Hazards in Art Materials

Many craftspeople, artists and even ordinary individuals who are doing arts and crafts as a past time might assume that art materials are safe to work with. Little did they know however that working with arts and crafts materials have potential harm to the health. While arts and crafts activities in general essence can have positive impact on the mental and emotional well-being of people doing them, the materials used in making it pose certain health hazards if safety instructions on the product label are not followed.

Some art materials, like the colours and chemical solvents used in painting, can cause burn or illness if they are spilled on the skin, get in the eyes, or inhaled. While repeated exposure to even a small amount of a certain material can cause some serious health problems.

Different arts and crafts activities expose people to different hazards. In painting for instance, there is a risk that one might inhale fumes form the solvents used to clean brushes or inhale toxic mists from spray paints. In stained glass work, the artist could breath in lead fumes when fusing glass pieces. While in pottery making, there is possible exposure to respirable size of crystalline silica, which can cause serious lung problems.

Everyone working with art materials must thus take precautions. However, this does not mean that you have to be overly cautious and eventually forget the entertainment value of arts. With some common sense and respect to art materials, you can still get all the fun and benefits of painting, pottery making, glass staining and any other artistic activities without risking your health. You can do this by learning all you can about the materials or the technique you are using. Another is by looking for safer alternatives to the materials you have. Reading a material's safety instructions, keeping the materials in their original containers, and using protective equipment like goggles, gloves and dust mask when working can also help you protect yourself from potential health problems. Other important precautions that you must take heed are keeping your work place neat, using proper ventilation to keep the air clean, and keeping the number of the nearest emergency health centre near you so can immediately get advice if an emergency happens.

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