ART SAFETY PROCEDURES FOR ART SCHOOLS AND ART DEPARTMENTS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Over the last fifteen years, there has been growing concern about the hazards of art materials and processes. In fact, artists, art teachers, and even art students are developing many of the same occupational diseases as are found in industry. Of course this should not be entirely surprising, since artists use many industrial chemicals, often without knowledge of the hazards and how to work safely. These hazards are found in all different types of art media, as shown in Table 1-1, which is reprinted from the second edition of Artist Beware (Lyons and Burford, Publishers, New York, NY, 1992). Health and safety hazards in art schools and art programs in colleges and universities have resulted in injuries from fires and from accidents involving machinery, and occupational illnesses from exposure to toxic chemicals or other hazards. In certain cases, fatalities have resulted. Examples include bladder cancer in painters; lead poisoning in stained glass artists, potters, and enamelists; peripheral nerve damage in commercial artists; emphysema in acid etchers; aplastic anemia and leukemia from use of benzene; severe asthma among users of fiber-reactive dyes; cyanide poisoning and cadmium poisoning in jewelers, kidney damage from cadmium silver solders in jewelers; brain damage in silk screen printers; death of a weaver from anthrax; and metal fume fever in welders. In addition to possible injuries and illnesses, health and safety problems have legal implications. A variety of laws related to health and safety affect colleges and universities, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, state workers' compensation laws, and local fire prevention laws. In addition, students, if injured due to the negligence of the teacher or college, can sue both the teacher and college. These laws are discussed in more detail in Chapter 6. A formal, effective health and safety program is a proven way to reduce the number of injuries and occupational illnesses. Aside from reducing the serious problems of loss of life and health, a health and safety program can reduce the number of workers' compensations claims and minimize the chance of lawsuits. An effective health and safety program is also important in accreditation of art schools. The National Association of Schools of Art and Design has made the adequacy of a health and safety program in college and university art departments a major factor in obtaining and keeping accreditation. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1-1. Hazards of Art Techniques CRAFT MATERIAL/PROCESS HAZARD Batik wax fire, wax fumes dyeing dyes Ceramics clay dust silica glazes silica, lead, cadmium, and other toxic metals slip casting talc, asbestiform materials kiln firing sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, fluorides, infrared radiation, burns Electroplating gold, silver cyanide salts, hydrogen cyanide other metals acids, electricity Enameling enamels lead, cadmium, arsenic, cobalt, etc. kiln firing infrared radiation, burns Forging hammering noise hot forge carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, burns Glassblowing batch process lead, silica, arsenic, other metals furnaces heat, infrared radiation, burns coloring metal fumes etching hydrofluoric acid, fluoride salts sandblasting silica Jewelry silver soldering cadmium fumes, fluoride fluxes, burns pickling baths acids, sulfur oxides gold reclaiming mercury, lead, cyanide Lapidary gemstones silica grinding noise, silica Lithography solvents mineral spirits,kerosene, gasoline acids phosphoric, nitric, hydrofluoric acids talc asbestiform materials inks see painting pigments photolithography solvents, dichromates Lost wax casting investment silica wax burnout wax fumes, carbon monoxide crucible furnace carbon monoxide, metal fumes metal pouring metal fumes, infrared radiation, burns sandblasting silica Neon signs neon tubes mercury, electricity, ultraviolet radiation, phosphors Painting pigments cadmium, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, etc. oils, alkyds turpentine, mineral spirits acrylics trace ammonia, formaldehyde Pastels pigment dusts see Painting pigments Photography developing bath hydroquinone, monomethyl- p-aminophenol sulfate, alkalis stop bath acetic acid fixing bath sulfur dioxide intensifier dichromates, hydrochloric acid toning selenium compounds, hydrogen sulfide sulfur dioxide, etc. color processes formaldehyde, solvents, color developers Relief printing solvents mineral spirits Screen printing pigments see Painting pigments solvents mineral spirits, toluene, xylene photoemulsions ammonium dichromate Sculpture, clay see Ceramics Sculpture,plastics epoxy resin amines, diglycidyl ethers polyester resin styrene, methyl ethyl ketone peroxide polyurethane resins isocyanates, organotin compounds, amines, solvents Sculpture, stone marble nuisance dust soapstone silica, talc, asbestiform materials granite, sandstone silica pneumatic tools vibration, noise Stained glass lead came lead soldering lead, zinc chloride fumes, burns etching hydrofluoric acid, ammonium hydrogen fluoride Weaving loom ergonomic problems dyeing dyes, acids, dichromates, Welding oxyacetylene carbon monoxide, fire and explosion, burns arc ozone, nitrogen dioxide, ultraviolet & infrared radiation, electricity, burns metal fumes copper, zinc, lead, nickel, etc. Woodworking machining toxic wood dust, noise, fire, injuries glues formaldehyde, epoxy paint strippers methylene chloride, toluene, methyl alcohol, etc. paints & finishes mineral spirits, toluene, turpentine, ethyl alcohol, etc. preservatives chromated copper arsenate pentachlorophenol, creosote Adapted from Artist Beware by Michael McCann (2nd ed., Nick Lyons Books, 1992) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------