Eating, smoking and drinking should be prohibited in the workroom.  Wash your hands thoroughly after each pottery session.

Workrooms should have readily cleaned impermeable working surfaces and floors and personal washing facilities should be nearby. There should be adequate ventilation.

It is best to prevent dust rather than to attempt to control it. Pottery ware is best not  fettled or shaped whilst dry; such operations can be done with equal efficiency whilst leather hard or green and surface finished with a damp sponge. Care must always be taken to avoid the generation of airborne dust.

Dust hazards can be minimised by the following

Immediately clean up any spillage of glaze or slip etc. since such materials when dry are a source of dust, particularly when tramped around the department.

Working surfaces, walls and floors should be thoroughly cleaned after use preferably by a wet method or by use of an efficient industrial vacuum unit.

Clean all equipment and utensils after use.

Wet or damp processes are preferable to dry ones.

Packages should be clearly labelled and securely closed to prevent particles being carried away by draughts. They should be stored, opened and dispensed in a suitably ventilated area.
The following materials need particular care in handling : Barium Carbonate, Borax, Silica, Zinc Oxide, Antimony Oxide, Chromium Oxide, Copper Carbonate, Copper Oxide, Nickel Oxide and all On-Glaze colours.

Used packages should be carefully disposed of.
With processes which cannot be controlled to eliminate dust, the following procedures are recommended

Protective clothing of a non dust retentive type should be worn. Terylene overalls or coats are recommended when using dry materials and impervious garments or aprons with wet materials. They should be cleaned regularly.

Wherever possible all dusty work including the spraying of glazes and slips should be done in a suitable dust extraction compartment with exhausts to outside atmosphere.

  If suitable dust extraction equipment is not available then disposable dust respirators either toxic or non-toxic type or approved respirators should be used and a sufficient supply of replacement cartridges be readily available.
General Warning
Some of the materials stocked by Walkers could be poisonous if not used in the orthodox manner.

The following materials have been classified as toxic
All packaging is labelled accordingly.

S6 POISON Not to be taken Keep out of the reach of children		S5 WARNING Not to be taken Keep out of the reach of children
Code	Raw Material	Code	Raw Material
BA60	Antimony Oxide	BA130	Borax - Fine
BA80	Barium Carbonate	BA250	Copper Carbonate

Copper Compounds

When added to low lead solubility glazes copper causes the solubility of the lead to be greatly increased, making the glaze unsuitable on vessels for use with foodstuffs and beverages.

Code	Raw Material
BA250	Copper Carbonate
BA260	Copper Oxide - Black

Lead Free Glazes are all food and drink safe.
Fritted Lead Glazes
We do not sell or use red and white lead in any of our glazes as it is a dangerous material.
A frit is a type of glass. It is a combination of materials which are melted together to render them insoluble and resistant to acid attack. They are therefore a means of introducing certain materials into a glaze which would otherwise be toxic. Glazes based on lead frits produce a shiny, durable finish and give brightness and clarity of colour when used in conjunction with oxides, stains, slips, etc. Some types of glazes may release lead and other metallic compounds when attacked by certain acids, notably fruit juices, vinegar and alcohol. To reduce solubility to acceptable limits we use frits which have a very low lead solubility to meet health requirements. However a safe glaze can be made unsafe by even minor additions of certain materials, notably copper (see table above for list of compounds) or by firing them above their recommended temperatures which are listed in the price list. Some of our decorative glazes would fail a metal release test and should not be used on the inside surface area of utility ware.
Cadmium Selenium and Copper glazes fall into this category (see table for those stocked). To achieve bright and vivid results care should be taken with their application and firing as they are by nature more sensitive than other glazes.

Powder Code	Liquid Code	Earthenware Glaze Colour
ED156	EE156	Lime Green	These glazes are unsuitable for use on surfaces which may come into contact with foodstuffs or beverages.
ED158	EE158	Flame Orange
ED159	EE159	Signal Red
ED160	EE160	Bright Yellow
ED130	EE130	Gold Lustre
ED194	EE194	Graphite

Note : Safe glazes must be applied and fired under conventional conditions for them to be safe. These glazes should not be ingested or used without gloves. The decision to use lead or lead free glazes must nevertheless rest finally with the potter in any instance where the ware is intended for use with foods or beverages especially so if oven-to-table or cooking ware for example if casseroles are to be made. If any doubts are felt about the glaze formulation, firing or the possibility of contamination or the addition of such materials as copper compounds then certainly the wiser choice would be to use only lead free glazes at least on the inside or food contact areas of the ware.