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Author: Laura_Brito, Contributing Editor
| Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
Your enamels by Federal Law come with a sheet with all the information on it that you need to read. If you did not receive the MSDS, they are out of compliance!!! Ask for it, have them mail or fax it to you. It is called the Material Safety Data Sheet from OSHA. Each color has a different one. Here is some (only some) of what it says for Pink: "Dust may irritate eyes. Prolonged exposure may cause irritation to respiratory track, Emergency procedure....Remove to dust free fresh air. If irritation develops, call a physician.....(here is the kicker) Wear Appropriate respirator if 15 mg/M3 working conditions are exceeded, use NIOSH approved dust respirator, you must have Adequate Ventilation for Dust Control, It MUST Vent dust to COLLECTOR (I know of no one with this).....Use work gloves (it's tempting to neglect this)......Be clean and neat, Wear clean clothes (change the clothes when done using these), no eating or smoking in the area...." All of this info is important, and it varies for each color. Some is much worst....all of this info is for when you have the proper setup, if you don't, then the risks of use become higher and higher.... Here is the text that is included besides the MSDS sheet for your info, "When using enamels, you'll be creating small clouds of glass dust. Use adequate ventilation (which most don't have to begin with) and a particle mask (they do not mean the regular kind). While Thompson enamels are lead-free, a few of the colors contain potentially harmful metals such as Cadmium and cobalt." Fortunately, there are only a few of these and they arrive to you well labeled by Thompson with safety procedures. Familiarize yourself with them! MSDS: There should be an MSDS warning with Thompson Enamels, if one is not included, do not use the material, if one is included, it is very important to read and understand." (comments within the parentheses are my own) So here is most of what they tell you, and there are things they don't tell you, those I tried to fill everyone in on.... Hopefully this will help; some of us should not even use enamels. I see too many people without the proper setup buying and using them, and a lot of people do it because they do not know better, others think "it won't happen to me"....etc....this is a fairly new career in the US, there are many new products on the market and many of us really do not know the long term effects....if you have a daughter like me who started working with glass products at age 13, you become very concerned real fast. She has a long life hopefully in front of her, and I do not want her to pay for it later on....I am older, but I still am concerned and take good precautions. It can be very sobering when you learn you may not be taking enough precautions to safeguard your own health. I hope this article has awakened many of you to the dangers of using enamels without proper safeguards or inappropriately. |
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| B i o g r a p h y | |
| Laura Brito | |
| Laura Brito began her career in art at a young age. She went from drawing to painting in oils by the age nine, and won a major art contest, in the Orient where she lived, when she was fifteen. Painting was not her only medium. Photography became a passion that led to a semi-professional career in that field. The rights to thousands of her photographs have been sold over the years. Though she still finds a use for her camera her interest in hot glass opened a new career for her seven years ago. She now sells her work through her website. Her knowledge in the hot glass medium has grown over time while working in the medium, and she is happy to share information. Anyone interested in hot glasswork can find further information on Laura's website as well as the Glass Art Forum at WetCanvas! | |
| E-Mail: laura@beadful.com Web Site: http://www.beadful.com/MyaArtGlass/ | |
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