Woodworking is practised as an art form and utilitarian craft all over the world. It includes wood sculpture, furniture and cabinet making (figure 1), musical instrument making and so on. Techniques include carving (figure 2), laminating, joining, sawing, sanding, paint removing, painting and finishing. Woodworking uses a large number of different types of hard and soft woods, including many exotic tropical woods, plywood and composition boards, and sometimes woods treated with pesticides and wood preservatives.

Figure 1. Furniture making.

Figure 2. Carving wood with hand tools.

Hazards and Precautions

Woods

Many woods are hazardous, especially tropical hardwoods. Types of reactions can include skin allergies and irritation from the sap, wood dust or sometimes the wood, as well as conjunctivitis, respiratory allergies, hypersensitivity pneumonia and toxic reactions. Inhalation of hardwood dust is associated with a particular type of nasal and nasal sinus cancer (adenocarcinoma). See the chapter Woodworking industry.

Precautions include avoiding use of sensitizing woods for people who have a history of allergies, or for objects where people would be in frequent contact with the wood, and controlling dust levels by using local exhaust ventilation or wearing a toxic-dust respirator. When handling woods that can cause skin irritation or allergies, the artist should wear gloves or apply a barrier cream. Hands should be washed carefully after work.

Plywoods and composition board

Plywood and composition board (e.g., particle board) are made by gluing thin sheets of wood, or wood dust and chips, together with either urea-formaldehyde glues or phenol-formaldehyde glues. These materials can emit unreacted formaldehyde for some years after manufacture, with composition board emitting more formaldehyde. Heating these materials or machining them can cause decomposition of the glue to release formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a skin, eye and respiratory irritant and strong sensitizer, and a probable human carcinogen.

Precautions include using low-formaldehyde products whenever possible, not storing large amounts of plywood or composition board in the shop, and using dust collectors connected to woodworking machines that are exhausted to the outside.

Wood preservatives and other treatments

Pesticides and preservatives are often applied to wood when it is being timbered, processed or shipped. Pentachlorophenol and its salts, creosote and chromated copper arsenate (CCA) have been banned for sale in the United States as wood preservatives because of possible carcinogenicity and reproductive hazards. They can, however, still be found in older woods, and chromated copper arsenate is still allowed as a commercial treatment (e.g., “green” lumber, playground equipment and other outdoor uses). A variety of other chemicals can be used in treating wood, including fire retardants and bleaches.

Precautions include not handling woods that have been treated with pentachlorophenol or creosote, using local exhaust ventilation when machining CCA-treated wood or wearing a respirator with high-efficiency filters. Wood that has been treated with creosote, pentachlorophenol or chromated copper arsenate should not be burned.

Carving and machining wood

Woods can be hand carved with chisels, rasps, hand saws, sandpaper and the like, or they can be machined with electric saws, sanders and other woodworking machines. Hazards include exposure to wood dusts, excessive noise levels from woodworking machines, accidents from using tools and machines, electrical shock or fire from faulty wiring, and wood fires. Vibrating tools—for example, chain saws—can cause “white fingers” (Raynaud’s phenomenon), involving numbness of the fingers and hands.

Precautions include equipping woodworking machines with dust collectors (figure 3) and machine guards, cleaning up sawdust to avoid fire hazards, wearing goggles (and sometimes face shields) and reducing noise. Using the appropriate machine for the desired operation, and repairing defective machines immediately; keeping hand tools sharpened, and using them safely; keeping all electrical equipment and wiring in good repair, and avoiding extension cords which can be tripped over; not wearing ties, long loose hair, loose sleeves or other items that could catch in machinery are some other precautions.

Figure 3. Woodworking machines with dust collector.

Michael McCann

Gluing wood

A variety of glues are used for laminating and joining wood, including contact adhesives, casein glue, epoxy glues, formaldehyde-resin glues, hide glues, white glue (polyvinyl acetate emulsion) and the cyanoacrylate “instant” glues. Many of these contain toxic solvents or other chemicals, and can be skin, eye and respiratory hazards.

