Look up your woods here:
http://www.mimf.com/archives/toxic.htmEasier to use since it's by common name. As for "ebony" (there are several types), a summary:
Ebony: irritant, sensitizer/respiratory, eye & skin/great/dust, wood/common
See below to interpret:
"Class: Woods are either an irritant which cause a reaction fairly rapidly after exposure and will cause a similar reaction repeatedly, or sensitizers which may have a latency period of hours or months and may require repeated handling before reaction occurs. Sensitizer's are the more severe, because once you're sensitized, you're sensitized for life and the reactions only get more dramatic. A bit like paying taxes to the Gov, huh?
Reaction Category:
Eye and skin irritation (hives, itching, redness).
Respiratory problems.
Nausea, headache, or general malaise, possibly even liver or kidney malfunction.
Cancer of nose and sinus. Statistics show that woodworkers have a 40 per cent greater chance of nasal cancer than the general population, but the majority of statistics on nasal cancer are based on data from 1920-1960 when the furniture industry became highly mechanized with little or no dust control methods. So don't freak.
Potency: Small, great, extreme. This is the potential of the wood or sawdust doing harm and would vary with the individual i.e., those who are allergy prone might think twice about working with wood classed as extremely potent.
Source: Dust or wood, or both
Incidence: Unknown, rare, or common. This is probably the vaguest of the categories as most doctors wouldn't know an allergic reaction to wood if it bit them in the face."
