Quote Originally Posted by Mike Wilkins View Post
A recent article by Bob Flexner in one of the magazines (may have been Popular Woodworking) addressed that same subject.
As usually the case, if folks followed the directions on the container and used the product as the manufacturers' recommend, MC is no more a health hazard as mineral spirits.
Circling back, I think that this is a gross misrepresentation. Humans metabolize MC to carbon monoxide in the bloodstream, which is uniquely problematic because the victim often has no idea they've been poisoned until they lose consciousness. If you look at the respective SDS, mineral spirits don't have a listed IDLH (Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health) concentration, while MC does.

The other problem with MC is that it's vapor is heavier than air, so you can get extremely high local concentrations if you're not careful. Not coincidentally, at least a couple of the deaths attributed to MC were associated with bathtub cleaning. Yes, those people could and should have used better ventilation, but the fact is that there IS a greater risk than with mineral spirits.

I personally think that MC should be left as it is today (legal for people to use on their own, but tightly regulated in the workplace such that employers can't put employees in overly risky situations), but it doesn't do anybody any good to misrepresent the risks.