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'A uto B ody P lastic F iller'
Auto body plastic filler (ABPF) is a chemical substance made up of plastic filler (talc and two plastic rosins) and cream hardener (a deluded cream peroxide). ABPF is used in auto body shops to help repair cars or by woodworkers who use it to make fillets for their patterns. ABPF is a toxic plastic, and is used on 35% of Canada’s cars. In the auto shop ABPF will repair dents, restore doors and create bumpers. ABPF is a very strong material, and although it is highly toxic ABPF is at an inert state once hardened.
I devised three experiments to help me study ABPF and its effects on the environment and other materials.
Experiment # 1
I buried ten different materials with ABPF and auto body lacer paint on them in 4 L buckets containing 3.5 L of backyard dirt for 90 days. I added 400 mL of water to each bucket once per month, and kept the buckets sealed beside my furnace. I did this to see the effects and degradation of ABPF and to see how it effects other material’s degradation.
Experiment # 2
I placed four different materials covered in ABPF and auto body lacer paint, in a large bucket containing 4 L of water with 1750 grams of road salt in it, for about 90 days. I did this to see the effects that the road salt used today, has on ABPF, once painted and applied to a car.
Experiment # 3
I tested the pH of soil samples taken from the four buckets I used in experiment # 1 and a control sample. I measured the pH of the soil with pH paper and a pH meter. I did this to see if the soil in the buckets became more acidic after having the ABPF covered materials, buried in it.
