John Hesselberth on mon 9 nov 98
I've received some requests for information on how to have glazes tested
for extractable metals at the Alfred Analytical Lab. It is really quite
simple and inexpensive and we should all thank Monona Rossol for working
with Roland Hale at Alfred to get this set up. Here are the details.
1. Make a small cup (mug size or smaller--I use about 300 grams of clay),
glaze it and fire it at your standard conditions. I usually put a cone
pack right next to the cup so I will know exactly what temperature it saw
during firing.
2. Send the cup to:
Dr. Roland Hale, Director
Alfred Analytical Laboratory
4964 Kenyon Road
Alfred Station, NY 14803
3. Enclose a letter specifying what to test for and a check (U.S. funds)
based on the following fees:
There is a standard $10 fee per sample to do the acetic acid extraction
Add $10 for each metal you want analyzed
Example: Analyzing a single sample for lead, copper and cobalt would cost
$40.
If you want your samples returned there is an additional fee for shipping
and handling of $15 per order.
4. If you send multiple samples make sure they are well labeled so you
will know which result goes with which sample.
5. In 2-3 weeks you will receive a written report on your glaze. This
laboratory is a New York State approved Environmental Testing Laboratory
and your report will come on letterhead stating that. I have found
Roland, and the others in the lab I have talked to, to be extremely
helpful and courteous.
6. While there is no requirement that you send the glaze composition or
firing conditions, Roland would appreciate it if you would. He is bound
by state law to keep the information you send confidential unless you
specifically release him to disclose it. However, Roland is developing a
data base of the samples tested and will try to extract from that
information which will be useful to potters in developing leach resistant
glazes. He can do this on a unity formula basis while still maintaining
confidentiality of specific recipes.
Any questions? Call the laboratory at 607-478-8074 or fax at
607-478-5324.
John Hesselberth
Frog Pond Pottery
Pocopson, PA 19366 USA
EMail: john@frogpondpottery.com web site: http://www.frogpondpottery.com
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed, and
hence clamorous to be led to safety, by menacing it with an endless
series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." H.L. Mencken, 1925
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