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Communal Studio Dust Issues: Advice For Clean Studio In Nyc.


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I have been taking beginner/intermediate ceramic classes in several studios here in the New York City area for about 6 years now. In the beginning I did not really know the issues with dust and how it is for example a big problem to use sand paper on bisque in an indoor environment. I think that the teachers at many of these places are trying to make most people happy, as we are just there to have fun, so issues with dust and silica are not addressed.

 

I currently go to Greenwich House Pottery and it is very dusty right now. There was a long time director that left, the current director stayed for two years and is leaving, and they are hiring someone new now. With management changing, a lot of these issues like dust are not looked at. I might have to look at another studio to go to, but most studio websites in NYC that I looked at don't seem to have clear policy on how to minimize dust. I might have to visit them in person and check how clean they are. 

 

At Greenwich House Pottery I see students sanding their bisqware indoors and the teachers don't really say anything. There are also many other issues such as areas that only get moped maybe once or twice a year such as hallways and the basement. Also the area where dry clay is mixed is the same area where students need access to, to store their work.  

 

For those of you who go to communal studio and classes how are dust issues addressed? Are there clear policies online and at the site describing issues such as sanding bisqware? Do teachers spend a reasonable amount of time addressing these issues with students? Also does anyone have a recommendation for a clean studio with classes in the New York City area?

 

Thank you,

Dan

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Guest JBaymore

It is a great point you bring up. I've been pretty involved in this subject since the mid 70's.... teach about it at the college level..... so it is 'near and dear' to my heart. 

 

Unfortunately, the only formal "standards" there are for such "dust" stuff relate to employees..... not students. (This includes academic places like colleges.)  There ARE OSHA standards (and NIOSH recommendations) for the workplace for silica and other airborne contaminants ....... but they only apply to employees

 

Note three aspects of this stuff........

 

1.)  You are very correct to be concerned about the potential health impacts on yourself and other students.

 

2.)  Historical evidence of air sampling (when it has been done) in typical ceramics studio situations (other than dry clay mixing) has shown that exposure levels to respirable microcrystalline silica has been lower than the OSHA PELs or TLVs.

 

3.)  The first line of defense in any dust control program is to deal with not getting contaminants airborne in the first place.  So working procedures and cleaning procedures are the FIRST places to address.  If these aspects are not being addressed, this is a tall-tale warning sign about either attitudes about or understanding of the potential problems.

 

Can't help you in NYC... but contact Monona Rossol at ACTS NYC........ she can likely help you out a bit. 

 

http://artscraftstheatersafety.org/bio.html

 

best,

 

................john

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I would just mention it to the person in charge and show them the dangers. They might not be aware, sometimes people just have missing gaps in knowledge. 

 

Also why in the world are people sanding bisqued pots? That sounds like a huge waste of energy and time? Is this a common thing? I have never sanded anything. I polish the bottom of my feet with polishing pads, but I do it with a damp sponge to minimize dust and I do it outside and with a respirator on.  Interesting things happen in studios.

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I take classes at a studio in the local community center building, and the instructors there are very careful about dust. The head of the ceramics program gives a safety talk at the beginning of every quarter and always mentions keeping dust down to avoid silicosis (among other safety issues like never setting items on the kiln lids, toxicity of oxides used for decorating, etc). Students are required to mop the work area after every class and to clean up any messes they make during open studio hours - so the floor is mopped and work surfaces are wiped down several times a week. Clay isn't mixed in the studio, so that's not a problem. The instructors do mix glazes in the studio, but not during class, and they wear masks while working with glaze materials and clean up after themselves. If a student needs to remove glaze from a pot (before firing of course) to fix a glazing mistake, they're supposed to scrape off the glaze into a trash can so that dust doesn't get everywhere. Dry sanding a pot in the studio is not allowed. You either take the pot home to sand it - the instructors recommend doing this outside - or you wet sand it. Personally I only ever wet sand the bottoms or footrings of my pieces, and only after they're glaze fired, not when they're bisqued.  

