LouiseD

Thank you for the invaluable feed back, I can see now how scary this situation is. The ingredients for some glazes includes Lead bisilicate at up to 60% and Copper oxide 1 to 3%, what does this mean? I am processing all you have said and before I read these replies I requested we use glazes without lead. However I now feel that the whole operation and workshop set up needs to change dramatically to meet the correct safety levels required. I'm taking advice and getting blood tests done, as I can see that everything you have brought up points to reporting this situation.

Hello A slightly different problem but a similar vein I think. This question is about health and safety in a pottery job I recently started. Without going into too much detail... I have no experience of working in a pottery previously but am being asked to mix up and spray lead glazes on large quantities of ceramics in a small booth area, inside a windowless workshop. There is an extractor fan to turn on right above the spray area. However clouds of mist from the spray gun frequently come back into my face. The area around the spray booth has a fine layer of dust over everything. I feel my hair has a dry texture after spraying. I wear overalls and a protective 3M vapour type mask which is shared by everyone. However after half an hour spraying yesterday I felt a fine grit layer on my teeth. The inside of the booth itself collects a very thick layer of spray each day. I think I should be concerned? It's a new job and others have been doing this for quite a while previously. Obviously I don't wish to make too much of a fuss but am concerned as it will be a regular part of my weekly duties. Thanks for any feedback.