Safety of Materials

[Drago]

Originally Posted by Almi

Hey guys. I know I'm slow to reply because I'm busy, busy, but I have been doing some research. Some of the information is copied and pasted from the links I provided.

Firstly, I wanted to know how cardboard is made. I found out that most paper products, whether they are toilet paper, computer paper, newspaper, or Kraft paper (used to make corrugated cardboard) are all processed in the same way, using the Kraft method.

The Kraft Process. Cardboard = Kraft paper + corn starch glue + ink + paraffin wax. Wood most commonly used: pine.

The wood is "impregnated" with sulfates. The wood is cooked into wood pulp. The finished cooked wood chips are blown to a collection tank called a blow tank that operates at atmospheric pressure. This releases a lot of steam and volatiles. The volatiles are condensed and collected; in the case of northern softwoods this consists mainly of raw turpentine.

The pulp is screened and washed with various chemicals. In a modern mill, brownstock (cellulose fibers containing approximately 5% residual lignin) produced by the pulping is first washed to remove some of the dissolved organic material and then further delignified by a variety of bleaching stages. In the case of a plant designed to produce pulp to make brown sack paper or linerboard for boxes and packaging, the pulp does not always need to be bleached to a high brightness.

The salts used in the pulping process are either sulfites (SO32−), or bisulfites (HSO3−), depending on the pH. The counter ion can be sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca2+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg2+) or ammonium (NH4+). Sulfite pulping is carried out between pH 1.5 and 5, depending on the counterion to sulfite (bisulfite) and the ratio of base to sulfurous acid.

The pulp is in contact with the pulping chemicals for 4 to 14 hours and at temperatures ranging from 130 to 160 °C (266 to 320 °F), again depending on the chemicals used. Sulfite pulp remains an important commodity, especially for specialty papers and as a source of cellulose for non-paper applications. It is used to make fine paper, tissue, glassine, and to add strength to newsprint.

Toilet paper is different than cardboard in that it is more commonly made out of hard woods, and also undergoes a bleaching process. Otherwise, it is processed and washed using the same chemicals.

Examples of process chemicals that are added to improve the production process: Surfactants (in the world, half are soaps), anthraquinone, emulsion breakers, defoamers, dispersing agents, detackifiers, complexing agents, and fixation agents.


At this point, I'm wondering how Carefresh bedding is made. Though I don't currently use it, I'm very familiar with it and its consistency. Further research revealed: Carefresh FAQ website says that their bedding is made out of "[pure white] virgin reclaimed paper fibers."

After reading this site and this site, I concluded it probably meant that Carefresh bedding is made out of paper that hasn't had ink printed on it. Carefresh is recycled paper. Even if it were made directly from virgin wood pulp, it would still have to undergo the paper pulping process in order to have the consistency that it does.

So if you're worried about things being "treated with chemicals," the fibers used to make Carefresh were. The Carefresh website also doesn't deny using chemicals in their bedding products, they simply state that "The exact formula is proprietary (much like Coke or Kentucky Fried Chicken) but all of our odor control ingredients are found in human grade products. All our active ingredients are human grade and often found in safe-for-human products like facial tissues."

I also question many "human-safe" chemicals and additives.


Supposedly, paper products are rendered safe because they wash the chemicals out. But what about the ink they put on afterward? What exactly, is in ink? I decided to find out.

Here is a website that answered my questions. It outlined the ingredients used in black newspaper ink, so I decided to research the safety of each.

Mineral oil: The World Health Organization classifies untreated or mildly treated mineral oils as Group 1 carcinogens to humans; highly refined oils are classified as Group 3, meaning they are not suspected to be carcinogenic but available information is not sufficient to classify them as harmless.

Carbon black: The current International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluation is that, "Carbon black is possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B)". Short-term exposure to high concentrations of carbon black dust may produce discomfort to the upper respiratory tract, through mechanical irritation.

Asphaltum: Irritating to the skin and eyes on contact. Inhalation will cause irritation to the lungs and mucus membrane. Irritation to the eyes will cause watering and redness. Reddening, scaling, and itching are characteristics of skin inflammation. Follow safe industrial hygiene practices and always wear protective equipment when handling this compound. This product has no known chronic effects. Repeated or prolong exposure to this compound is not known to aggravate medical conditions. This product is not listed by NTP, IARC or regulated as a Carcinogen by OSHA.

Petroleum distillate: Petroleum distillates are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and may be regulated in your area. Toxicity levels are considered low, but vary with the specific material. For example, kerosene is a possible carcinogen.

Lastly, there is a paraffin coating on some printed boxes. Paraffin is essentially harmless and is related to mineral oil.

I am sure you could remove ink from paper products with some mild cleansing chemicals, cooking, and rinsing.

Which is safer: natural shaved wood, or chemically-processed paper product?

