Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Reminder: Lecturer in Conservation at Durham University 2. RE: Lead Exposure Hazard 3. RE: Lead Exposure Hazard 4. RE: Lead Exposure Hazard ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Emily Williams Posted: Sunday August 23, 2026 10:30 AM Subject: Reminder: Lecturer in Conservation at Durham University Message: This is a reminder that the Lecturer in Conservation post at Durham University closes at 11:59pm UK time Friday August 28th. If you have been considering applying and would like to talk about the position, please do not hesitate to reach out. I would be delighted to talk to you about the role. For anyone who might not have seen the original message here is a link to the original posting: Job Description - Lecturer (Teaching) in Conservation (26000973) <https://durham.taleo.net/careersection/du_ext/jobdetail.ftl?job=26000973&tz=GMT%2B01%3A00&tzname=Europe%2FLondon> This is a permanent role in a dynamic and well-established department. ------------------------------ Emily Williams Professor, Archaeological Conservation Durham University Durham, UK ------------------------------ 2.From: John Gayer Posted: Sunday August 23, 2026 11:31 AM Subject: RE: Lead Exposure Hazard Message: Hello Heather, I do not have any scientific data, but lead is quite toxic and contact should be limited. Back in the 1980s, I worked in the art room of a Toronto stained glass studio. At one point the city, I believe it was, proposed air sampling to see what we might be exposed to. Since the colour in stain glass is provided by the glass, the only materials we applied to the glass was silver stain (it turns gold when fired) and a dark brown vitreous enamel. The latter is finely ground iron oxide powdered glass (Lawrence Leer, George Seddon, Francis Stephens, Stained Glass. Chartwell Books, 1976). We would mixed this powder with Venice turps for linear detail or water to create washes that would stippled with a brush or manipulated in other ways to create detail. The artisans who were exposed to the greatest risk were those who assembled the windows or lamp shades. They handled the lead came and the solder. Henry Hodges (Artifacts, 1976 reis., Ronald P. Frye, Kingston ON, Canada,1965) noted that a soft solder (hard solder has no lead in it) contained 67% lead and 33% tin. While working in that studio, we learned of another stained glass studio, the owner of which had so much lead in his body that he was hold not to touch lead again. Mind you, I have no idea how many years that individual had been doing stained glass. I also lived in the State of Maryland for several years and learned about their lead testing program. Here is an excerpt from the health.maryland.gov <http://health.maryland.gov> website: What is Lead Poisoning? Lead poisoning affects many children younger than 6 years old in Maryland. Lead can harm a child's brain, causing lifelong learning and behavior problems. Lead dust in the home is caused by chipping, peeling, flaking or deteriorating lead-based paint and can be found in any home. Lead can also be found in toys, jewelry, and other consumer products and may be brought home from some jobs. For more information on how to protect your family from lead, visit http://www2.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family#sl-home <http://www2.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family#sl-home>. Lead poisoning has decreased over the years, but there is no safe level of lead. The only way to know if a child has been exposed is a blood test. Given this information, I would think you would agree that the object in question should have a polycarbonate sheet or colourless transparent of another suitable material to keep childrens fingers from touching the lead. John GayerHelsinki, Finland ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 8/17/2026 4:01:00 PM From: Heather Jackson Subject: Lead Exposure Hazard Good Afternoon, I was forwarded an email from a patron regarding a large stained glass window (creation date 1957) that is on permanent display in our galleries. They are concerned with the possiblity of lead exposure to children with this piece, as it is 115.5" in height, children can easily touch this piece as they walk by. This patron being an Industrial Hygenist is aware of certain risks and statistics pertaining to lead exposure for children and are recommending that we cover the piece in polycarbonate. Is this a common protocol, covering lead in polycarbonate? Does anyone have experience dealing with similar lead issues within a collection? Any information or suggestions would be welcome. Thank you, Heather ------------------------------ Heather Jackson Collections Manager Flint Institute of Arts Flint United States ------------------------------ 3.From: Monona Rossol Posted: Sunday August 23, 2026 2:28 PM Subject: RE: Lead Exposure Hazard Message: John, Here's some older data that backs your concerns. The Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ASTDR) included the following in their Public Health statement for lead (August 2007): You may also be exposed to lead in the home if you work with stained glass as a hobby, make lead fishing weights or ammunition, or if you are involved in home renovation that involves the removal of old lead-based paint. This problem has been known for decades. One early study was done in 1980.