Precautions include avoiding formaldehyde resin glues; using water-based glues rather then solvent-type glues; wearing gloves or barrier creams when using epoxy glues, solvent-based adhesives or formaldehyde-resin glues; and having good ventilation when using epoxy glues, cyanoacrylate glues and solvent-based glues. Sources of ignition should be avoided when using flammable solvents.

Painting and finishing

Wood can be painted with most types of paint; can be stained, lacquered or varnished; and can be treated with linseed or other types of oil. Other materials that are used in finishing wood include shellacs, polyurethane coatings and waxes. Many materials are sprayed. Some woodworkers mix their own paints from dry pigments. Hazards include inhalation of toxic pigment powder (especially lead chromate pigments), skin and inhalation hazards from solvents, fire hazards from flammable solvents, and spontaneous combustion from rags soaked with oil or turpentine.

Precautions include using ready-made paints rather than mixing your own; avoiding eating, drinking or smoking in the work area; using water-based paints rather than solvent-based ones; and placing oil- and solvent-soaked rags in self-closing oily-waste cans, or even a pail of water.

Precautions with solvents include wearing gloves and goggles, as well as having adequate ventilation; doing the operation outside; or wearing a respirator with organic vapour cartridges. Materials should be brushed on whenever possible, to avoid the hazards of spraying. Spraying finishes inside an explosion-proof spray booth, or wearing a respirator with organic vapour cartridges and spray filters; avoiding open flames, lit cigarettes and other sources of ignition (e.g., lit pilot lights) in the area when applying flammable finishes, or when spraying, are other precautions to be taken.

Paint stripping

Stripping old paint and varnish from wood and furniture is done with paint and varnish removers containing a wide variety of toxic and often flammable solvents. “Non-flammable” paint strippers contain methylene chloride. Caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), acids, blowtorches and heat guns are also used to remove old paint. Old stains on wood are often removed with bleaches, which can contain corrosive alkalis and oxalic acid, hydrogen peroxide or hypochlorite. Heat guns and torches can vaporize the paint, possibly causing lead poisoning with lead-based paint, and are a fire hazard.

See the previous section for precautions with solvent-based paint strippers. Gloves and goggles should be worn when handling caustic soda, oxalic acid bleaches or chlorine-type bleaches. An eyewash fountain and emergency shower should be available. Avoid using torches or heat guns to remove lead-containing paint.

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Foodware, sculpture, decorative tiles, dolls and other ceramic or clay items are made in both large and small professional studios and shops, classrooms in public schools, universities and trade schools, and in homes as a hobby or cottage industry. The methods can be divided into ceramics and pottery, although terminology can vary in different countries. In ceramics, objects are made by slip casting—pouring a slurry of water, clay and other ingredients into a mould. The clay objects are removed from the mould, trimmed and fired in a kiln. Some ware (bisque ware) is sold after this stage. Other types are decorated with glazes that are mixtures of silica and other substances which form a glass surface. In pottery, objects are formed from plastic clay, usually by hand-forming or wheel-throwing, after which they are dried and fired in a kiln. Objects may then be glazed. Slip cast ceramics usually are glazed with china paints, which are commercially produced in dry or liquid pre-packaged form (figure 1). Potters may glaze their ware with these commercial glazes or with glazes they compound themselves. All types of ware are produced, from terra cotta and earthenware, which are fired at low temperatures, to stoneware and porcelain, which are fired at high temperatures.

Figure 1.  Decorating a pot with China paints.

Clay and Glaze Materials

All clays and glazes are mixtures of silica, aluminium and metallic minerals. These ingredients usually contain significant amounts of respirable-sized particles such as those in silica flour and ball clays. Clay bodies and glazes are composed of essentially the same types of minerals (see table 1, but glazes are formulated to melt at lower temperatures (have more flux) than the bodies on which they are applied. Lead is a common flux. Raw lead minerals such as galena and lead oxides derived from burning car battery plates and other scrap are used as fluxes, and have poisoned potters and their families in some developing countries. Commercially sold glazes for industrial and hobby use are more likely to contain lead and other chemicals which have been mixed and pre-fired into powdered frits. Glazes are formulated to mature in either oxidation or reduction firing (see below) and may contain metal compounds as colourants. Lead, cadmium, barium and other metals may leach into food when glazed ceramic wares are used.

