Monona Rossol on tue 18 mar 97
> Dear Monona, I have seem to have opened that "Can of
> Worms" with my remarks on salt firings. I hope I have not
> inconvenienced you or that you have not been insulted
> by the threads on this topic. <
Don't worry. If certain people don't get angry about what I say, I figure
I'm not doing my job.
> Would you be able to either point me in the correct
> direction or supply me with documentation so that I can
> go to the powers that be in government and get some
> legislation passed. This is sadly lacking here in South
> Africa. <
You don't even need much documentation. This is such a well-known problem
world wide. Perhaps the literature on this subject from the World
Health Organization (WHO) would be sufficient.
As for legislation, I would write to the US FDA (Center for Foods,
200 "C" St., S.W., Washington DC 20204) and ask for the lead in ceramic ware
standards. I would do the same in a number of other countries but
especially in England and Sweden. I would then look at all the legislation
and steal the best ideas from each and adapt them to the South African form
of government.
In addition, most of the lead in ceramic ware legislation has a section that
provides data on the problem and why the legislation is necessary. This will
provide more documentation.
> My wife and came across a young lady (?) selling bowls,
> intended for eating use, glazed with a lead based
> gold lustre glaze. When we pointed this out to her, she
> just shrugged her shoulders. I mark my barium glazes as
> toxic and tell my customers that they should only be used
> for decorative purposes. There are other suppliers in this
> city who do not do this. The one is not even a potter and
> acts as an agent for a supply company in Cape Town, so
> with him, ignorance is bliss, and good luck to the potters
> and customers who use unsafe eating utensils. <
At this point, all you can do is inform your customers and protect yourself.
I have found that sometimes talking to the press and TV about this issue is
helpful. It is easy to use a lead-test kit to identify really outrageously
toxic ware and do the tests on camera so people can see the dramatic color
change. It makes a pretty graphic little story.
Of course, then you will probably have to hide out until the furor dies down!
Monona Rossol, industrial hygienist
Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety
181 Thompson St., # 23
New York, NY 10012-2586 212/777-0062
http://www.caseweb.com/acts/
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