Lili Krakowski on fri 4 jul 08
I know that a lot of stuff I have read about in reliable publications over
the years is now pooh-poohed as urban myth!
Fine. The story that a "flameproof" pot blew up and blinded someone,
although reported by reliable sources, was said, on ClayArt, to be a myth.
Also fine.
The underlying issue, however, is that people in this country sue at the
glimpse of a penny. Among reported cases I remember a small pottery in
California-- just a husband and wife team--was included in a lead-poisoning
suit by some one who had their ware. It turns out that the people indeed
WERE poisoned, but the potters were not at fault. Nevertheless the potters
were ruined--their defense expenses, lost sales from lost time, lost sales
from spread misinformation etc.
That is what I keep harping about. It just ain't worth it. M. le docteur
Bastarache sent us a post from Conseil Smart--and I am sure every syllable
is correct. But, for one, I know I often add ammonia to the dishwashing
water--when I use the dishpan and wash by hand. Everyone talks about the
effect of acid on glazes, but what about strong alkalis? I know that the
dishwasher--whatever is in that type detergent--eats a nasty permanent fog
into glass..does it do anything to glaze?
Like many on this list I grew up with all sorts of stuff now banned from the
market. When a thermometer broke, my brother and I played with the spilled
mercury. Many of the medications we took or used as children now are known
to be harmful. My mother did not drink nor smoke, but I have bunches of
perfectly healthy, normal friends whose mothers puffed and sipped their way
through pregnancy. This is totally irrelevant. People now claim knowledge
and use it
to sue....
If you avoid all lead, frits, silicates and all, you can still make gorgeous
glazes, AND not have to worry about calculations and tests. That is what I
am arguing for, about.
I am sure several of the attorneys on this list can tell us of
lawsuits--totally off the wall, and capricious--that ruined the defendants.
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
John St. Julien on fri 4 jul 08
Re lead frits:
What is rational, what is true, is the real underlying issue and that
really ought to be settled directly on the basis of evidence. I worry
about the tendency to dismiss factual matters as not worth
understanding because irrational fear-ours or others-might control
how we act regardless of the real answer.
The practical outcome of knowing the actual toxicity/leaching of
fritted leads might not be that they are widely used (considering
laws) but whether potters, whom non-potter folks rely on for their
expertise, promote factual mistakes about the world of craft pottery.
My two cents worth........
....
>I know that a lot of stuff I have read about in reliable publications over
>the years is now pooh-poohed as urban myth!
>Fine. The story that a "flameproof" pot blew up and blinded someone,
>although reported by reliable sources, was said, on ClayArt, to be a myth.
>Also fine.
>
>The underlying issue, however, is that people in this country sue at the
>glimpse of a penny. Among reported cases I remember a small pottery in
>California-- just a husband and wife team--was included in a lead-poisoning
>suit by some one who had their ware. It turns out that the people indeed
>WERE poisoned, but the potters were not at fault. Nevertheless the potters
>were ruined--their defense expenses, lost sales from lost time, lost sales
>from spread misinformation etc.
>
>That is what I keep harping about. It just ain't worth it. M. le docteur
>Bastarache sent us a post from Conseil Smart--and I am sure every syllable
>is correct. But, for one, I know I often add ammonia to the dishwashing
>water--when I use the dishpan and wash by hand. Everyone talks about the
>effect of acid on glazes, but what about strong alkalis? I know that the
>dishwasher--whatever is in that type detergent--eats a nasty permanent fog
>into glass..does it do anything to glaze?
>
>Like many on this list I grew up with all sorts of stuff now banned from the
>market. When a thermometer broke, my brother and I played with the spilled
>mercury. Many of the medications we took or used as children now are known
>to be harmful. My mother did not drink nor smoke, but I have bunches of
>perfectly healthy, normal friends whose mothers puffed and sipped their way
>through pregnancy. This is totally irrelevant. People now claim knowledge
>and use it
>to sue....
>
>If you avoid all lead, frits, silicates and all, you can still make gorgeous
>glazes, AND not have to worry about calculations and tests. That is what I
>am arguing for, about.
>
>I am sure several of the attorneys on this list can tell us of
>lawsuits--totally off the wall, and capricious--that ruined the defendants.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Lili Krakowski
>
>Be of good courage
--
The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay
lafayetteprofiber.com
Supporting Fiber To The Home for Lafayette
Land Line: (337) 269-0150
Cell Phone: (337) 739-6118
john2@lafayetteprofiber.com
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