Table 1. Ingredients of ceramic bodies and glazes.

Other special surface treatments include metallic lustre glazes containing tack oils and solvents such as chloroform, iridescent effects obtained by fuming metallic salts (usually chlorides of tin, iron, titanium or vanadium) onto surfaces during firing, and new paints containing plastic resins and solvents, which look like fired ceramic glazes when dry. Specially textured clay bodies may include fillers such as vermiculite, perlite and grog (ground fire brick).

Exposure to clay and glaze ingredients occurs during mixing, sanding and spray-applying glazes, and when grinding or chipping fired glaze imperfections from the bottoms of pottery or from kiln shelves (figure 2). Cleaning kiln shelves exposes workers to flint, kaolin and other kiln wash ingredients. Silica dust from fired kiln wash or bisque is more hazardous because it is in the cristobalite form. Hazards include: silicosis and other pneumoconioses from inhalation of minerals such as silica, kaolin, talc and fibrous amphibole asbestos in some talcs; toxicity from exposure to metals such as lead, barium and lithium; dermatitis from sensitizing metals such as chrome, nickel and cobalt; cumulative trauma disorders such as carpal tunnel syndrome (“potter’s thumb”) from wheel throwing; back injuries from digging clay, lifting 100-pound sacks of bulk minerals or from wedging (hand working clay to remove air bubbles); slips and falls on wet floors; shocks from electric pottery wheels and other equipment used in wet areas; allergies to moulds in clay; fungal and bacterial infections of nail beds and skin; and accidents with clay mixers, pug mills, blungers, slab rollers and the like.

Figure 2. Exposure to clay and glaze dusts while hand sanding a pot.

Henry Dunsmore

Precautions: outlaw open lead burning; use substitutes for raw lead, lead frits, cadmium and asbestos-containing materials; isolate work from family areas and children; practice housekeeping and hygiene; control dust; use local exhaust ventilation for glaze spraying and dusty processes (figure 3); use respiratory protection; work with adequate rest periods; lift safely; guard machines; and use ground fault interrupters on wheels and all other electrical equipment.

Figure 3. Local exhaust ventilation for clay mixing.

Michael McCann

Kiln Firing

Kilns vary from railroad-car size to a few cubic inches for firing test tiles and miniatures. They are heated with electricity or fuels such as gas, oil or wood. Electric kilns produce ware fired in primarily oxidizing atmospheres. Reduction firing is achieved by adjusting fuel/air ratios in fuel-fired kilns to create chemically reducing atmospheres. Firing methods include salt firing, raku (putting red-hot pots into organic matter such as damp hay to produce a smoky reduced clay body), climbing kilns (many-chambered wood or coal fired kilns built on hillsides), sawdust firing (kilns packed tight with pots and sawdust) and open-pit firing with many fuels including grass, wood and dung.

Primitive fuel-fired kilns are poorly insulated because they are usually made of fired clay, brick or mud. Such kilns can burn large amounts of wood and can contribute to fuel shortages in developing countries. Commercial kilns are insulated with refractory brick, castable refractory or ceramic fibre. Asbestos insulation is still found in older kilns. Refractory ceramic fibre is in very wide use in industry and hobby kilns. There are even small fibre kilns which are heated by putting them in home kitchen microwave ovens.

Kiln emissions include combustion products from fuels and from organic matter that contaminates clay and glaze minerals, sulphur oxides, fluorine and chlorine from minerals such as cryolite and sodalite, and metal fumes. Salt firing emits hydrochloric acid. Emissions are especially hazardous when fuels such as painted or treated wood and waste oils are burned. Hazards include: respiratory irritation or sensitization from aldehydes, sulphur oxides, halogens and other emissions; asphyxiation from carbon monoxide; cancer from inhalation of asbestos or ceramic fibre; eye damage from infrared radiation from glowing hot kilns; and thermal injury and burns.

