Q: Lead free pigments and safety concerns

Q: I just ordered my second copy of your book, "Silver Stain".  I gave my first copy to a colleague as a gift.  You have a lot of expertise regarding painting on stained glass.  I hope that I am not imposing on you too much if I ask for some quick advice.  Have you ever used Reusche's Lead and Cadmium free paints?  What do you think of them?   What do you think is the best source for safety advice/data regarding painting with vitreous paints and silver stains?  I am hoping to take one of your courses eventually.

A: I use them all the time. They need a little more heat than the lead versions to get the same sheen but otherwise I haven't noticed a difference. Reusche does not rate them as "weather resistant" so that is my only concern. However, unlike the artist's of prior centuries I haven't done many installations in which the window did not have some kind of protective exterior glazing. In doing restoration work, I use the leaded paints. FYI all of the transparent enamels (regardless of manufacturer) have lead - transparency without lead doesn't seem to be an option.
As for safety, when you purchase art making materials you should request a material data safety sheet also
known as an MSDS. I keep these in a three ring binder in my studio. Familiarize yourself with how to read them. When working with glass pigments inhalation or ingestion are the primary reasons for concern. Wear a respirator when handling the pigments in their dry form and adopt a wet system for cleaning things up. The respirator option I like is a disposable 3M 8233 N100 particulate respirator. It will protect you from pigment dusts but it is not sufficient for soldering fumes. You can get more information from http://www.artscraftstheatersafety.org