Here are 2 more reasons to not cry that the sky is falling with regards to the dangers of epoxy. I'm not implying that you should not wear gloves or a respirator when working with epoxy, just that you don't necessarily need to treat the stuff like toxic waste:

A biochemistry professor I met at a symposium this weekend stated that there should be no problem working with epoxy in your living space, given epoxy's low vapor pressure and toxicity. But he said to be very careful with 2-part urethanes...

I asked Al Anderson, designer and builder of Betsie Bay Kayaks, who has been building as a full-time job for many years (~15, I think) if he had been sensitized to epoxy and what precautions he took when working with the stuff. He said that he doesn't wear a respirator, doesn't even work with gloves most of the time and often gets epoxy on his skin. He believes that if you are likely to be sensitized, it will happen fairly quickly and is more of a genetic pre-disposition than a cumulative effect -- some people get sensitized, some can't. Al does use a fresh-air supplied suit when he sprays the hulls of his $3000 stitch-and-glue kayaks with the 2-part urethane AwlBrite.

Dean