In general, your body has lots of systems designed to move dust particles back out of your lungs when you breathe them in. The first line of defense is a layer of mucus--the dust gets caught in this mucus and then these teeny hairs called cilia all wave together (imagine a crowd doing "The Wave," or someone crowd surfing at a punk music venue) to move that dusty mucus out of your lungs and into your throat where you can cough it out (or swallow it--blech).

Some very small dust particles can get past the mucus and cilia and end up in the very tiny air sacs in your lungs called alveoli. When this happens, your body produces cells called macrophages that surround the dust particles, and physically move it to the cilia so that they can do their job and move the particle out of your lungs. The lungs also produce a protein that neutralizes the dust particles.

But, if you are inhaling a large amount of dust at one time, or over a long period of time, it can overwhelm your body's ability to produce microphages. The dust particles accumulate in your lungs and reduce your ability to breath deeply--I imagine it something like a roof drain pipe clogged with leaves.

And some dust particles are composed of chemicals that interact with your body in nasty ways--apparently cigarette smoke actually paralyzes the cilia--so even if your microphages were working perfectly, it wouldn't matter. And there could be pathogens, bacteria or mold spores in the dust that could make you ill.

So, in general, if you are working on something that is likely to create small dust particles like woodworking, carving antlers, using dye powder to dye fabrics, working with ground glass for fusing, etc., you want to limit the amount of dust that you inhale into your lungs. Each exposure may not be dangerous on its own, but combined exposures over the course of your life can really build up and cause problems.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Yes. This is the more detailed compliment to what I was saying. Great answer.  
> **username_0**: Yeah thanks for the information! I went to the store and bought some FFP2 Rated dust masks for grinding bone.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-04-11. Score: 6

I will make a comparison with wood. Ever have a splinter before? They can hurt and bleed and become infected in some cases. Now imagine small microns of bone dust in your lungs. They can cause minute tissue scars inside you that you cannot repair.

This is not because of the carving itself so much as the smoothing and finishing with other tools like sand paper.

Wood dust is a known carcinogen and I imagine that bone dust is in the same boat for the same reason. Most types of dust are in this category. Once that gets into your lungs it can cause irreparable damage. It takes very little to get into the air and stay there for a while before settling long after the work is done. This increases the exposure time. For more details of what happens you can read [username_4's answer](https://crafts.stackexchange.com/a/2962/44).

Not only should you be wearing a mask and eye protection but you need to be sure you are wearing a mask that is capable of stopping small microns. Something simple like a bandanna or a cheap mask used for simple paint jobs will not be enough. True, you might only be doing this for a short period of time in your life but it is very easy to mitigate the risk of this and getting new lungs is hard.

When looking at masks or respirators pay attention to the micron size they are rated for. Something in the 5 or lower range would be a good fit.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: thanks for the tip I appreciate it. So I have only worked on antler once and I was using a triple wrapped T-Shirt as my mask and in a extremely well ventilated area. So maybe next time use a respirator.  Thanks!  
> **username_1**: @terrariabat While I appreciate the check and rep you don't _need_ to be quick to  accept. Someone might come along with a better answer then me.Or I might be some crazy person perpetuating silly ideas (i'm not)  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-01-21. Score: 2

My husband is in a large hospital, with serious lung damage, and he has been cutting (deceased) cattle bones extensively. Including woods and Red Cedar. These doctors are having a difficult time wrapping their heads around the idea that it could be caused by an 8 year buildup of bone dust, using no mask of any kind. Both lungs are collapsed now, and air is leaking into his body. Putting this in here, for others to use caution.

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: Thanks, that is an important warning.  

---

