Janet Kaiser on thu 29 jul 99
------------------
Oh=21 Dear Clay Artists=21
I must admit I had never heard of NYLON being used before and awaited =
replies to
the various postings asking, begging, pleading to PLEASE DISCUSS from other
subscribers...
Not a lot of feed-back, but what little there was alarmed me=21 Please put =
me
right, I really want to hear I am being alarmist and silly, but surely this =
is a
rather suspect practice? Considering the recent threads on cobalt (used for
centuries and OK by me), manganese, etc. etc. (even bread =3Egrin=3C) and =
all the
dire warnings, they are nothing compared to the lethal and carcinogenic =
dioxins
which are liberated when man-made fibres (including nylon) are burned=21 We =
are
not talking about =22natural=22 products here=21 (And that by-the-way would =
be my
first objection to using nylon).
It is the oil-based, man-made yuck that makes burning waste/rubbish/garbage =
such
a hot political issue. How come it is OK to use it with/in clay? What goes =
in,
must come out and the thought of some of you unwittingly using a potentially
lethal =22ingredient=22 makes my blood run cold=21
Would appreciate some informed answers to this one, because I am seriously
concerned for your health=21 Also those unsuspecting people =22down-wind=22 =
of a
firing...
Thanks
Janet Kaiser replete after a meal of fresh baked bread and chantarelles =
which we
collected in the woods up in the Welsh hills on the second sunny day we have=
had
in a row=21=21
Things are looking up at The Chapel of Art, Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales
Future =22Home of The International Potters Path=22
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
EMAIL: postbox=40the-coa.org.uk
John Hesselberth on fri 30 jul 99
Janet Kaiser wrote:
>It is the oil-based, man-made yuck that makes burning
>waste/rubbish/garbage such
>a hot political issue. How come it is OK to use it with/in clay? What goes
>in,
>must come out and the thought of some of you unwittingly using a potentially
>lethal "ingredient" makes my blood run cold!
>
>Would appreciate some informed answers to this one, because I am seriously
>concerned for your health! Also those unsuspecting people "down-wind" of a
>firing...
Hi Janet,
Any time you fire a kiln it should be well vented. There are potentially
all kinds of things--organic and inorganic, man-made and natural--that
you wouldn't want to breathe as they burn off or vaporize. You don't
really want to breathe the exhaust fumes from an automobile either or of
most any natural burning material (tobacco comes to mind). The
quantities involved, though, in the way nylon is being used with clay are
so tiny that a well ventilated kiln would be all the precaution that is
needed. It is just a long chain hydocarbon with a little nitrogen here
and there. While exact combustion products are always difficult to
predict with certainty, I would compare it to burning off the waxed
bottoms of pots. I don't want to breathe that either, but by the time it
is mixed and diluted with air it is not a problem in the grand scheme of
things.
John Hesselberth
Frog Pond Pottery
P.O. Box 88
Pocopson, PA 19366 USA
EMail: john@frogpondpottery.com web site: http://www.frogpondpottery.com
"It is time for potters to claim their proper field. Pottery in its pure
form relies neither on sculptural additions nor on pictorial decorations.
but on the counterpoint of form, design, colour, texture and the quality
of the material, all directed to a function." Michael Cardew in "Pioneer
Pottery"
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