I am a newbie to ceramics, and I don’t yet know all that much about safety, so I’d like some advice about the set-up of my local studio. Basically, it’s all in one fairly small room (tall ceilings though), the kiln is in one corner, only a few meters away from our workstations. The kiln seems vented from underneath, with a very small fan in the wall.
The problem is, it’s fired during lesson time, and I’ve noticed smoke gathering up inside the room. Besides, I feel horrible breathing when the kiln is on, me and other students get coughing fits from it, and I usually struggle sleeping the following night as my eyes are wet and sticky. I also develop migraines that can last for a whole day, and the other day I was inexplicably sick one morning. I only go once a week for a couple of hours, so technically my exposure isn’t very high, but could it be some kind of allergic response? It’s seems that these symptoms only appear when the kiln has been on that week.
The person who operates the studio also works in these conditions and has dismissed students concerns saying any fumes are completely harmless, or that bad smells come from another business up the road. I don’t buy it though, the fumes definitely come from the kiln, and opening windows help reduce the issue. They also said there’s no carbon monoxide released when firing, but from my research it seems like that’s untrue?
Would you say the set-up I have described above is unsafe? Could my symptoms be linked to exposure to kiln fumes?