I looked at the art forum, and noticed literally thousands of views on the issue of hazardous materials in the artist workplace.  Some ranged from ventilation questions to in depth chemicals.  I have been dealing with these issues for over 20 years in various ways.  I have been involved in a printing company with the responsibility of hazardous materials, Osha, Right to know practices for ten years.  I became a firefighter with that interest and have been doing that for 15 years professionally.  I also have been an artist blacksmith for about 18 years.  Though I do not claim to have all the answers, I do have an insight into both sides of the fence when working with items that can harm you or the envionment, or both.  Probably the first thing I would do if I were to want to know about the safety of my work enviornment is get all the MSDS sheets for all the items I use.  That includes all paint, solvents cleaning materials etc.  These Material Safety Data Sheets will tell you what hazards are in each thing you use.  They will tell you Health, Fire, and Enviornmental dangers and specific ways you can use them safely, and help you determine if the chemicals in it are safe to use in your enviornment.  By law these have to be made available to you if you ask for them.  The store owners should be familiar with these sheets as it is law and if they are not contact the maker of the product.  I know this is alot to do, but sacrificing for your art is one thing.  Getting sick or dying from it eventually should not happen.  If there is enough interest I will continue this thread.  I just want everyone to work safe and make art for many years to come.  Here are a few links you might find helpful.  I tend to go right to the source instead of fiddling around so here goes!

 http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/resources.html  Good materials, remember states have the right to make higher standards for pollution than Federal ones!http 

http://www.labsafety.com/?CID=7PG650KWLABSAFETYHP  this is a private supplier I have used.  They are expensive, but have techs on line that can handle any problem you have.

http://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/oshasoft/index.html  I really like the OSHA site.  The only problem is it is so huge it is hard to digest.  Like an elephant you can eat it only one bite at a time.

Cheers,

Steve www.kalbironworks.com

MEMBERS COMMENTS VIEWING 1 - 3 OUT OF 3 COMMENTS From: ArtChain 11/20/2007 21:52:14 Many artists are just not aware of the hazards of the materials they use.  Others would *like* to be safe, but don't know how. Do you have any idea where artists can find specific information on creating a safe studio space?  For example, airflow standards for ventilating fans, type of masks to use when handling dried pigments and similar particulate materials, etc?  From: ScootermyDaisies 11/10/2007 21:22:00 Steve--   I definitely think some clarification about the hazards of certain artist materials is long overdue! For example, I notice that I can purchase all kinds of artist paints in easy-to-open tubes and jars--but the mediums that go along with those paints are only available with child-proof caps. Isn't one just as harmful as the other? And shouldn't I be keeping my studio off-limits to children anyway and therefore be able to purchase these materials in with whatever cap is easiest for me to open? I hate messing with child-proof lids! Especially when I don't see any obvious need for them.... --SMD From: Annie_S 11/08/2007 19:31:14 Thanks, Steve - this is a great post with really useful information!