Is it really that dangerous to machine Corian?

[Brian Elfert]

I've seen some posts that Corian dust is extremely hazardous and one should have a fresh air supplied respirator when machining it. I want to cut and route a small piece of Corian. If I use a full face respirator will that be good enough?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I hope so Brian. I turned a couple pens for a former manager of mine. He was a West Point graduate and carried those 2 pens in to Iraq and Afghanistan when he got recalled. The corian matched his desert camos and I used a gun metal finish pen which didn't glare so as not to make him a target.

[Tom Walz]

Search Google "working with Corian safety" and you will find a DuPont paper.

Basically you will want to wear a respirator for safety but also because the fine dust is a real nuisance.

There is a lot of research yet to be done on how easily dust gets in the lungs and what damage it causes.

[John McClanahan]

It creates dust like working with MDF.


John

[Peter Kelly]

I've seen some posts that Corian dust is extremely hazardous and one should have a fresh air supplied respirator when machining it. I want to cut and route a small piece of Corian. If I use a full face respirator will that be good enough?

Corian can release methyl methacrylate and/or butyl acrylate when being machined. Regular organic compound respirator cartridges with NIOSH particulate filters should be fine. A full-face downdraft respirator really wouldn't be necessary for one small project.

[bill tindall]

The piddly amount of methyl methacrylate that may be released is not the issue, it is dust and lots of it.

[Curt Harms]

The piddly amount of methyl methacrylate that may be released is not the issue, it is dust and lots of it.

If you're sanding, I guess. I found routing it the chips stick to everything. I did some routing in the kitchen - had to do it in-place and you want to talk about a mess . It cleaned up fine though and with dust collection on the sanders there was little or no fine dust beyond the immediate area.
mess.JPG

[Keith Outten]

I take the same precautions when machining Corian as I do with any lumber or sheet stock.
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