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Health
DangersI was interested in Jean Draper's article on the health dangers of experimenting with paints, bleaches, adhesives and metallic and other powders and the comments and references to them by other contributors and your editorial (The World of Embroidery, July 1998). In my other life, before family and serious embroidery, I taught chemistry. I did many experiments now forbidden and handled many substances of very toxic nature. The pupils also had hands-on experience of them albeit under strict supervision and wearing protective clothing such as Dad's old shirt masquerading as a lab coat - teachers wore academic gowns. Many of these experiments were done with the aid of the fume cupboard which, for those too young to remember, was just a ventilated box with a gas point for the indispensable Bunsen burner and, if you were in a mixed sex school or a very go-ahead place, an electrical socket. The front of the box slid up (adjustably) to allow access to the apparatus inside.
I recently went to a day school to 'Print, Bond and Burn' and we were put in a physics lab because it had several sinks. It had plenty of electrical sockets, too. We took all the precautions recommended by the tutor, Daphne Gick, for our experiments with soldering irons and joss sticks but they did limit us somewhat. I wonder if we had been in the chemistry lab whether we could have recycled the fume cupboards and if that would have been less restricting to our creativity. Perhaps some of the readers of this splendid magazine might be in a position to run a trial to assess the viability of the idea. Come to think of it, those gas masks we faithfully carted to school and everywhere else during the war in case of poison gas attacks would be more than a match for a few grains of bronze powder or the spray from the airbrush. I wonder if my old school trunk is still in the loft.
Eileen Hudson
Nottingham
Health
and Safety IssuesAfter reading Jean Draper's article on Health and Safety (The World of Embroidery, July 1998), I was very concerned about the negative way in which Adult Education tutors were portrayed. I would like to stress that the Creative Studies tutors within the Kent Adult Education Service do not 'probably have to be more careful'. They are actively trained and encouraged to be very stringent in their care of their students' health and safety. Health and Safety is based on common sense and, as adults, we are all responsible for our own health and safety.
I am concerned to know that there are some tutors who are allowed to teach in village halls where it is left to their own discretion what they include in the course and that the criterion for booking seems to be that no visible mess is left.
The list of pointers in the article was helpful but I feel that it should have been written in a much more positive way to get the attention of students and make them take note of the real issues. There are also County Council Health and Safety Advisors available to advise, answer questions or, if necessary, to provide training or provide trainers.
Embroidery or textile chemicals or substances and materials need no longer be beyond the 'stereotypical image of the embroiderer or textile artist'.
Anne Marsh
Ashford, Kent
Gas masksEileen Hudson jokingly mentioned using an old gas mask against fumes and embossing powders - but if anybody is considering doing this PLEASE DON'T! Many of the old gas masks contain asbestos! If you do have any of these items in your possession maybe it would be worth disposing of them safely rather than leaving them to deteriorate [and possibly be more of a health risk] in your attic. Sorry if I've alarmed anyone - I'm just concerned for long term safety.
Samantha Darnbrough