I must applaud you on how well researched this topic is! I would say on the question of whether wood or paper is better is simply based on personal preference. I use both as I see little to no harm in either granted you're careful and diligent with reading labels and learning how it's processed. All in all however, going too overly in depth over something that's fairly simplistic such as hamster bedding, just seems a bit much to me. It's just a simple question of "is it safe, or not safe? If not, why?" And shouldn't be gone too far into, as the more you research, the more evidence will point into the direction of everything simply being "toxic" when in reality it makes no difference.

If you really wish to use newspaper, as I see you seem very set on, see where your specific paper is manufactured and see if they use soy-based ink (as do most papers these days) and try to rinse out the ink before using it with your hamster(s). You mention wanting to experiment as experimentation is often done in every day scenarios, and were wondering why exactly that is frowned upon and I'd say it's generally because hamsters are pets and should be treated as such, which is why anything that is questionable, should simply be avoided for their sake. Now whether it's humane or not to test on lab animals such as rats, mice, hamsters, and gerbils is a much more debatable and complex question and probably shouldn't be discussed due to the nature of the subject and how strong the opinions surround it tend to be. I think all in all it's your pets and what you choose is your decision and there's ideally nothing anyone could do or say to stop your from making this decision, but think of it this way. Let's say you see a bush with some tasty looking berries on it and you want to eat it as you wish to see if it would generally be alright to eat. However, upon research and opinions of others, there a chance that these berries could be toxic and potentially kill you. However, some say the berries are harmless and can be a cheap alternative to buying berries from a grocery store. You likely wouldn't eat the berries due to the confusion and unsureness surrounding its toxicity, and that's essentially the case here with using newspaper. Though newspaper doesn't have too much credible evidence on its toxicity, it also lacks evidence that DISPROVES its toxicity.

[Almi]

It seems that a lot of people here often question the safety of materials we use for our pets. I figured the research would be helpful. It was certainly enlightening to me. After learning all of that, I do view each of these materials differently than I used to, but I would still say that wood and paper products are most likely safe.

I am set on recycling, but I am not set on using newspaper for the creature habitats. I would say the most dangerous things I came across during my research were the chemicals used in ink. Newspapers these days are absolutely saturated in ink of every color. So, I'm going to err on the side of caution (and laziness, as I decided after all I don't want to cook and wash paper) on that one. I never said I "experiment" so far as to use or do something I think might be unsafe. I'll use newspapers for what they do best: starting and feeding fires.

Cardboard and kraft paper, on the other hand, is something I have more of than newspaper, and it has very little ink on it. I also recycle things like paper plates. If Carefresh is considered safe, then I'd say those things are probably all safe too.

Here is what I've actually decided to do:

Give my children scissors, and let them cut up all the paper and cardboard, mix it in with the wood shavings. Otherwise, I'm going to simply rip it up and give it to the creatures. I was putting together vole habitats the other night, and I realized that it creates quite a bit of volume and surface area to throw random strips of it in with the bedding. It's not like they care what shape it is or what it looks like!

[Drago]

Originally Posted by Almi

It seems that a lot of people here often question the safety of materials we use for our pets. I figured the research would be helpful. It was certainly enlightening to me. After learning all of that, I do view each of these materials differently than I used to, but I would still say that wood and paper products are most likely safe.

I am set on recycling, but I am not set on using newspaper for the creature habitats. I would say the most dangerous things I came across during my research were the chemicals used in ink. Newspapers these days are absolutely saturated in ink of every color. So, I'm going to err on the side of caution (and laziness, as I decided after all I don't want to cook and wash paper) on that one. I never said I "experiment" so far as to use or do something I think might be unsafe. I'll use newspapers for what they do best: starting and feeding fires.

Cardboard and kraft paper, on the other hand, is something I have more of than newspaper, and it has very little ink on it. I also recycle things like paper plates. If Carefresh is considered safe, then I'd say those things are probably all safe too.

Here is what I've actually decided to do:

Give my children scissors, and let them cut up all the paper and cardboard, mix it in with the wood shavings. Otherwise, I'm going to simply rip it up and give it to the creatures. I was putting together vole habitats the other night, and I realized that it creates quite a bit of volume and surface area to throw random strips of it in with the bedding. It's not like they care what shape it is or what it looks like!

A pretty good conclusion in the end! I'm glad however that you did go through all that research as it will now be available to other owners that have similar inquiries or are just curious. Your last idea sounds fine though it'd probably be best to soak the paper in water, then dry and use this as bedding as it would be a bit more comfortable to your little one(s). I definitely think a very in depth study should be done by someone on the toxicity of certain beddings for sure!

[AmityvilleHams]

And along with toxicity there should also be easily available information concerning which substrate options must be chosen with caution as there are tons of non-toxic but still not entirely safe substrates out there which can and often do cause allergic reactions among hamsters.That isn't really stated at all in most places,even though it is a very serious issue and it needs to be easier for newer owners to see rather than having them assume their hamster is seriously ill.