Silicosis, The Dusty Killer (why you need an air filter)

#pottery #silicosis #health
Hello potters, how are you today? Today is kind of a special episode. A Potters PSA if you will. A few weeks back a company that makes a high end air purifier asked me to talk about their product (Enviroklenz air system) and I agreed to it on the condition that I am able to talk about the dangers of silicosis and the dangers of silica in the lungs. silicosis is a major concern to potters in enclosed spaces who might be breathing in too much clay dust, causing a stream of health problems including pulmonary fibrosis, hard of breathing, extreme fatigue , and a bunch of other problems. It usually happens within 5-10 year and it's most commonly seen in adults above the age of 30.It's important to know how to protect your lungs in your own studio as a potter not only for your health but also for your work.
** Shout out to EnviroKlenz for sending me one of their systems to test. It was a big help in making this video and it gave me a very good reason to talk about potters health in the studio.
Here is a link to them if you would like to check them out
bit.ly/2TGd9Uw
** If you would like more info about silicosis I have left a few links here
(Silicosis general info) • Silicosis (Miners phth... -
(understanding silica from the ALA) • Understanding Silicosis
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[@sarahc3108]

Thank you for posting this!...and then there's those of us with pre-existing lung disorders, like asthma....gulp!

[@evieluna6462]

Thank you for posting this, not only for telling us about the silicosis but also ways to prevent it. I'm kinda sick of people screaming "be scared of this" without then giving any ways of dealing with it.

[@MultimediaCowboy]

First thing my instructor told me. One of the first things I tell my students. Good that you posted. First video I've seen anyone do on this.

[@riverriverchang5487]

It’s great that you’re spreading this info. I have no idea why no one in my studio wears a mask. I always wear a fitting n99 respirator. There’s always people waking around, stepping on dried clumps of clay. Nasty…

[@sunnycatceramics]

"you will die, but your work will survive" pure gold, thanks for posting this, Definitely going to be getting that air fliter

[@TokkiCeramics]

Im so glad this is reviewed. I started pottery by taking few community classes but the safety was never reviewed. Now that I make pots occasionally in my garage, I was always wondering about all the clay dusts we breathe in! So helpful! Thanks for sharing.

[@micheledickey4066]

I’m so glad you did this. Sooo many people have no idea about this. I took ceramic classes for 7 years and our teacher never said anything at all about this.

[@sallyweiner4180]

So responsible of you to share, I truly appreciate it. I just got that air filter and love it

[@RetsuRose]

Oh snap I didn’t know this! Thank you for this!

[@victoriamiskolczy6336]

Thanks for directing our attention to these health issues.

[@rogerbuchler2743]

Thank you Donte, best video I’ve seen on clay dust, very informative and complete. My 2 cents on what I found. For a less expensive choice Blueair model Blue Pure has 4 sizes of filters for different size studios with a HEPA filter to 1 micron. Tested by Consumer Reports using fine clay dust was 5 out of 5 highest rating at less than half the price Not all HEPA Filters goes to 1 micron which is needed for clay dust. This is just one out of many out there that will work for clay.

[@thepottereden]

Thank you so much for covering this topic and making a great video as always! I try to wear a mask any time im cleaning up. I dont mix my own stuff. Silica is no joke.

[@cookieeews]

Thank you for this! I was about to have my studio in my basement and my kids health is way more important than mine!

[@evagarcia58]

Thanks for the info👍🏼. Glad you put it out there.

[@terrigood2932]

Thank you Donte! I’ve been eye balling one of these for a while, you’re the third mentor of mine who has recommended the Enviroklenz and it’s now high time to make the investment. I’m especially grateful for your terrific explanation of silicosis and how this particular unit functions and to see it in action...wow!!! P.S. you have great taste in candles 😉🔥

[@elisabethbue5666]

Great video Donte.

[@poppyEars]

Thank you for this vid! This info was always drilled into my head in ceramics classes at school, but not everyone takes the academic route with this subject 🤪

[@rondacorkhill1654]

Great topic!!! Safety, safety, safety. If our winters weren't so cold, I would be putting everything in my garage. Thank you for the filter information. I've been wondering what would be the best. They have a 20% off coupon as well.

[@juliakulina3156]

Can you share the coupon?

[@rondacorkhill1654]

@@juliakulina3156 It's on their site but I think it was fb20

[@kathrynostergreen8480]

I completely agree with you. You are the first potter to put anything like this up. I actually have 2 air filter cleaning units where I do my pottery they really do help a lot. Thanks for the helpful info ☺️

[@KS-fc2od]

Interesting and informative 👍

[@katiakatiakat]

THANK YOU! I'm thinking about setting up a home studio in my apartment. Could you PLEASE do a show about setting one up. What to get, concerns to think about (like silica dust), how to set up a system so one is not dumping clay down the kitchen sink and bumming out the landlords. ALSO, I have a 1 year old kitty. What about pet safety with this dust?? Thanks again for your channel and all that you bring!!

