Plaster - Safety Issues

Safety Issues

The chemical reaction that occurs when plaster is mixed with water is exothermic in nature and can therefore cause severe burns. The potential dangers were demonstrated in January 2007, when a sixteen-year-old girl suffered third-degree burns after encasing her hands in a bucket of plaster as part of a school art project in Lincolnshire, England. The burns were so severe that she subsequently had both thumbs and six of her fingers amputated. For this reason only thin layers of plaster should be used, with time to cool between layers, or strips of cloth in plaster laid-up in the method used by the medical field. In place of plaster, alginate can safely be used for casting body parts.

Some variations of plaster that contain powdered silica or asbestos may present health hazards if inhaled. Asbestos is a known irritant when inhaled in powder form can cause cancer, especially in people who smoke, and inhalation can also cause asbestosis. Inhaled silica can cause silicosis and (in very rare cases) can encourage the development of cancer. Persons working regularly with plaster containing these additives should take precautions to avoid inhaling powdered plaster, cured or uncured. (Note that asbestos is rarely used in modern plaster formulations because of its carcinogenic effects.)