 

The situation at your studio definitely sounds off to me and makes me wonder if there are other safety issues besides dust. If the new director doesn't fix the dust issue soon, I think finding another studio would be a good idea. I'm nowhere near NYC so can't recommend a particular studio, but I would think there would be plenty of options in such a big city.

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I agree with grype about bringing it to the attention of the highest level responsible person (administrator?) but I would do so in writing, not just verbally. Follow John's suggestion re: Ms. Rossol /ACTS, first, and then maybe consider writing a letter that expresses your concerns in a way that essentially requires a response, and end the letter with a request for a written response. They may indeed just not know (or care) but after being given the details of the problems, and how to correct them, hopefully they will require their new director to make the necessary changes. Greenwich House Pottery has been around for a zillion years, is part of a larger organization, has a board of directors, receives public funds, and certainly has a reputation to maintain, so hopefully the slippage in standards can be turned around once someone shows some interest. 

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Your starting situation sounds similar in many ways to a club facility I worked in some time ago. 

 

There was fairly regular general cleaning but that was about the extent of it.  The dangers of glaze ingredients, airborne hazards like silicosis, etc were known to a few of the more experienced/formally-trained potters, but anyone that raised these issues around the studio or at club meetings was seen as a bit of party-pooper or weirdo.  Once someone had the idea to fill a notebook with Material Data Safety Sheets and leave it around the studio, but after a couple of months that idea just slowly disappeared. 

 

In practice, it all came down the standards set down by each teacher for their respective classes, with some more mindful of these issues than others.  When open studio time came, then individual members using the studio together had to negotiate amongst themselves what was acceptable because no standards of behaviour were posted - less than ideal and often tensions arose.  

 

As with most things it was a lowest common denominator situation, because the few who were really familiar with the risks sooner or later migrated out to their own studios and were not around to share their knowledge.  As ceramics training in tertiary institutions declined the number of members who actually had some formal training in these issues dwindled, and they were not being replaced.  Newer younger members at the club were pretty much just people off the street who just wanted to make stuff after their tough day at the office, not worry about chemistry.

 

It got even worse when non-potters increasingly came to dominate the running of the studio, as they were pretty much ignorant of the risks, and were afraid that raising them or addressing them openly would either turn people off, or risk lawsuits, or both.  From time to time we would hear of some potter or another in the community dying of some unlikely, low-percentage cancer, but well, as long as no one was dying on the table at the studio everyone just put their heads down and kept working.

 

At the end of the day, if you go to that club on the right month, you may or may not find a copy of a small book highlighting some of these dangers pinned to a bulletin board somewhere, since it is repeatedly taken down but always eventually, quietly rehung by some good soul who knows that someone might just stumble upon it.

 

Not sure there are any helpful takeaways in this sad tale, except that in practice it seems to be up to those in formal teaching and technician roles at the organization to lay down acceptable standards of behaviour at the coal face on a day to day basis.  An enlightened board of directors or management should, in theory, codify these standards, but since they are often non-specialists, this may not happen.  In general, on a day to day basis, most people will do the right thing if asked politely, but if you find those in official positions unsupportive I would move on.  

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Most of the job for the staff at the communal studio I attend is cleaning. While attendees are expected to clean up after themselves, the staff handles negleted areas, flat surfaces etc. While our manager makes a habit of letting people know that there is no sanding of bisque ware unless done under an exhaust device, most of the experienced users are also kind enough to let the newbies know. While regulations can go some way, in my experience it really is up to the users to enforce them, for it to work.

 

Dust is a serious health risk, and everybody should be able to agree that sanding bisque ware is a no-no if not done with the proper equipment.

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Try this pottery studio: Mud, Sweat & Tears, on the corner at W 46th St. I've worked there on & off for years. It is an extremely clean environment. The studio is scrupulously cleaned each nite and everyone must clean up their area before leaving. No exceptions. No one sands their bisqueware. If you do need to do something like that, you just step outside. The studio is street level. Google it for a street view on Google Maps.