* Researchers measured blood lead levels in 12 professional stained glass workers and in 5 hobbyists. The professional workers lead levels were a mean of 20.7 micrograms per deciliter (g/dL) and the hobbyists were 11.6 g/dL. But most disturbing was that the hobbyist's family members were almost as high at 11.3 g/dL. This is probably due to the fact that a settled dust sample from one of the stained glass workshops was 11,000 parts per million. It is very likely that the lead soldering fume and dust from grinding glass and other sources create a hazard throughout the area or home where the craft is done. * "Lead exposure in stained glass workers", Phillip J. Landrigan, MD., et al, Am. Journal of Industrial Medicine, Volume 1, issue 2, pages 177-180, 1980. NOTE: the average blood lead level in the U.S. in 2025 is 0.855 ug/dL and the level of concern at which surveillance is recommended is now 3.5 ug/dL. Stained glass workers should not be talking about how safe their craft is unless they can back it up with their own and their family members' blood lead test results. Monona ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 8/23/2026 10:48:00 AM From: John Gayer Subject: RE: Lead Exposure Hazard Hello Heather, I do not have any scientific data, but lead is quite toxic and contact should be limited. Back in the 1980s, I worked in the art room of a Toronto stained glass studio. At one point the city, I believe it was, proposed air sampling to see what we might be exposed to. Since the colour in stain glass is provided by the glass, the only materials we applied to the glass was silver stain (it turns gold when fired) and a dark brown vitreous enamel. The latter is finely ground iron oxide powdered glass (Lawrence Leer, George Seddon, Francis Stephens, Stained Glass. Chartwell Books, 1976). We would mixed this powder with Venice turps for linear detail or water to create washes that would stippled with a brush or manipulated in other ways to create detail. The artisans who were exposed to the greatest risk were those who assembled the windows or lamp shades. They handled the lead came and the solder. Henry Hodges (Artifacts, 1976 reis., Ronald P. Frye, Kingston ON, Canada,1965) noted that a soft solder (hard solder has no lead in it) contained 67% lead and 33% tin. While working in that studio, we learned of another stained glass studio, the owner of which had so much lead in his body that he was hold not to touch lead again. Mind you, I have no idea how many years that individual had been doing stained glass. I also lived in the State of Maryland for several years and learned about their lead testing program. Here is an excerpt from the health.maryland.gov <http://health.maryland.gov> website: What is Lead Poisoning? Lead poisoning affects many children younger than 6 years old in Maryland. Lead can harm a child's brain, causing lifelong learning and behavior problems. Lead dust in the home is caused by chipping, peeling, flaking or deteriorating lead-based paint and can be found in any home. Lead can also be found in toys, jewelry, and other consumer products and may be brought home from some jobs. For more information on how to protect your family from lead, visit http://www2.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family#sl-home <http://www2.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family#sl-home>. Lead poisoning has decreased over the years, but there is no safe level of lead. The only way to know if a child has been exposed is a blood test. Given this information, I would think you would agree that the object in question should have a polycarbonate sheet or colourless transparent of another suitable material to keep children's fingers from touching the lead. John GayerHelsinki, Finland ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 8/17/2026 4:01:00 PM From: Heather Jackson Subject: Lead Exposure Hazard Good Afternoon, I was forwarded an email from a patron regarding a large stained glass window (creation date 1957) that is on permanent display in our galleries. They are concerned with the possiblity of lead exposure to children with this piece, as it is 115.5" in height, children can easily touch this piece as they walk by. This patron being an Industrial Hygenist is aware of certain risks and statistics pertaining to lead exposure for children and are recommending that we cover the piece in polycarbonate. Is this a common protocol, covering lead in polycarbonate? Does anyone have experience dealing with similar lead issues within a collection? Any information or suggestions would be welcome. Thank you, Heather ------------------------------ Heather Jackson Collections Manager Flint Institute of Arts Flint United States ------------------------------ 4.From: Roberto Rosa Posted: Sunday August 23, 2026 4:58 PM Subject: RE: Lead Exposure Hazard Message: Monona and John, What you say is all true, and yes, lead poisoning is real. One must be extremely careful and take appropriate precautions when working with lead, including when fabricating, restoring, or conserving stained glass windows. Some of the higher-risk activities include painting and dismantling old windows and processes that generate lead-containing dust or fumes. In the stained glass field, lead exposure occurs primarily through ingestion or inhalation of lead-containing dust or particles, rather than through absorption through intact skin. However, a stained glass window that is installed or displayed in a church, home, or museum does not ordinarily generate lead dust