In Australia Resin is classified as hazardous according to the criteria of the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission (NOHSC).
Art resin is also a popular medium for creating beautiful artwork and is becoming more and more widely used in our community. Here at Sip 'n' Dip we teach informative workshops that utilise this chemical, and so because of this, we go to every effort to make disclosures far beyond those made by online retailers, or even the manufacturers of resin, for our classes.
All resin is toxic, a chemical and should always be considered dangerous - caution should always be used when working with it. Resin should always be used as directed by the manufacturer.
Anyone can purchase resin on the internet and use it without the level of disclosure and protections we put in place for our clients.
PERSONAL RESPONIBILITY
We take personal responsibility for the welfare of our clients by exercising an increased duty of care to ensure that our clients make an informed decision in their choice to attend our art classes and do so with the information available to them to make this decision properly and assess the suitability of that creative medium for their own personal situation.
This is our statement as to our duty of care and how we meet that duty for our classes.
We remind clients that they too need to take personal responsibility for the ultimate decision to participate in a resin class.
Please be advised that Sip 'n' Dip Australia will place an artist to supervise all classes and all measures will be taken to provide a safe environment for clients to enjoy resin, however, Sip 'n' Dip Australia Pty Ltd, its teachers, venues and owners takes no responsibility for personal liability and damage resulting from the use of resin in our class, at our venues or in your home. By purchasing a resin ticket you acknowledge that you understand and have read and agree to the terms and conditions listed on this page.
RESIN OF CHOICE
We have made the educated decision to choose to use Just Resin 1:2 Ratio Art Resin. We have carefully researched our options and the associated Safety Data Sheets and decided that as a medium, in our opinion, Just Resin Art Resin meets the requirements for our classes.
Note that there is a very broad range of resins on the market, whilst all resin is toxic some resins are considerably more toxic and dangerous than other kinds of resin and using resin not designed for the application you are making can be very dangerous. For this reason, we exclude Bio (or second process) resins, polyethene resins, fibreglass resins, any commercial-grade resins, and any resins not specifically designed for artistic application (including resins from bunnings).
There are two safety data sheets that relate to the Just Resin Art Resin that we use, one for part A (the resin itself) and one for part b (the curing agent or hardener). Please read them both from end to end, the first few pages are a high-level summary, but the entire document should be reviewed to ensure you make an informed decision.
You can find these here:
Just Resin Art Resin Part A (Epoxy resin)
Just Resin Art Resin Part B (curing agent for epoxy resin - hardener)
We employ protective measures for our clients in our classes, these are commonly referred to as PPE gear (or personal protective equipment. Below is an overview of what we use and in some cases don't use and why.
We have undertaken a risk assessment for each recommended PPE to determine based on the guidance in the SDS how we employ the suggested PPE based on the circumstances of their use, you can find the risk assessments here:
VENTILATION RISK ASSESSMENTS PER VENUE
For public venues where resin is used, that have current events listed, please find a list of risk assessments undertaken to assess 'adequate ventilation - note not all venues appear as we do not undertake resin at all our venues:
Brisbane CBD
The Sound Garden Expires 08/12/21
The Downunder Bar
The Pig 'n' Whistle Brunswick
The Royal Hotel
Brisbane North
The Mango Hill Tavern Expires 08/12/21
The Coffee Club Mango Hill
The Brighton Hotel
La Zucca Bald Hills Expires 08/12/21
Brisbane West
Chapters Karalee Expires 08/12/21
Fiori Kitchen + Bar Expires 08/12/21
Wolston Farmhouse Expires 08/12/21
The Pig 'n' Whistle Indooroopilly Expires 08/12/21
Wolston Gold Club Expires 08/12/21
Kenmore Tavern Expires 08/12/21
Brisbane South
The Coffee Club Browns Plains Expires 25/12/2021
The Coffee Club Loganholme Expires 25/12/2021
The Coffee Club Southgate Expires 25/12/2021
Degani Coorparoo Expires 25/12/2021
Degani Beenleigh Expires 25/12/2021
Ipswich
The coffee Club Orion Springfield Expires 08/12/21
Goodna Art Studio Expires 08/12/21
Jets Ipswich Expires 08/12/21
Arizona Cafe Redbank Expires 08/12/21
Lockyer
Plainland Lutheran College Expires 08/12/21
The Soul Nook Marburg Expires 08/12/21
Regional
The Warwick Coffee Club Expires 08/12/21
Toowoomba Coffee Club Expires 08/12/21
Tenterfield Community College
Stellarossa Toowoomba
USE OF VENTILATORS
We do not use ventilators in class, we instead provide well-ventilated areas in which to work.