Precautions: use clean-burning fuels; design fuel-efficient, well-insulated kilns; substitute refractory brick for asbestos or ceramic fibre; encapsulate or remove existing fibre insulation; locally vent indoor kilns; locate kilns in areas free of combustible materials; equip electric kilns with two automatic shut-offs; wear infrared-blocking goggles and gloves when handling hot objects.

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Contemporary fibre or textile artists use a wide range of processes, such as weaving, needlework, papermaking, leatherworking and so forth. These can be done by hand or aided by machines (see table 1). They may also use many processes for preparing fibres or finished textile, such as carding, spinning, dyeing, finishing and bleaching (see table 2). Finally the fibreworks or textiles may be painted, silk-screened, treated with photographic chemicals, scorched or otherwise modified. See separate articles in this chapter describing these techniques.

Table 1. Description of fibre and textile crafts.

Table 2. Description of fibre and textile processes.

No material is off limits for artists, who may use any of thousands of animal, vegetable or synthetic materials in their work. They gather materials such as weeds, vines or animal hair from the outdoors, or purchase products from suppliers who may have altered them by treating them with oils, fragrances, dyes, paints or pesticides (e.g., rat poison in twine or rope intended for agricultural use). Imported animal or vegetable materials that have been processed to eliminate disease carrying insects, spores or fungi are also used. Old rags, bones, feathers, wood, plastics or glass are among many other materials incorporated in fibre crafts.

Potential Sources of Health Hazards in the Fibre Arts

Chemicals

Health hazards in fibre or textile arts, as in any workplace, include air pollutants such as dusts, gases, fumes and vapours that are inherent in the materials or are produced in the work process, and can be inhaled or affect the skin. In addition to chemical hazards of dyes, paints, acids, alkalis, mothproofing agents and so on, fibre or textile materials may be contaminated with biological materials that can cause disease.

Vegetable dusts

Workers heavily exposed to dusts of raw cotton, sisal, jute and other vegetable fibres in industrial workplaces have developed various chronic lung problems such as “brown lung” (byssinosis), which begins with chest tightness and shortness of breath, and can be disabling after many years. Exposure to vegetable dusts in general may cause lung irritation or other effects such as asthma, hay fever, bronchitis and emphysema. Other materials associated with vegetable fibres, such as moulds, mildew, sizing materials and dyes, may also cause allergic or other reactions.

Animal dusts

Animal products used by fibre artists such as wool, hair, hides and feathers may be contaminated with bacteria, moulds, lice or mites that are capable of causing “Q” fever, mange, respiratory symptoms, skin rashes, anthrax, allergies and so on, if they are not treated or fumigated before use. Fatal cases of inhalation anthrax have occurred in craft weavers, including the 1976 death of a California weaver.

Synthetic materials

The effects of dusts of polyesters, nylon, acrylic, rayon and acetates are not well known. Some plastic fibres may release gas or components or residues which are left in the fabric after processing, as in the case of formaldehyde released by polyesters or permanent-press fabrics. Sensitive individuals have reported allergic responses in rooms or stores where these materials were present, and some have developed skin rashes after wearing clothing of these fabrics, even after repeated washings.

Heating, scorching or otherwise altering synthetic materials chemically may release potentially hazardous gases or fumes.

Physical Effects of Working with Fibres and Textiles

The physical characteristics of materials may affect the user. Rough, thorny or abrasive materials can cut or abrade skin. Glass fibres or stiff grasses or rattan can penetrate the skin and cause infections or rashes.

Much of fibre or fabric work is done while the worker is seated for prolonged periods, and involves repetitious motion of arms, wrists, hands and fingers, and often the entire body. This may produce pain and eventual repetitive strain injuries. Weavers, for example, can develop back problems, carpal tunnel syndrome, skeletal deformation from weaving in a squatting position on older types of looms (particularly in young children), hand and finger disorders (e.g., swollen joints, arthritis, neuralgia) from threading and tying knots, and eyestrain from poor lighting (figure 1). Many of the same problems can occur in other fibre crafts involving sewing, tying knots, knitting and so forth. Needlework crafts can also involve hazards of needle pricks.

