Greg Lamont on thu 5 nov 98
Hello Clayarters,
A bunch of other ceramics students and I were having a discussion the other
day and the topic came up about what sort of nasty things could be
growing/forming in clay. I recall some past posts about the possibility of
unhealthy bacteria growing in clay--but then somebody mentioned
hydrochloric acid formation in clay--characterized by the slurry turning
black and and a "smell like sewer gas". The slurry in the bottom of my
reclaim buckets--and even my throwing water bucket (which I usually empty
into the reclaim bucket only when it gets too thick with slip) usually have
this condition. So, I'm concerned now--Is this something I should be
concerned about, or is it normal? The odor goes away when exposed to air,
so I've always thought it was some sort of anaerobic bacteria growth and
nothing to be concerned about. I've always thought that smelly clay was
good clay. Hopefully one of you can shed more light on this.
Regards,
Greg Lamont
3011 Northwood Dr.
Ames, Iowa 50010-4750
515/233-3442
gdlamont@iastate.edu
Dwiggins, Sandra (NCI) on fri 6 nov 98
You'll get expert responses to this, but as I remember---the discussion came
down to, yes, there are harmful bacteria in old clay, so you should handle any
of this really old and smelly stuff with latex gloves, and throw a cup or so of
clorox bleach into the mix to get rid of smell, etc.
I wonder if this was a problem for those guys in Japan who mixed their clay for
the next generation of potters..... Who solved if for them and did they have
latex gloves?
But seriously folks, that stuff does get pretty nasty if left outside for a very
long time, the water gets pretty stagnant and can grow lots of little beasties.
But you should still use the clay----it sure makes good handles!!!
Sandy
-----Original Message-----
From: Greg Lamont [SMTP:gdlamont@iastate.edu]
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 1998 9:22 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Subject: Toxic substances in clay
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hello Clayarters,
A bunch of other ceramics students and I were having a discussion the other
day and the topic came up about what sort of nasty things could be
growing/forming in clay. I recall some past posts about the possibility of
unhealthy bacteria growing in clay--but then somebody mentioned
hydrochloric acid formation in clay--characterized by the slurry turning
black and and a "smell like sewer gas". The slurry in the bottom of my
reclaim buckets--and even my throwing water bucket (which I usually empty
into the reclaim bucket only when it gets too thick with slip) usually have
this condition. So, I'm concerned now--Is this something I should be
concerned about, or is it normal? The odor goes away when exposed to air,
so I've always thought it was some sort of anaerobic bacteria growth and
nothing to be concerned about. I've always thought that smelly clay was
good clay. Hopefully one of you can shed more light on this.
Regards,
Greg Lamont
3011 Northwood Dr.
Ames, Iowa 50010-4750
515/233-3442
gdlamont@iastate.edu
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