The safe use of art or craft materials requires awareness and training. A host of toxic industrial chemicals and environmental pollutants are often found in these materials. Since The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide was first published in April, 1990, new research has changed the safety information about and threshold limit values for a number of chemicals used in art materials. This revised edition is a guide to using these potentially toxic materials safely and ethically. It is also designed to help art workers and teachers comply with health and safety laws in the United States and Canada. Coverage includes technical hazards information in plain language, tables of data on art materials ingredients, steps to comply with health and safety laws, safety checklists for studios and classrooms, detailed descriptions of safe practices, recommendations for proper protective equipment, and a list of non-toxic products for use by children and others who are especially sensitive to toxic substances.
Monona Rossol is a chemist, artist, and industrial hygienist. She is the founder and president of ACTS (Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety), a not-for-profit corporation based in New York City dedicated to providing health and safety services to the arts. She writes a monthly newsletter on government regulations and research that affect the arts and theater, and she has published numerous articles in professional journals. She is the author of five books, one of which, "The Artist's Complete Health and Safety Guide," won a 1996 Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award from the Association of College and Research Libraries.
She was born into a theatrical family and worked as a professional entertainer from ages three to seventeen. She enrolled in the University of Wisconsin where she earned a B.S. in chemistry, an M.S. majoring in ceramics and sculpture, and an M.F.A. with majors in ceramics and glassblowing and a minor in music. While in school, she worked as a chemist, taught and exhibited art work, performed with University of Wisconsin music and theater groups, and worked yearly in summer stock. After leaving school, she performed in musical and straight acting roles in Off and Off Off Broadway theaters and cabaret.
As an artist, she was in the first glassblowing courses taught at the college level by Harvey Littleton. Her ceramics, sculpture, and blown glass have been exhibited in more than forty group and four solo shows. She is a voting member of the American Society of Testing and Materials subcommittee (ASTM D-4236) that sets toxicity labeling standards for art materials
As an industrial hygienist, she worked seven years as a research chemist for the University of Wisconsin and a year with an industrial research laboratory. She has been a full professional member of the American Industrial Hygiene Association since 1984, and the health and safety director for Local 829 of the United Scenic Artists since 1995.
In 1980, Rossol developed and taught the first two college-level "Health Hazards in the Arts" courses in the United States at the University of Wisconsin. She has now taught these courses throughout the United States, Canada, and Australia. She taught the first recorded "Right to Know" OSHA training for theater in 1986 at La Cage Aux Folles in the Palace Theater in New York City, and specializes in OSHA training of art and theater workers and teachers in the United States and Canada.
Rossol is a sought-after lecturer and consultant in the United States, Canada, Australia, England, and Mexico. She lives in New York City.