Figure 1. Weaving with a hand loom.

Lifting of large papermaking screens containing water-saturated pulp can cause possible back injuries due to the weight of the water and pulp.

Precautions

As with all work, the adverse effects depend upon the amount of time spent working on a project each day, the number of workdays, weeks or years, the quantity of work and the nature of the workplace, and the type of work itself. Other factors such as ventilation and lighting also affect the health of the artist or craftsperson. One or two hours a week spent at a loom in a dusty environment may not affect a person seriously, unless that person is highly allergic to dusts, but a prolonged period of work in the same environment over months or years may result in some health effects. However, even one episode of untrained lifting of a heavy object can cause injury to the spine.

Generally, for prolonged or regular work in fibre art or textiles:

• Obtain and use only treated or fumigated animal or vegetable materials. Other materials should be cleaned or washed, and stored in closed containers to minimize dusts.

• Damp mop or wipe work area surfaces frequently.

• In many countries, manufacturers are required to provide information that describes the hazardous aspects of chemicals such as dyes, adhesives, paints or solvents in any product purchased, such as a manufacturer’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Request such information.

• Avoid eating, drinking or smoking in the work area.

• Take frequent rest and exercise periods when work involves repetitive motion.

• Modify work processes to reduce the need for excessive lifting or straining. For example, in papermaking use smaller screens or have another person assist in lifting the screen with the pulp.

• Use exhaust ventilation for regular or prolonged use of dusty materials, spray painting, heating of wax or work with solvent-containing materials such as oil-based paints or permanent ink markers.

• Avoid boiling acids and alkalis if possible. Wear gloves, goggles, face shield and protective apron.

• Remember that dusts, gases and vapours travel throughout buildings and may affect others present, particularly infants, children, the aged and the chronically ill.

• Consult an industrial hygienist or safety and health professional when planning a production workshop.

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This article describes the basic health and safety concerns associated with the use of lasers, neon sculpture and computers in the arts. Creative artists often work very intimately with the technology, and in experimental ways. This scenario too often increases the risk of injury. The primary concerns are for eye and skin protection, for reducing the possibilities of electrical shock and for preventing exposure to toxic chemicals.

Lasers

Laser radiation may be hazardous to the eyes and skin of artists and audiences by both direct viewing and reflection. The degree of laser injury is a function of power. Higher-power lasers are more likely to cause serious injury and more hazardous reflections. Lasers are classified and labelled by their manufacturer in classes I to IV. Class I lasers exhibit no laser radiation hazard and Class IV are very dangerous.

Artists have used all laser classes in their work, and most use visible wavelengths. Besides the safety controls required of any laser system, artistic applications require special considerations.

In laser exhibits, it is important to isolate the audience from direct beam contact and scattered radiation, using plastic or glass enclosures and opaque beam stops. For planetariums and other indoor light shows, it is critical to maintain direct beam or reflected laser radiation at Class I levels where the audience is exposed. Class III or IV laser radiation levels must be kept at safe distances from performers and the audience. Typical distances are 3 m away when an operator controls the laser and 6 m away without continuous operator control. Written procedures are needed for set-up, alignment and testing of Class III and IV lasers. Required safety controls include warning in advance of energizing these lasers, key controls, fail-safe safety interlocks and manual reset buttons for Class IV lasers. For Class IV lasers, appropriate laser goggles should be worn.

Scanning laser art displays often used in the performing arts use rapidly moving beams that are generally safer since the duration of inadvertent eye or skin contact with the beam is short. Still, operators must employ safeguards to ensure exposure limits will not be exceeded if the scanning equipment fails. Outdoor displays cannot allow aircraft to fly through hazardous beam levels, or the illumination with greater than Class I levels of radiation of tall buildings or personnel in high-reach equipment.

