LOWELL BAKER on sat 22 mar 97
You have to realize that a major problem with using Lead in glazes,
particularly in third world countries, is not always with the user of
the object. In fact the lead is much less dangerous in the glaze
than it is in the raw state. Although it is still quite dangerous in
the glaze.
A few years ago in Guatemala I saw a small kiln where they "burned
Batteries" to get lead oxide. Some of the lead oxide that did not
escape from the kiln was scraped off the walls of the kiln and placed
in a large cement basin to grind. The grinding was usually done by
children. At every step in this process, the basin, kiln and final
storage, raw lead oxide was subject to wash-off from rain. The lead
washed across the yard, into the ditch, into the filthy creek which
was the water supply from that point to the Pacific and so on.
I was told that people in the community come to the potter to get lead
oxide to rub into serious wounds. All of this was in a moderately
small coffee growing/light industrial city in northern Gauatemala.
There is no safe level of lead under these conditions. Probably npo
safe level under any conditions.
I have encouraged an individual that I know who writes for antional
Geographic to do the complete article on Lead. So gar it has not
been done. For any of you budding journalists out there I think this
would/could be a tremendous writing project in the GEO style.
Lowell
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