- Introduction
- Acknowledgements
- 1: Getting Ready
- 2: The Costs of Space
- 3: Understanding Credit
- 4: Professional Services
- 5: Finding Space
- 6: Residential Leases
- 7: Commercial and Industrial Leases
- 8: Buying Real Estate
- 9: Types of Mortgages
- 10: The Mortgage Application
- 11: Ownership Models
- 12: Purchasing Alternatives
- 13: Chicago Zoning Ordinance
- 14: Chicago Building Code
- 15: Chicago's Neighborhoods
- 16: Property Taxes
- 17: When You Find a Property
- 18: Inspections
- 19: After Moving In
- 20: Insurance
- 21: Utilities
- 22: Rehabbing Your Space
- 23: Safe and Healthy Spaces
- 24: Green Practice
- 25: When Disputes Arise
- 26: Space Emergencies
- 27: Facility Development Planning
- Bibliography
Know Your Materials
Hazardous materials, including art products, can harm your health in many ways. Some hazardous materials can affect body surfaces on contact, or be absorbed by the body through inhalation, ingestion (swallowing) or absorption through the skin. Become familiar with the materials you work with, and how they might affect and enter your body.
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Skin and Eye Hazards: Some substances that come into contact with the skin and eyes can cause allergic reactions, skin rashes, itching, burning, redness, swelling and surface deterioration that can be severe or even life-threatening. Contact with the eyes may also produce itching, burning, redness and tearing. The eyes are particularly vulnerable to these contact injuries because the cornea -- the delicate layer of tissue over the front of the eye -- is important for vision. Damage to the cornea from direct contact with irritating substances such as cleaning agents, solvents, acids or alkalis can, if not treated properly, affect vision permanently.
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Some hazardous materials can also be absorbed through the skin into the blood stream and affect organs. These materials usually pass more easily through scrapes, cuts or rashes. Such materials may also be absorbed though the eyes.
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Ingestion Hazards (Swallowed): Some materials may be absorbed through the gastrointestinal system (mouth, stomach and intestines) and cause serious health problems in other parts of the body. Lead dust in stained glass work, for example, may contaminate the fingers and then be carried to the lips and swallowed if the dust is not washed off thoroughly. This swallowed lead can be absorbed and, over time, harm the brain, kidneys and other tissues.
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Inhaled Hazards: The respiratory system (mouth, nose, throat and lungs) is especially vulnerable to direct injury from hazardous materials. Materials that directly affect the respiratory system may trigger coughing, sneezing, gasping, wheezing, shortness of breath and other symptoms. These effects are familiar to anyone who as entered a smoke-filled room.
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Some materials can also enter the body through the respiratory system. Breathing vapors of mineral spirits or other solvents, for example, may irritate the respiratory system, but it can also be absorbed through the lungs into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, these substances can be transported to the brain, where they can cause lightheadedness, confusion and other symptoms. Over time, with repeated absorptions, some solvents can permanently affect the brain and other organs.