Health & Safety must play an important role in the arts. Unfortunately this is often a neglected topic in art schools, which goes for some ceramic departments too. Artists, including ceramists must be aware of the dangers of such materials as cadmium, antimony, lead, chrome, manganese, cobalt or nickel. The ceramist may also comwe into contact with other hazardoud materials such as barium, lithium, aluminium,tin, vanadium or even uranium. Often in ceramic practice ingredients are hidden, eg. lead in glazes bought off-the-shelf or cobalt and other heavy metals in underglaze or on-glaze colors.
Inhalation of dust created by clay can eventually cause health problems and often toxic gases are set free during certain firing processes, eg. raku, salt-glazing or even strong reductions (carbon monoxide!). In order to minimize the dangers following precautions should be taken:
Please also check out the Health & Safety Section in particular Safety in the Studio the and the Toxic Materials Database!