Aboutlyn buerger Expertise Questions about construction of stained glass using copper foil or lead. Repair, designing a pattern, how I go about helping my customers achieve their goals.
Experience I've been doing stained glass for about 35 years. Teach stained glass in my studio and at the local University (UTA Eontinuing Edu)for over 25 years.
Organizations Many art related organizations, and several business organization Ecademy, RYZE, LINKEDIN.
Publications Many trade magazine and have published several art/craft instrucitonal books.
Education/Credentials Some formal college, but no degree. I just took classes that I thought would help me through life and did not work toward a degree.
Question Does the lead in stained glass windows "rust" and achieve a crumbling state that would pose a health hazard? How do you deal with it?
Answer I am not a scientist and I will do some research and see if I can find anything for you on this subject. But, having said that, I've been doing stained glass for about 35 years and am somewhat familiar with older pieces of stained glass from having repaired many of them.
The lead will oxidize but doesn't do what I would call "rust". It does get darker and darker as it ages and at some point it becomes quite difficult to solder; a condition that I contributed to the oxidation. I have worked on pieces that were over 100 years old and they were not "crumbling" but were definitely aged and near impossible to solder.
I do not think that stained glass poses a health threat unless you were to eat it. Normal hygiene will remove any lead from your hands from working with stained glass. I can't imagine a situation where leaded glass would cause problems. When my students ask health questions about the lead in the process (from the lead channel and the solder) I tell them just don't "eat" it.
If I can find more information I'll follow up.
lyn
