Is the smell of rubber harmful to the human body?

Many people's jobs play an important role in the rubber production process, so we often come into contact with rubber in our daily lives. However, the main components of rubber include many additives. These additives are toxic, so a lot of odor is likely to be emitted during the processing. It is not good for people to breathe it for a long time. Is the rubber smell harmful to the body?

There are many additives in the production process of rubber: vulcanizers, chemical inhibitors, reinforcing agents, lubricants, etc. Some of them have toxic side effects. Odors are emitted during the processing. Long-term exposure will definitely cause problems with the respiratory system first, and will also affect the internal organs, brain, and nerves.

Rubber itself is not toxic, but the sulfur, catalysts, etc. added to rubber will have certain effects on the human body during the vulcanization process, and the impact on the lungs should be greater. You should go to the Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Center to inquire more clearly. The main hazard is sulfur dioxide: long-term exposure to low concentrations of sulfur dioxide can cause decreased or even disappearance of the sense of smell and taste, headache, fatigue, tooth erosion, chronic rhinitis, pharyngitis, tracheitis, bronchitis, emphysema, increased lung markings, diffuse pulmonary interstitial fibrosis and decreased immune function, etc.

1) Use laundry detergent: This method also includes other alkaline detergents; use water containing laundry detergent to clean the rubber and then lay a protective film. After the rubber surface is dry, its stickiness can be even stronger than when you bought it. But this approach also has an obvious problem, which is that it will change other properties of the rubber, such as elasticity. Therefore, doing this for a long time will affect your hand feel and can only be regarded as a method of cutting flesh to heal a wound. Of course, if your rubber is already a long time old, you might as well do this to let it make use of its residual heat.

2) Clean directly with water: This is the most common method, and its advantages are simplicity and convenience. There are a few things to note about this method: first, it is best to use cotton pads when cleaning so that it is easier to wipe clean; second, be careful not to let water seep into the board. Third, the protective film should be applied when the water on the rubber is almost dry and there is still a layer of water film, because at this time the protective film and the rubber can be tightly combined and bubbles will not be easily left. The main trouble with cleaning with water is that the stickiness is slow to come out. It takes at least a day for the rubber to recover after the protective film is applied. Also, doing so will easily make the racket damp and affect its performance.

3) Use cleaning foam: This method is more likely to be effective. After playing with the racket for a whole day, just wipe it with cleaning foam and the stickiness will come out immediately. It will not cause serious damage to the rubber, so it is suitable for friends who play tennis frequently. Some people may say that the price of rubber foam is expensive, but nowadays rubber is not necessarily cheap. Moreover, the amount of rubber foam used is very small. A large bottle only costs a few dozen yuan and can be used for a long time. The brand of cleaning foam I used before was TSP, but now I use Nittaku (185ml), which costs only 50 yuan. With the sticky protective film of the butterfly, my Kurumi, which I have used for nearly a year, can hold the ball for more than ten seconds, which shows that it is still very effective.