hazardous balloon toxins

[Hector]

Theoretically and practically speaking. Would there be danger involved in heating air inside a balloon, to say 200°C or more, and then inhaling the expanded contents? I'm referring only to harmful substences leaking from the rubber/whatever else party balloons are made of.

[John Cuthber]

I suspect that breathing air at 200C would be sufficiently bad for you that any containments would be irrelevant.

[Hector]

I suspect that breathing air at 200C would be sufficiently bad for you that any containments would be irrelevant.

 

 

Thanks for the reply John, perhaps a better way of asking my question would be:

Will harmful substances leak from a balloon when heated, assuming it doesn't melt first, and what are said harmful substances, and even better what are their effects on the human body if inhaled?

[Xittenn]

My Grandmother worked in a balloon factory for twenty-five years. They didn't use masks and it was sufficient to maintain good air circulation in the plant. It was never considered a concern, but this is something that would probably be considered to some extent controversial. Latex and dyes I'm sure, and especially the dyes, as inhaled particulates can most probably be related to various pulmonary diseases given long term exposure. If there is concern why not just wear an appropriate mask, there are an assortment of them that are available for a number of applications. A good place to start might be with masks used for spray painting in confined spaces.

[johnheritage]

I'm afraid I have to be the one to ask this.

 

Why on earth would you want or need to do that?

 

But to cut to the chase even quicker, overheated or burning plastics and elastomers tend to produce some of the most dangerous fumes you will find in everyday life. They can be either immediately toxic or that and also mutagenic / carcinogenic... so on.

 

As an example, overheating PTFE will cause it to release hydrogen fluoride. Horrifically corrosive and a powerful calcium leach.