Paul D Kirwin on wed 24 mar 99
I am writing to inquire if anyone has any information about the safety
issues of being pregnant and working in a pottery studio. I am an
apprentice at a local art school, and am responsible for loading, firing,
and unloading the bisque-ware from 3 electric kiln, mixing glazes, and
loading and firing a gas-fired high-fire kiln outside. I am concerned about =
the
toxicity of the fumes as well as the glaze and clay dust. I would like
some researched info, if at all possible.
I am loving the apprenticeship, and would love to continue if it is safe
for the fetus. What if I wore my respirator all the time, instead of just =
when
I am mixing up the glazes and repairing the kiln shelves? Any and all
suggestions
will be appreciated. You can send replyes to my email address or to =
clayart.
Thank you Barbara
Email address: Paul.Kirwin=40worldnet.att.net
Frank Gaydos on thu 25 mar 99
Barbara,
This was just in our Newspaper today. Not sure how it may pertain to your
situation but if you teach art you may come into contact with some of these
items. At the least, pass the info along to your artist/graphic designer
friends.
Subject: Pregnancy worries
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
I am writing to inquire if anyone has any information about the safety
issues of being pregnant and working in a pottery studio.
Thank you Barbara
Email address: Paul.Kirwin@worldnet.att.net
Study links solvent fumes to higher birth-defect risk
Women were exposed on the job. The chemicals are in paints, cleaning agents
and other products.
By Eric Fidler
ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO -- Women exposed to certain solvents on the job are 13 times more
likely to give birth to a baby with major defects, a study found.
The researchers also found an increased risk of miscarriages, low birth
weight, fetal distress and prematurity.
The study looked at what are called organic solvents, which are used in many
industries and trades. The chemicals -- found in paints, pesticides,
adhesives, lacquers and cleaning agents -- have been linked to a host of
physical and mental problems in adults.
Problems among women exposed to organic solvents were most often found among
those who worked in factories, as laboratory technicians, in graphic design
or printing, and as chemists, according to the study.
The study was led by Dr. Sohail Khattak of the Hospital for Sick Children in
Toronto and was published in today's Journal of the American Medical
Association.
Dr. Richard Schwarz, obstetrics consultant to the March of Dimes, said the
study was too small to draw definite conclusions about the risk of birth
defects. He also questioned its methods because the study group was selected
from women who had called with concerns about pregnancy.
But he said: "It's a red-flag kind of study. We shouldn't ignore it. I
suggest it requires a further look."
The researchers looked at 125 pregnant women who had been exposed to organic
solvents during their first trimester between 1987 and 1996. They were
compared with 125 pregnant women not exposed to solvents.
Of the group exposed to solvents on the job, 113 gave birth, eight suffered
miscarriages, and four had abortions. There were 13 major birth defects and
five minor ones among their babies, compared with one major malformation and
one minor one among the women not exposed to solvents.
Nine of the exposed group had premature births, compared with three in the
control group. Eight babies in the exposed group were underweight, compared
with three in the control group.
Sixteen women who were exposed for more than seven months had labor with
fetal distress that required resuscitation, while only one member of the
control group did.
Khattak said such chemical exposure was avoidable. "If proper precautions
are taken and the guidelines for proper handling followed, the risk is no
greater than that for the general population," he said.
Khattak said his was the first study to follow women through their
pregnancies rather than look at medical records.
That, he said, explains why its findings were so clear while previous
studies on solvents and birth defects had been inconclusive.
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