SCHOOL SAFETY PROCEDURES FOR ART AND INDUSTRIAL ART PROGRAMS CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION Over the last fifteen years, there has been growing concern about the hazards of art and industrial art materials and processes. In fact, artists, teachers, and even 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). Of course, many of these processes should not be taught in either elementary or secondary schools because of their high risks. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Health and safety hazards in art and industrial art programs in elementary and secondary schools have resulted in illnesses from exposure to toxic chemicals or physical hazards, injuries from fires and accidents involving machinery. In certain cases, fatalities have resulted. Specific examples of illnesses among secondary school students and arts and industrial arts teachers include asthma and other respiratory problems from unvented pottery kilns, chemical pneumonia and kidney damage from cadmium-containing silver solders used in jewelry, allergic skin reactions from dichromates in lithography and silk screen photoemulsions, metal fume fever from welding, brain damage from silk screen printing with solvent-based inks, skin and eye problems from acid and solvent splashes, headaches, dizziness and upper respiratory irritation from whiteboard markers, cataracts from looking in pottery kilns, and hearing loss from from woodworking machine noise. Elementary students can also be at risk. Some examples include dizziness, headaches, and nausea in entire classes from using permanent markers and rubber cement, epileptic seizures in a kindergarten child from turpentine, allergic reactions to dyes, burns from hot electric kilns in the classroom and from hand plaster casts, and cuts from sharp instruments. Many injuries have resulted from accidents with machinery, and numerous fires started from the use of such flammable materials as lacquer thinners, shellacs, and other solvents without proper precautions and storage procedures, and from equipment, for example, from failure to ensure that electric pottery kilns have been turned off. In addition to possible injuries and illnesses, health and safety problems have legal implications. A variety of laws related to health and safety can affect schools, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act or state equivalents, 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 and/or school, can sue both the teacher and school. These laws are discussed in more detail in Chapter 5. 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. WHO IS AT RISK? As discussed above, both elementary and secondary school students, and teachers, can be at risk. Individuals with various types of disabilities are often at higher risk. Elementary Students Children are at much greater risk from toxic materials than adults. The same product may cause little or no reaction in adults, but could make a child ill. Both physiological and psychological factors place children at this increased risk of developing a toxic reaction to chemicals in art materials. From a physiological perspective, children are still growing and have a more rapid metabolism than adults. They absorb more nutrients, and more of whatever else is in the bloodstream, inlcuding toxic chemicals. The brain and nervous systems of young children in particular are still developing, resulting in a greater risk. Very young children also have incompletely developed lungs and body defenses and are particularly susceptible to inhalation hazards. Children are also at higher risk because of lower body weight. A given amount of a toxic material is more concentrated in a child's body than in a larger adult body. The smaller the child, the greater the risk. Children are also at increased risk for a number of psychological reasons. First, a child under the age of twelve cannot be depended upon to understand the need for precautions or to carry them out consistently and effectively. Secondly, preschool children sometimes deliberately put things in their mouths and/or swallow them. Even elementary school age children often have inadvertent hand-to-mouth contact, which can result in accidental ingestion of art materials on their hands. As a result, children under the age of 12 should not be using materials that contain toxic chemicals in amounts that could be harmful. Secondary School Students Although students over the age of 12 are still at higher risk than adults since they are still growing, in most cases, they can be expected to understnad and carry out precautions. Therefore they can work with more advanced art materials that often can be more hazardous, as long as adequate precautions are present. However, as good practice, the safest materials possible should be used, and highly toxic chemicals like lead, mercury and benzene should never be used. Teachers Most of the reports of illnesses we receive from schools involve teachers. This occurs because teachers have more exposure than students since they teach many art classes weekly, and can have years of exposure. In addition, many art teachers are also artists, and are exposed to art materials at home. Disabled Individuals Students who are physically or psychologically disabled may even be at greater risk from toxic materials than other students, especially at the secondary school level where toxic chemicals are often found. Exposure to art materials or processes, or placement in situations that exceed an individual's physical limitations, may sometimes place a disabled individual at high risk for further illness or injury. Some examples of such high risk situations are: * students with hearing impairments in noisy environments such as woodshops; * students with epilepsy exposed to organic solvents such as turpentine, lacquer thinners, and paint thinners; * retarded individuals with difficulty in reading and following directions, and in understanding warning labels; * emotionally disturbed individuals who have a tendency to "sniff" hazardous solvents; * orthopedically or neurologically impaired individuals experiencing difficulty in operating hazardous machinery; * someone with hepatitis exposed to organic solvents; * asthmatics exposed to dusts, molds, kiln fumes, spray mists, and many other materials; and * students taking medications exposed to solvents. Art teachers with disabilities, of course, have many of the same higher risks as do disabled students, and might require special accomodation as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. REFERENCES 1. Babin, A., Peltz, P.A., Rossol, M. (1992). Children's art supplies can be toxic. Center for Safety in the Arts, New York, NY. 2. McCann, M. (1987) Teaching art safely to the disabled. Center for Safety in the Arts, New York, NY. 3. McCann, M. (1992). Artist Beware. 2nd ed., Lyons and Burford Publishers, New York, NY. 4. McCann, M. (1989) Health and safety for secondary school arts and industrial arts. Center for Safety in the Arts, New York, NY.