simply by being on display. The concern would be direct contact, for example, someone touching the lead matrix and then putting their fingers in their mouth. This is of particular concern with children. In Helen's case, as is commonly done in museums and other public settings, this can be addressed quite simply by installing a sheet of clear acrylic, glass, or other suitable barrier in front of the stained glass window. The barrier can cover the entire window or only the portion necessary to prevent visitors, particularly children, from touching the lead. This provides protection from direct contact without suggesting that the stained glass window itself presents the same type of lead-exposure hazard as working with lead in a studio. Roberto ------------------------------ Roberto Rosa, FAIC, ACR, APT-RP, President Serpentino Stained Glass, Inc. 21 Highland Circle Needham, MA 02494 Mobile: (781) 760-7602 [email protected] http://www.serpentinostainedglass.com/ ------------------------------ ------------------------------------------- Original Message: Sent: 08-23-2026 13:18 From: Monona Rossol Subject: Lead Exposure Hazard John, Here's some older data that backs your concerns. The Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ASTDR) included the following in their Public Health statement for lead (August 2007): You may also be exposed to lead in the home if you work with stained glass as a hobby, make lead fishing weights or ammunition, or if you are involved in home renovation that involves the removal of old lead-based paint. This problem has been known for decades. One early study was done in 1980.* Researchers measured blood lead levels in 12 professional stained glass workers and in 5 hobbyists. The professional workers lead levels were a mean of 20.7 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) and the hobbyists were 11.6 µg/dL. But most disturbing was that the hobbyist's family members were almost as high at 11.3 µg/dL. This is probably due to the fact that a settled dust sample from one of the stained glass workshops was 11,000 parts per million. It is very likely that the lead soldering fume and dust from grinding glass and other sources create a hazard throughout the area or home where the craft is done. * "Lead exposure in stained glass workers", Phillip J. Landrigan, MD., et al, Am. Journal of Industrial Medicine, Volume 1, issue 2, pages 177-180, 1980. NOTE: the average blood lead level in the U.S. in 2025 is 0.855 ug/dL and the level of concern at which surveillance is recommended is now 3.5 ug/dL. Stained glass workers should not be talking about how safe their craft is unless they can back it up with their own and their family members' blood lead test results. Monona Original Message: Sent: 8/23/2026 10:48:00 AM From: John Gayer Subject: RE: Lead Exposure Hazard Hello Heather, I do not have any scientific data, but lead is quite toxic and contact should be limited. Back in the 1980s, I worked in the art room of a Toronto stained glass studio. At one point the city, I believe it was, proposed air sampling to see what we might be exposed to. Since the colour in stain glass is provided by the glass, the only materials we applied to the glass was silver stain (it turns gold when fired) and a dark brown vitreous enamel. The latter is finely ground iron oxide powdered glass (Lawrence Leer, George Seddon, Francis Stephens, Stained Glass. Chartwell Books, 1976). We would mixed this powder with Venice turps for linear detail or water to create washes that would stippled with a brush or manipulated in other ways to create detail. The artisans who were exposed to the greatest risk were those who assembled the windows or lamp shades. They handled the lead came and the solder. Henry Hodges (Artifacts, 1976 reis., Ronald P. Frye, Kingston ON, Canada,1965) noted that a soft solder (hard solder has no lead in it) contained 67% lead and 33% tin. While working in that studio, we learned of another stained glass studio, the owner of which had so much lead in his body that he was hold not to touch lead again. Mind you, I have no idea how many years that individual had been doing stained glass. I also lived in the State of Maryland for several years and learned about their lead testing program. Here is an excerpt from the health.maryland.gov <http://health.maryland.gov> website: What is Lead Poisoning? Lead poisoning affects many children younger than 6 years old in Maryland. Lead can harm a child's brain, causing lifelong learning and behavior problems. Lead dust in the home is caused by chipping, peeling, flaking or deteriorating lead-based paint and can be found in any home. Lead can also be found in toys, jewelry, and other consumer products and may be brought home from some jobs. For more information on how to protect your family from lead, visit http://www2.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family#sl-home <http://www2.epa.gov/lead/protect-your-family#sl-home>. Lead poisoning has decreased over the years, but there is no safe level of lead. The only way to know if a child has been exposed is a blood test. Given this information, I would think you would agree that the object in question should have a polycarbonate sheet or colourless transparent of another suitable material to keep children's fingers from touching the lead. John GayerHelsinki, Finland You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. 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