Jump to content

Lung Damage from prolonged fog generator exposure


mikewest

Recommended Posts

As many other threads have said, is it worth risking your health for some goofy TV show? You are not a first responder that signed up to charge into the unknown in the hopes of saving lives, you are making a movie in a theoretically controlled environment.

I found out years later that when they finally demolished that TV soundstage, they had to call in a special hazmat crew to take out all the asbestos and dispose of it. I was only on those stages for 4 years, but I know others who were there for decades. But most of those guys smoked like chimneys anyway, and weren't all that healthy to begin with.

The only time I ever got exposed to oil-based smoke was on the set of Close Encounters of the Third Kind: Special Edition in 1980, where they added new scenes at the Glencoe Facility, a big VFX outfit in Venice. Oh, that's a smell I would not like to smell twice in my life... The more-recent smoke is at least sorta/kinda tolerable, as long as you're not sitting right by the machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

The Fuller's Earth and asbestos particles are lung irritants- they literally chew up your lungs to the point that that they bleed internally and cannot process air for you any more. It is our version of miner's "Black Lung". The prop and SFX guys here used to burn potpurri, smoke cookies by the dozens, squads of bee-smokers, oil-based Ajibas etc etc. In the '80s I did finally get my own mask. Nowadays the glycerin/water smoke seems less toxic, but I agree that it still gives a sore throat and makes me feel lousy--I think my body is telling me that it isn't a great idea either. I don't know what the solution is for crew people and actors--the smoke is a definite look, needed some times to make scenes work, and ADs hate taking the time to air out a set then smoke it up again. I recall when oil-based and cookie-based smoke was replaced with the later versions some directors and cinematographers bemoaned the less refined look of the new stuff, how it took light etc..

phil p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to work in the Vending Machine biz years ago.. More specifically, the Cigarette vending machine biz.. I used to pull out old machines from a bar that they were sitting in for near 10 years.. Get them out into the sunlight!! OMG, it's like a layer of yellow OIL was dumped on these things.. Imagine what the insides of people lungs looked like that worked there, and the locals that came to the bar night after night.

Also..

First movie I ever worked on.. the fog machine broke, so being the film students they were, improvised by having as many people on set, smoke as much as possible at once.. People working said their lungs hurt for 2 days after.. What were we thinking??

-Richard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 years later...

I worked in clubs for years and suffered constantly from the 'water based' fog juice at certain clubs, having to quit certain clubs almost immediately if there was no ventilation. I'd run out of the room when it was dispersed until it cleared. The water-"based" fog is still full of chemicals: propylene glycol. It causes burning, dry eyes, lightheadedness, a headache, fatigue, breathing problems, nausea, muscle soreness, and more after even short-term exposure. I would wake up with severe fog hangovers. I believe everyone suffers the same symptoms, but since they have been drinking as well, and/or smoking, at the club, they don't know it's from the fog. 

I wish this stuff would be banned bc it's so toxic, and now I see it at kid's venues, such as trampoline parks and outdoor festivals. it really is poison.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I work in radio nowadays, and I'm about to broadcast our weekly science show where one segment is about the first "victims" of vaping, people have suffered different diseases from vaping . If the same material is used in smoke and fog machines, they could also be subject to further research.. and then perhaps legal action? Not an american so I wouldn't know.. Anyway, the researcher's name is Brandon Larsen, and here's a quickly googled article about that: 

https://www.livescience.com/vaping-lung-injuries-toxic-fumes.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...