Topic: Got a technical question?

[David E]

Sealed inside the glass it is safe enough.

I wasn't planning to suck it anyway

Seriously, I was under the impression that cadmium was banned from industrial usage and was stopped being used in glass around 1965. I was alluding to the harmful nature as a raw chemical, rather than its state within the glass, which I knew was harmless.

Thanks.

[Borolamper]

Here is Glass Alchemy's user manual. Look about half way down the page for what they call "crayon" colours.
http://www.glassalchemyarts.com/support/user-manual-pg1.html

[Frank]

Their Health & Safety pages seem to give good details of the risks of working with the various compounds. Fascinating reading, I wonder how much below average glassmakers lifespan has been over the years! Particularly when some of the lauded achievments of using such componds only recall the companies or originators and not the poor sods who were killed early by having to work with them.

[Borolamper]

Henry Grimmett knows his stuff, for sure.

I have heard somewhere (quite likley untrue) that glassblowers traditionally have had the third shortest life expectancy for health reasons of any occupation, next only to uranium and coal miners.

[David E]

Than again, it was quite surprising how long some lived - the history of Chance Brothers reveals some living into their 80s and this was on a diet of many pints of beer a day to prevent dehydration!

There is also a report of one engineer having a working career of 71 years at Chance... sheesh...

New Health & Safety Regulations:

1. Drink More Beer!
2. Blow, don't suck!

[Frank]

The bell curve of statistics needs such exceptions or the science would collapse, but it is pure Chance as to who gets lucky. Perhaps, something in a name after all.