Holography is the process of producing a three-dimensional photograph of an object using lasers. Most images are displayed off-axis from the laser beam, and intrabeam viewing is typically not a hazard. A transparent display case around the hologram can help reduce the possibilities of injury. Some artists create permanent images from their holograms, and many chemicals used in the development process are toxic and must be managed for accident prevention. These include pyrogallic acid, alkalis, sulphuric and hydrobromic acids, bromine, parabenzoquinone and dichromate salts. Safer substitutes are available for most of these chemicals.

Lasers also have serious non-radiological hazards. Most performance-level lasers use high voltages and amperage, creating significant risks of electrocution, particularly during design stages and maintenance. Dye lasers use toxic chemicals for the active lasing medium, and high-powered lasers may generate toxic aerosols, especially when the beam strikes a target.

Neon Art

Neon art uses neon tubes to produce lighted sculptures. Neon signage for advertising is one application. Producing a neon sculpture involves bending leaded glass to the desired shape, bombarding the evacuated glass tube at a high voltage to remove impurities from the glass tube, and adding small amounts of neon gas or mercury. A high voltage is applied across electrodes sealed into each end of the tube to give the luminous effect by exciting the gases trapped in the tube. To obtain a wider range of colours, the glass tube can be coated with fluorescent phosphors, which convert the ultraviolet radiation from the mercury or neon into visible light. The high voltages are achieved by using step-up transformers.

Electrical shock is a threat mostly when the sculpture is connected to its bombarding transformer to remove impurities from the glass tube, or to its electrical power source for testing or display (figure 1). The electrical current passing through the glass tube also causes the emission of ultraviolet light that in turn interacts with the phosphor-covered glass to form colours. Some near-ultraviolet radiation (UVA) may pass through the glass and present an eye hazard to those nearby; therefore, eyewear that blocks UVA should be worn.

Figure 1. Neon sculpture manufacture showing an artist behind a protective barrier.

Fred Tschida

Some phosphors that coat the neon tube are potentially toxic (e.g., cadmium compounds). Sometimes mercury is added to the neon gas to create a particularly vivid blue colour. Mercury is highly toxic by inhalation and is volatile at room temperature.

Mercury should be added to the neon tube with great care and stored in unbreakable sealed containers. The artist should use trays to contain spillage, and mercury spill kits should be available. Mercury should not be vacuumed up, as this may disperse a mist of mercury through the vacuum cleaner’s exhaust.

Computer Art

Computers are used in art for a variety of purposes, including painting, displaying scanned photographic images, producing graphics for printing and television (e.g., on-screen credits), and for a variety of animated and other special effects for motion pictures and television. The latter is a rapidly expanding use of computer art. This can bring about ergonomic problems, typically due to repetitive tasks and uncomfortably arranged components. The predominant complaints are discomfort in the wrists, arms, shoulders and neck, and vision problems. Most complaints are of a minor nature, but disabling injuries such as chronic tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome are possible.

Creating with computers often involves long periods manipulating the keyboard or mouse, designing or fine tuning the product. It is important that computer users take a break away from the screen periodically. Short, frequent breaks are more effective than long breaks every couple of hours.

Regarding the proper arrangement of components and the user, design solutions for correct posture and visual comfort are the key. Computer work station components should be easy to adjust for the variety of tasks and people involved.

Eye strain may be prevented by taking periodic visual breaks, preventing glare and reflection and by placing the top of the monitor so that it is at eye level. Vision problems may also be avoided if the monitor has a refresh rate of 70 Hz, so that image flicker is reduced.

Many kinds of radiation effects are possible. Ultraviolet, visible, infrared, radio frequency and microwave radiation emissions from computer hardware are generally at or below normal background levels. The possible health effects of lower-frequency waves from the electrical circuitry and electronic components are not well understood. To date, however, no solid evidence identifies a health risk from exposure to the electromagnetic fields associated with computer monitors. Computer monitors do not emit hazardous levels of x rays.

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