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Art teacher deals with exposure to toxics
June 16 , 2004 Exiled from her classroom because of exposure to hazardous art materials, Deb Crosby uses a rolling cart for art lessons. Chappaqua art teacher Deb Crosby wheels her belongings around in a cart. She is homeless in her own school after being forced from her classroom due to illness from exposure to hazardous art materials. Crosby uses "art in a cart" to teach classes in different buildings in the Westchester County high school. A natural advocate as president of the Chappaqua Congress of Teachers, she wants to teach her colleagues about the risks associated with certain art substances. It is a wonder to drop a sheet of paper into a tray, and watch as loose shadows and shapes coalesce into a black-and-white photo. Soldering metal into a one-of-a-kind earring or bracelet is exciting. But there are chemicals in those developing trays. There is acetylene in the torch that fires the metal. Caution is needed. Rubber cement Last year, Crosby was working with students mounting art for their portfolios with rubber cement. Even though the windows were open, she and several students became dizzy from the overpowering smell. Crosby decided to hold her next class outdoors, but was so dizzy she walked right into a metal pole and gave herself a concussion. After that, she was slowed by a crunch of illnesses. It was her first year working in a classroom where the space had been reduced during renovations. Over the summer, she improved. She returned to school to find that a chemical sealant had been applied to the floors of a room next door that was renovated into an art and jewelry studio. An alleyway connected the rooms. Crosby was struck with bronchitis, put on steroids several times and weathered several emergency room visits. Ailments included difficulty breathing, swollen eyes, nausea and extended headaches. She lost 15 pounds in two months, and said her doctors told her she had "chemical intoxication." "Once I was out for two days and started to feel better," Crosby said. I went to my first-period class and there was a smell in the hall (from the art studio). It hurt my eyes, nose, throat and I was queasy. I asked the custodian to check what materials were being used in jewelry class. It was turpentine and asphalt." Crosby paused. "I used to use turpentine, too. A lot of these things we should have been taught and trained about ... There are no restrictions on what we can order; no guidelines, no training for storage or usage." Crosby found help by contacting New York State United Teachers, where health and safety specialist Wendy Hord helped her request Material Safety Data Sheets and get medical appointments for occupational illness. The chemicals she was exposed to, Crosby said, have the possibility of creating neurological and permanent brain damage. She can no longer use oil paints, turpentine, rubber cement, permanent markers, dry-erase markers, spray paint, hot glue guns or etching chemicals. For now, the art studio areas need to be ventilated and hoods installed. "It's exciting that the students do jewelry - I don't want them to stop," Crosby said. However, she said, even in this "extremely affluent school district," the proper precautions are not taken. EPA scrutiny "Art departments have been a focus for us," said Joel Golumbek, chief of hazardous waste compliance for the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Region 2. Problems persist in K-12 schools and colleges, he said, with the use of heavy metals found in colors like cadmium yellow, leads, paints, silver, silver polish, and solvents (which there is no real need for, he said, and often have high flash points). "One of the reasons we pay a lot of attention to arts programs is that it's so easy to use substitutions," Golumbek said at a recent union health and safety conference. The EPA has begun to mandate that schools and colleges with art-program health and safety violations prepare compliance plans. - Liza Frenette |
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