[@ladyzy13]

Thanks for sharing this info! I should at least put my air purifier (with a hepa filter!!) close to my wheel until I buy something more efficient. I realise that, thanks to your video. My lungs thank you dear sir. 🙏🙏

[@larajaku]

thank you Donte, you're a legend!

[@Aaron.101]

Safety is good thanks

[@danielpowell7277]

Thanks, I just ordered one for the studio. Love the videos and links. You are always helpful.

[@cephaspottery8193]

Great video! Thanks for bringing up this typic and helping everyone to keep their health in good standing. I know I learned some good information.

[@doreennacht]

This is actually very applicable to the opal and quartz cutting industries as well. It is well known amongst the large organizations who have to follow OSHA guidelines but for the smaller guys they rarely know anything about it. What I'm curious about is many people do not have a separate living space for their lapidary work and use their machines on their kitchen tables, in their living areas, even bedrooms. Would a little machine like that (yes, little but effective) be enough to take the silica dust (created from grinding stones made purely of silica) out of the air effectively enough to allow them to continue to use it in a living area being certain it will not affect their health and the health of their families as well as anyone else that enters that space? Also, how are you disposing of the used filters and how much of the silica is re-released into the air when taking it out of the machine? My understanding is not clear about what amount is safe to throw away directly into the garbage without it being an environmental hazard as well as perhaps being a finable offense. I'm not sure if you've got to dispose of in a special way or not. I've inquired on CHATgpt as well as read so many things that it has all confused me about the procedure - including (CHATgpt) that it's ok to put into your garden but you need to put it at least multiple feet down to prevent someone putting a plant in and encountering a large cache of it in the ground. It also said it was important to spread it out. It sounded to me as if I needed to open my entire lawn and put a cut down every foot apart and 6 feet down! It was ridiculous! It was also suggested in an article not to put it down the drain as it would quickly plug it up as well as it eventually making it's way into the water system. Any clue what the correct answer is? Thanks very much and for the video as well as that really is a very important subject and something that's literally been keeping me up at night and preventing me from going any further with my new-found hobby.

[@raygeorge4553]

Great advice Donte! thank you for taking the time to educate us dirty potters' :)

[@SenorMudDuck]

OSHA has been making major changes in the construction world to address silicosis. Seems like every tool has a hepa vacuum attachment now! Fines for not having them too.

[@sairamalik7332]

Was honestly just thinking that i needed to search out more info on preventing silicosis now that I’m doing more work at home. The down side of a home studio! Incredibly helpful, thank you. I’m curious about “throwing clean” though. Could you say more about how you try to prevent dust build up?

[@Szegro]

As the ceramic tech at my college I wear a resporator during all of my dirty work, but I had no idea about all this!

[@BendviewFarm-dq4sp]

Great info! Thanks Dante! ❤️

[@lindabethhorn1828]

Thank you so much for this information!

[@ozzig.2667]

A very useful video! Greetings from Chile!

[@georgijo]

I read in a forum that some potters don't recommend air filter systems bc they think it's going to make the dust in the environment fly around the space.. but imma listen to mr donte.

[@chloecorne5146]

Thanks for this - I'd been wondering if clay dust was a problem as well as glazes etc.

[@bethmcginnis3915]

Where are the links to the air purifier, doctor’s information etc? Thank you:)

[@rosieparmley1874]

Thank you for sharing 🙏😎

[@Shadamehr100]

As a non potter now I worry for the hosts of The Great Pottery Showdown, one of my favourite shows !

[@cre2919]

Thank you for sharing God Bless

[@Myah_W]

Thanks for the informative video. Maybe I should start doing ceramics outside.

[@Hauwraa]

This is so helpful thank uu 👍🏽

[@mirjanacuranovic3474]

Thank you for all information you post.I have a question.Have you any information about bleeding from the nose because of clay or glaze?

[@revraybrown]

Ordering now. Now to go be well fed!

[@micheledickey4066]

Soo true about the people that smoke and just do not care about their health!! I find it most funny when smokers give health advice!!!!

[@kasandrahawk939]

thank you for this fyi. I wear a surgical mask when in the studio (came in handy with covid) .... in your opinion is wearing mask a good safety feature in the clay studio? ...

[@eileenc5159]

I bought an ENVIRONKLENZ a couple of months ago. Does this ENVIRONKLENZ work when the garage door is open. Also I have a garage fan built into the garage roof. What that fan does is remove the hot air. Should I still use the ENVIRONKLENZ.

[@wakeupandbord]

How long are your filters lasting?

[@Spinne122251]

Do you keep your filter on for a set number of hours even when you are not in the studio or do you mainly use it only when you are working?

[@rheahalona]

I’m wondering the same

[@meganb5270]

I go to an art academy and when we were instructed to clean up she gave me a brush and a dustpan and afterwards started to vacuum the space. I find it hard to imagine the brush and dustpan are good but are there special kinds of ceramic vacuums that don't spread the particles into the air?! Cause on the one hand I want to trust the teachers and believe they know what they are doing but on the other hand I don't want me and my fellow students to be poisoned...

