Linseed Oil Safety Reminders

I was in Big Spring this week at an event in one of their beautiful historic buildings downtown. The building still had the original wood floors and nice wood bar area that the property management had recently refinished with Linseed Oil. I say recently, because the odor was still noticeable as we entered.

Walking through the building I noticed a closet in the kitchen where they were storing cleaning products including turpentine. In that closet was an open plastic container with a used can of Boiled Linseed Oil on top of some trash.

While Linseed Oil makes an excellent wood finish, its use has some serious safety hazards that users may not realize – the possibility of spontaneous combustion.

Linseed oil rags or soaked paper towels is a potential fire hazard.  A fire hazard because as Linseed Oil is applied to a surface, it generates heat during the drying process.  The application is typically not the hazard, it’s the soaked rags used that allow the heat to build up until it ignites. If there are combustibles such as ordinary trash and flammables stored in the area, there’s a real possibility of a fire with substantial damage because of the presence of the flammable liquids like turpentine.  Because the property management also required that we shut off the air conditioning once we exit the building, there’s a potential for the building to get very warm during the summer months which also increases the fire potential.

In 2008 the historic Albuquerque Theater and saloon caught fire after employees had finished cleaning the floors with linseed oil, and had placed the waste rags in a plastic container under the bar. The rags "spontaneously combusted" which investigators said started the fire.

The fire hazards associated with Linseed Oil are well known to woodworking professionals; however everyone may not be aware. Best practice is to always train employees on the hazards of chemicals they are working with. To minimize the risk of spontaneous combustion, that training for products like Linseed Oil should include how to properly dispose of any waste materials generated.

The investigators for the 2008 Albuquerque fire recommend that if you use Linseed Oil or other oil products, ensure that rags are dry and placed in a metal container (with a close fitting lid) away from flammables.

Good advice for reducing the risk of spontaneous combustion. We do not want a repeat of the 2008 event and another fire and loss of a historic structure because of this unique safety hazard.

I’ll be sending a friendly safety reminder to the property management next week.