Health and safety in ceramics work

Clay, glazes and kilns are part of everyday work in potteries, studios and school art rooms. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) publishes guidance on the risks they carry.

Clay dust and silica

HSE explains that respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is found in stone, rocks, sands and clays. Breathing it in over a long period can cause fibrosis, a hardening or scarring of the lung tissue, with a loss of lung function.

Potteries are on HSE's list of workplaces where people are exposed to RCS. In Britain, the workplace exposure limit for RCS is 0.1 mg/m³, as an 8-hour time-weighted average. Exposure to RCS also comes under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).

Employers must provide health surveillance for workers who are regularly exposed to RCS dust, where silicosis is reasonably likely to develop. HSE names ceramics among the high-risk occupations where employers should consider it.

Masks

HSE's pages on respiratory protective equipment cover choosing it, fit testing and keeping it in good order.

Glazes and pottery production

HSE publishes an Approved Code of Practice for controlling hazardous substances in pottery production. It is addressed to owners and managers of all potteries, and covers low solubility glaze, control measures, exposure monitoring and health surveillance.

Kilns

For a bought kiln, HSE says to follow the manufacturer's guidance on where to put it and how to run it. If you built or adapted a kiln yourself, HSE says to risk assess it thoroughly before use.

HSE says a kiln needs adequate ventilation, with free air movement. It says to store anything that burns away from it, and suggests a canopy to take heat and fumes outside.

HSE notes that most kiln fires have happened at night, when wood in the roof, ceiling or floor above a kiln overheated. It advises keeping enough clearance between the kiln's hot surfaces and flue pipes and any part of the building.

Most modern kilns are lined with refractory ceramic fibre. HSE says to avoid breathing its dust or getting it on the skin, and a dust mask may be needed.

Older kilns may contain asbestos. HSE says to get specialist advice before any work that could disturb it, or as soon as it is disturbed by accident.

In studios open to the public, HSE recommends a barrier, such as a metal cage, round any kiln with hot surfaces people could touch.

Lifting and handling

HSE's guide "Picking up the pieces" is about preventing aches and injuries to muscles, joints and backs (musculoskeletal disorders) in ceramics work. It is written for established companies and for new employers setting up training and work methods.

The industry body

Ceramics UK is the trade association for ceramic manufacturers across the UK.

Useful links