[@sarahc3108]

My community studio has a rule...if you be sand-papering your bisque ware, you best be outside and away from others. We now also have an air filter and face mask at all times rule (Covid).

[@georgijo]

I immediately bought a HEPA air purifier

[@chrispya1]

Silicosis is a problem for equestrians, as well, so I've met people who suffer from it. I'm just as happy to pot with a 😷!

[@thekitchenprescription1821]

Damnit! This is an expensive hobby. Just when I think I'm all set, now I need an air filter so I don't die. Awesome.

[@rondacorkhill1654]

haha haha haha

[@John_Weiss]

For hobbyists like us, if you throw only occasionally, like once every couple of months, we maight not need an air filter. *MIGHT not. * Take my case: I'll sometimes go years without throwing at home, taking a class at a local studio instead. I also throw in the garage, so I can really only work in the spring or fall. And it's a 2 car garage, with all thing pottery in front of one of the 2 doors. *AND* the other door is opened _at least_ 4 times a day. Most of the dust in there is from outside, almost all of which is kicked up mowing the yard. So, given (1) infrequent use; (2) constant daily air exchange, _I_ feel that I can get away with *doing every other anti-dust best practices* and not have an air filter. To whit: Wash all clay covered cloth regularly; Never shake out anything; Wipe down surfaces regularly; Never sweep, mop; Use a respirator-mask whenever working with powder or dealing with anything dusty. BTW: a good, HIPA-grade respirator-mask is a great investment. You can use it for so many other things.

[@thekitchenprescription1821]

@@John_Weiss I throw a few times a week/month. I live in Florida and throw and trim on my patio. My kiln is in my garage and after seeing this I realized I use our shop vac to vacuum out my kiln every time before I fire it. And I don't think we have a bag in the vac to catch everything. The last time I used it, there was a plume of dust in the garage. I do have a respirator mask with a HEPA filter though, so there's that. I do sweep the garage floor often so I need to stop doing that. The only good thing I have going for me at the moment is it takes 5-10 years to develop symptoms of silicosis. I'm already 54 so in 10 years I'll pretty much be on my way out anyway. 😬 I am researching air filters and looking into getting one, but after recently purchasing a new kiln I don't think I'll be investing as much as Donte did. Again, this is an expensive hobby, but I love it! Thanks for all the tips. Appreciate it.

[@John_Weiss]

@@thekitchenprescription1821 You're only 2 years older than me. Oh the way out in 10 years? Good to see the Gen-X pessimism is still going strong. 😁 The only thing I "sweep" is the floor of my shallow kiln, using a small hand-broom. (11" deep hobby kiln, so I don't even need to reach in.) And the hand broom really does look like a small "witch broom." And the only reason I do this is to make it easier to *sponge up* the junk on the bottom. If I could get into the corners with a sponge, I wouldn't even bother. Any time the old t-shirts I use instead of a towel or the pieces of canvas I use for various things starts looking dusty, into a bucket of water it goes - to get off most of the clay before it goes into the wash. Clay+septic == bad One studio I go to is obsessive about mopping the floor. He has a high end mop bucket with 2 chambers and a "spin-dry" mechanism. The result is that he's always pulling from clean water, then getting rid of almost all of the most up water. (The wring-it-out mechanisms can't do nearly the same job.) OH - he also starts out by setting the floor _before_ mopping the water up. That way he doesn't get the clean water dirty as he mops. And he mops frequently, every hour or two.

[@NaomiALJ]

What are least expensive options for this? I'm on disability funding and cannot swing an enviroklenz, but I do all my work (mostly handbuilding) in the tiny appt I live in soooo.............

[@EarthNationCeramics]

You're going to have to look around but I heavily suggest you get an air filter with a HEPA filter even if you don't get this specific model

[@waynep72]

Were you able to test the amount of dust in your studio before and after adding the filter? Taking the manufacturer's information without testing could give you a false sense of security.

[@jcfpv3454]

Please help me I need a dr to perform a lung lavage on me as fast as possible to remove silica dust from my lungs before it causes massive damage and possibly kills me any help is greatly appreciated...

[@viaviaviavia]

Would an air purifier with a hepa filter be good enough?

[@EarthNationCeramics]

I'd say yes. The HEPA filter is mainly what I suggest for anyone buying a filter.

[@jackiemorrison6024]

Looks good but expensive

[@oliverpickering5066]

This man basically said " I'd rather you smoke"🤣🤣🤣

[@Optamizm]

Did you hear Aussie doctors invented a way to flush out silica, etc from the lungs of people with Silicosis? It's called Lung Lavage. Of course this doesn't mean you shouldn't take precautions because you'll still damage your lungs.

[@ShaminMike]

Hmm I better check out 2 enviroclense’s lol

[@ShaminMike]

Never mind...

[@pavplays5243]

First

[@EarthNationCeramics]

By the rules of first. This person gets a gold medal 🏅 . I don't make the rules ppl. I just enforce them.

[@jcfpv3454]

Please help me I need a dr to perform a lung lavage on me as fast as possible to remove silica dust from my lungs before it causes massive damage and possibly kills me any help is greatly appreciated...