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I feel your pain.  I work in a communal Guild studio (in Canada) with about 100 members (about 40 actively working regularly)  as well as up to 12 classes a week (so about 100 students through in a week).  We have instituted and enforced the silica/dust issues and rules. Once we clearly explained the hazards of silica dust, people got it and complied. There really wasn't an issue with getting buy-in.   Everyone that comes in comments on how clean the studio looks and asks do we actually work there. These are some of the ways we have addressed the issue:

 

-  No brooms (we threw them all out).  ONLY wet mopping or wet sponge cleaning

- Teachers are instructed to (and they do) talk to all students at the beginning of each class session about the hazards of silica and dust.  Wheels, tables etc. are cleaned thoroughly at the end of each class and the class floor is damp mopped (sometimes 2-3 times a day).  Members are responsible for mopping, sponging their work area every time they are in. 

- Teachers tell students they are not allowed to dry sand pottery only wet sand and that is discouraged as well.

- Our members are so aware of the hazards of silica dust that they will tell anyone they see dry sanding that it is not allowed and to dry sand outside or wet sand.  

- Glaze making room is damp mopped and benches sponged and NO ONE is allowed in without a respirator/ N95 dust mask.  We run regular glaze making sessions for members and health and safety and cleanliness are really covered and emphasized. 

- We have big posters in the studios the say - No Dry Sanding, Silica dust hazard

- Our studio techs (2 quarter-time) or volunteers get up on ladders and damp sponge the duct work (exposed)  and lights at least twice a year (of course they are wearing respirators). 

- All of our studio glaze etc components have a MSDS sheet and they are all collected in a binder and updated at least every 2 years.  

- We are in process of getting a WHMIS on-line course installed on Guild computers and will eventually require all members to take and pass a course.

 

FYI - we are not a Guild of professional full-time and university or college educated potters and sculptors.  Most of us came up through our classes and after a few courses of beginners, wheel I, wheel II, handbuilding etc courses, applied to be a member so we could work at our own schedule.  Because we have a volunteer-run and maintained studio and as a Guild purchased our own building we feel a sense of ownership and pride so we work at keeping it nice and clean.  In fact, we have found the worst ones for not cleaning up and keeping dust down are the ones who have come through the university/college system as they are used to having studio techs be Mom and clean up after them.   

-

If there is something we have forgotten or if you have suggestions on what else we can do please let  us know by commenting on this post.

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When I took ceramics in college back in the 70's, sanding pots (bisque or glazed) was never mentioned.  I didn't know you could sand pots, and don't remember ever seeing anyone doing this. These days, instructors do seem to teach it as a technique to refine some imperfections, but in my experience they don't mention any cautions for the practice.  In the larger studio i go to, I often see people dry sanding inside and never hear anyone advise them not to.  At the small studio where I teach, everyone gets the lecture from day 1.

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Guest JBaymore

...................the ones who have come through the university/college system as they are used to having studio techs be Mom and clean up after them.   

 

Just a point............ This is not true everywhere in academia.

 

best,

 

.......................john

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When I took ceramics in college back in the 70's, sanding pots (bisque or glazed) was never mentioned.  I didn't know you could sand pots, and don't remember ever seeing anyone doing this.

 

Yes, I also do not understand why this is a practice. Every master artist I've ever studied with in the last 28 years teaches finishing techniques while a piece is still in the greeware stage. It is sooo much easier to refine, clean and finish BEFORE firing. I recently took a workshop with Kristin Kieffer who also teaches there are MANY more stages of greenware drying than just "leatherhard" and "bone dry" and that the different stages are used for different kinds of altering, shaping, attaching, refining and finishing. That all the steps are better when NOT done all at once or even at the "leatherhard" stage at all.

 

She introduced us to the various Sherrill Mudtool ribs. They come in different softnesses & hardnesses called variable density ribs. She uses the soft (yellow) and very soft (red) Mudtool ribs. They are not like the usual blue or black stiff Kemper kidney plastic/rubber(?) ribs we all have and then never use as they aren't useful for much. These ribs are also much softer than metal ribs that are better for scraping than fine finishing.

