Are the fumes that are given off when cutting Styrofoam (EPS foam) with hot wire tools very dangerous?
Ventilation is always strongly suggested, but the smoke that you may encounter while cutting EPS foam is primarily CO2 and water vapor, which are far less harmful than other common art products like aerosols and paint thinners. The toxic values are far less than wood-smoke, which contains tars, resins, creosote, and acetic acid. The dust from cutting with saws and sanding EPS foam is more harmful than the fumes encountered while cutting foam with a hot wire tool. Always wear a good quality dust mask when saw cutting or sanding EPS foam. To get the EPS foam to actually combust and burn you have to have an extremely hot fire, much hotter than our tools get, burning directly on the foam to begin with. Always check with the manufacturer of the foam you are using to make sure that there are no health or safety hazards when cutting their foam with hot wire tools. Keep in mind when you read the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for the foam you look up that they often are referring to possib
