mel jacobson on sat 27 dec 03
>Date: Sat, 27 Dec 2003 10:20:59 -0800 (PST)
>From: Sally McLeod
>Subject: Manganese
>To: Ron Roy
>Cc: Barbara Brown , mel jacobson
>X-Spam-Rating: 0.0000000000%
>
>Hi Ron,
>
>I am the lady from California. Again, I would like to express my
>appreciation to you, Monona and Mel for your continued efforts to inform
>potters of the potential dangers of manganese.
>
>Do I know for sure that manganese exposure caused my PD? No, I don't. I do
>know that I have "atypical Parkinson's disease with known exposure to
>manganese."
>
>Listen folks, it's not worth taking the risk of neurological damage,
>because once you've started down that path there's no getting off!
>
>Next, take an honest look at your work environment and work habits. Remove
>clay dust by damp mopping. Do you always wear a respirator or appropriate
>mask when working with glaze materials or while cleaning up greenware?
>Have you ever brushed your hands against your jeans or pants to remove
>residual glaze materials from your hands? Do you ever get complacent,
>thinking I'm only mixing a little batch of oxide or glaze so protective
>gear remains on the the shelf?
>
>What I am saying here folks, is keep your work environment as safe as
>possible. Breathing airborne manganese particles or manganese fumes from
>a kiln has the potential of causing permanent, progressive neurological
>disorders.
>
>Clay still brings me joy! I am once again throwing and have learned to
>adapt the throwing process to accommodate my tremors. I'm looking forward
>to attending a short workshop that Vince is leading in January.
>
>I am primarily a lurker and have enjoyed CLAYART for some time. I did
>leave clay art for a period of time when I found I was spending more time
>reading about clay than working with it.
>
>CLAYART is an incredible forum with such valuable resources. It is people
>sharing their knowledge, their humor, their sorrows, their joy's, their
>mistakes and their hearts. It is family! Thank you all for the gifts you give!
>
>Sally McLeod
>
>Feel free to post this letter to CLAYART.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>This message scanned for viruses by Corecomm
From:
Minnetonka, Minnesota, U.S.A.
web site: my.pclink.com/~melpots
or try: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
new/ http://www.rid-a-tick.com
Lee Love on sun 28 dec 03
From: Sally McLeod
> >Next, take an honest look at your work environment and work habits.
Remove
> >clay dust by damp mopping.
One of the things I picked up on from my apprenticeship was the need
to keep things clean. In the traditional pottery workshop, with the dirt
floors, there is not a problem with dust. The floor is kept moist and so
the dust just becomes a part of the floor. The dirt floor is also great
for keeping things damp. Anything in my teacher's workshop that needed to
be kept damp was put on wareboards, on the floor and then plastic was put on
the top of the work.
In the worker's workshop, we always cleaned on Saturdays, the last
day of the week. At 4:30PM, we all got buckets of warm water and a rag
and wiped everything down. Then we used a HEPA type vac and cleaned the
floors.
My goal is to vacuum everyweek. My vac system is a normal shop
vac, using a long hose on the suction end and keeping the vac outside. I
trust this better than a hepa vac, because you never know if the filter
might have a hole in it.
Silicosis is something that should be taken seriously. It is
something we are much more likely to be exposed to compared to poisonous
chemicals, that we can keep out of our workshops. We have to live with
silica dust because it is the nature of dry clay. Water, proper vac's and
masks are our best friends.
--
Lee In Mashiko, Japan
http://Mashiko.org
Web Log (click on recent date):
http://www.livejournal.com/users/togeika/calendar
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