 

Kristen also uses the different Sherrill Mudtool sponges, particularly the orange and the white finishing sponges. She let those of us, who were reticent about buying the Mudtools, use her own Mudtool ribs & sponges to learn how they really are different than the ribs & sponges we have and never use. 

 

 

Another tip: Change the clay you are using. If you currently work with a groggy, rough clay, yes, you will have rough edges, no matter how much you try to trim, clean or finish a piece. It is the nature of that clay. Switch to a fine particle clay. The pottery studio I mentioned earlier, Mud, Sweat & Tears, has B-Mix. While it needs more care in drying so that pieces do not warp, it is a porcelain mix and very fine. Their Standard Ceramics speckled brown clay #112 is kind of groggy.

 

I read that one can take the very fine particle slip, from the same clay, (like the slip that comes off from throwing) and use a rib to push & smooth it into the rough surface, like after trimming. I don't do that technique, but if you are married to using a really rough clay, that might be an alternate way to go. There is also a Chinese potter on YouTube who uses a small, smooth stone, like an agate, to burnish his pots smooth after wheel trimming. Potters also use stones to hand burnish their handbuilt pots to be pitfired.

 

The husband & wife pottery team: Sandi Pierantozzi & Neil Patterson use a smooth, fine particle, cone 6 white stoneware, by Standard Ceramic for all their work. (I forget the number off hand, and I'd have to dig through my my pile of notes to look it up.) Check out their website to see that ALL their work consists of altering, shaping and attaching. I believe they do not dry sand bisque.

 

The three artists I mentioned live within a 200 mile radius of NYC. It might be worth it to do a workshop with any of them to learn new greenware finishing techniques, even if you don't care for their style of work. Sandi, and I think Kristen, also have video clips & DVDs available here on ceramicartsdaily.org.

 

If people see you doing alternate techniques so that you do not have to sand your bisque, other's may follow suit.

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Dan, if you see someone sanding a pot or sweeping clay dust into the air you need to say something to that person, not wait around for an administrator to make policy changes. React as strongly as if someone just started lighting cigarettes in the studio and blowing the smoke in your face, because that would be healthier than what you are putting up with.

 

The safety concerns are not under debate, the science is incontrovertible and has been for quite some time.

 

http://www.sfsu.edu/~ceramic/manual/ceramictoxicology.htm

 

If the people surrounding you are too stupid or inconsiderate to care about the health effects of their actions, then you need to find a safer place to work.

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In our community studio we have no brooms, just wet mops. We ask everyone to mop around their work areas when done, but not everyone does this. We also have the studio completely wet mopped every week. We do not allow any trimming of bone dry pieces. You'd think this would be obvious, but beginners frequently let their untrimmed pieces get dry, then try to rescue them by trimming, creating tons of dust. The members will usually say something because newbies have no idea of the health danger. Our instructors are supposed to stress this and clean up methods, but they to always do this.

We are also considering painting our ceramic floor with garage floor paint. This will make mopping easier because it will provide a smooth surface.

At the end of each quarter, dry untrimmed greenware is recycled, and the entire studio is deep cleaned by our members. It's amazing how clean it feels for a few days...

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Guest JBaymore

thank you for that.  it should be required reading in any shared studio situation and those of us who work alone need the reminder, often.

 

 

I'll post this short reading list again from my toxicology handout papers from my classes at the college:

 

"Artist Beware"  Dr. Michael McCann 

 

"Keeping Claywork Safe and Legal" Monona Rossol

 

"The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide"  Monona Rossol

 

You work in clay... you should have read them.

 

best,

 

....................john

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I'd just like to mention an alternate method for cleaning floors. I worked in a dank studio with brick floors that would become slippery/slimy when mopped and they dried very slowly. Our solution was a sweeping compound. It is basically sawdust mixed with an oil compound that is swept across the floor, binding the clay dust to it. This was a quick and easy task to do, could be done while others were working, and required no slopping or sloshing. I've found it in bags at the hardware store and I'm sure there's a commercial source for large quantities.

