Originally Posted by
70sSanO
I just went through the posts quickly so maybe this has been brought up.
Does anyone know which is more unhealthy; lubing your chain, or riding a few hours sucking up exhaust fumes?
John
Probably lubing a chain. “Exhaust fumes” really aren’t a thing anymore. Catalytic converters remove unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. I had a discussion with a fellow chemist who is a motörhead (I’m not) about cars in closed garages. Even if you start with a full tank, you can’t really off yourself with car exhaust anymore.
On the other hand, the solvents used for chain lubrication (assuming a liquid lubricant) are usually low odor mineral spirits. “Low odor mineral spirits” also have low benzene content, so the amount of benzene you’d be exposed to is fairly low. You are most likely to be exposed to benzene when fueling your car with higher exposures isn’t the summer.
Additionally, benzene is a commodity chemical. It has a lot of value and refiners are careful to capture as much as possible because they can sell it for filthy lucre. So they don’t too much of it going out the door in something else. Some does but, generally, they want to keep it.