Post to http://www.reddit.com/r/AskEngineers  during the work week:


**==== My question ====**

I'm a hobbyist interested in heating thermoplastics up and reshaping them.  I have no lab or garage
to work in, so the easiest place to do this is in the oven or on the kitchen stovetop.  

My roommate objects to this for health/safety reasons.

Of all the chemicals that might offgas while heating plastics, which ones are potentially the most
harmful to health?



(obviously, this depends on the type of plastic, so I'm interested in 1) worst-case scenarios,
across all plastics, and 2) if there are specific plastics I should avoid)

**==== My answers so far ====**

Caveat: I know very little about polymer chemistry or manufacture.


**==== Why other folks might be interested ====**