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rae, it is really hard to clean an uneven surface like brick. i don't envy you that job.  luckily, my floors are flat, covered with the vinyl squares we see in commercial buildings, usually in hospital hallways and schools. 

 

i do not dare admit that i use a clean, just washed in the machine, very wide dustmop sprayed with a special dust catching liquid on my floors daily. the dust is removed and taken outside to bang against a metal rack to remove the big stuff.  the real clay dirty dust stays stuck on the fibers of the dustmop until i wash it.  i know you are thinking of the huge things janitors use in schools that usually are dark grey with dirt. freshly washed, mine is still white after all these years.  bought in the 1990s.

 

 the wet mopping is often, several times a week when i am really working in there and before anyone comes into the studio to work.  easy with an old bucket that has wooden rollers to squeeze the water out of the mophead.  that is a folded towel, not a bunch of strings.  

 

clean floors matter.

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Guest JBaymore

I'd just like to mention an alternate method for cleaning floors.  .................................. Our solution was a sweeping compound. It is basically sawdust mixed with an oil compound that is swept across the floor, binding the clay dust to it.

 

So... did you do the lab air sampling to verify that the totally invisible particles that cause the silicosis and cancer (the stuff you see is not a problem) are not still being gotten airborne with this method?  If not....... it is an assumption that it is a viable solution the equivalent of other "standard" methods.

 

If you have that testing data... it would be great to share it with the ceramics community.

 

Wet cleaning (with lots of water) and HEPA filtered ceramic dust vacuums (not HEPA filtered "shop-vacs) have been tested and found to be suitable for this type of toxic substance. 

 

Even if doing wet floor and table cleaning... you have to be a bit careful to not get dust airborne if you are being "aggressive" about it. I've seen people use a strong stream from a hose and kick up dust due to the air flow induced by the moving stream of high velocity water.

 

Sweeping compounds are made for dealing with "nuisance dusts" and stuff like spills of liquid stuff...... not something as serious when airborne as clay dust.

 

best,

 

.......................john

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I'm a HVAC tech at a Junior College, we have two Air Cleaners in the Pottery / Ceramics lab. They have three filter stages, PSF-1 then a bag filter, then a deep pleat. Later two are tape sealed. Yes they are required by OSHA , NIOSH and MOSH. They have switches on them, and as soon as someone enters the room they come on. Also we have exhaust hoods, for sanding and spray painting. Will get the specs on the air cleaners this week, and post here.

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I'd just like to mention an alternate method for cleaning floors. .................................. Our solution was a sweeping compound. It is basically sawdust mixed with an oil compound that is swept across the floor, binding the clay dust to it.

 

So... did you do the lab air sampling to verify that the totally invisible particles that cause the silicosis and cancer (the stuff you see is not a problem) are not still being gotten airborne with this method? If not....... it is an assumption that it is a viable solution the equivalent of other "standard" methods.

 

If you have that testing data... it would be great to share it with the ceramics community.

 

Wet cleaning (with lots of water) and HEPA filtered ceramic dust vacuums (not HEPA filtered "shop-vacs) have been tested and found to be suitable for this type of toxic substance.

 

Even if doing wet floor and table cleaning... you have to be a bit careful to not get dust airborne if you are being "aggressive" about it. I've seen people use a strong stream from a hose and kick up dust due to the air flow induced by the moving stream of high velocity water.

 

Sweeping compounds are made for dealing with "nuisance dusts" and stuff like spills of liquid stuff...... not something as serious when airborne as clay dust.

 

best,

 

.......................john

Ouch, John! I do appreciate all the hazards. I was describing a situation (unalterable) which pitted lesser amounts of airborn dust against a perceived greater hazard of slipping and falling. We did use water for cleaning all our other surfaces.
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Hmmph, what about a HEPA shop vac with a vacuum bag inside of it. That is what I have been using before I mop to get up any big pieces under my tables or wheel. In general I keep a pretty clean studio though.

 

That would work - then damp mop? (No HEPA filters in 1979)

 

I want to see oldlady's towel/mop. I have an old wringer bucket that could be refurbished.

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