The safety data sheet (both of them) reads explicitly 'Where ventilation is inadequate the use of an Air Purifying Respirator with a replacement organic vapour filter complying with AS/NZS 1716 is recommended'.
We ensure we are considering carefully and meeting this requirement by the following controls:
We provide a safety instructional discussion at the start of each class.
We provide competent teachers who monitor the resin in class as it progresses.
We provide monthly training to our teachers.
We provide well-ventilated areas in which to work.
We decant resin before classes at another location away from the venue.
We provide monthly vapour checks to ensure our areas remain well ventilated.
We provide classes that work with very small amounts of resin 50-200ml (60 ml is generally the standard amount in our classes and is broken down 20ML Hardner, 40ML resin)
We do not torch our resin (extremes of temperature cause highly toxic oxides of Nitrogen, Carbon Monoxide)
Customers are not present for longer than they need to be, and so as the curing process commences and vapours increase, they are not present for it.
EYE PROTECTION
The safety data sheet reads explicitly 'Safety glasses with side shields, goggles or full face-shield as appropriate recommended. The final choice of appropriate eye/face protection will vary according to individual circumstances i.e. methods of handling or engineering controls and according to risk assessments undertaken we meet this requirement by the following engineering controls, this combined with COVID regulations means we do not use glasses in our classes:
We provide a safety instructional discussion at the start of each class.
We provide competent teachers who monitor the resin in class as it progresses.
We provide monthly training to our teachers.
We provide well-ventilated areas in which to work.
We decant resin before classes at another location away from the venue.
We provide monthly vapour checks to ensure our areas remain well ventilated.
We provide classes that work with very small amounts of resin 50-200ml (60 ml is generally the standard amount in our classes and is broken down 20ML Hardner, 40ML resin)
We do not torch our resin (extremes of temperature cause highly toxic oxides of Nitrogen, Carbon Monoxide)
Customers are not present for longer than they need to be, and so as the curing process commences and vapours increase, they are not present for it.
GLOVES
The safety data sheet reads explicitly 'Wear gloves of impervious materials such as impervious PVC or rubber gloves. The final choice of appropriate gloves will vary according to individual circumstances' We supply gloves in all classes.
BODY PROTECTION
The safety data sheet reads explicitly 'Suitable workwear should be worn to protect personal clothing'. We provide aprons at some locations (those with laundering facilities). For all locations, we provide advice to our clients that they should wear clothing with long sleeves as a protection mechanism. At the locations where aprons are not present, customers are required to dress appropriately for class, this information is provided connected to every ticket on our line up.
COVID 19 introduced heavy fines for businesses that can not answer the question 'what are you doing to ensure you are putting measures in place to stop the spread of covid 19' the easiest way for it to spread in our classes is insufficient social distancing (which we police) and the use of reusable aprons.
HOW WE STORE RESIN / BATCH CONTROL
We store our resin in a cool, dry and well-ventilated area in our studio in Goodna. This is out of direct sunlight and the containers are kept well sealed when not in use. We store our resin in recorded batches as they enter the studio in a chemical register also located at the studio we record their use and we dispose of the used bottles carefully. The disposal is in accordance with local laws here in Ipswich City Council shire.
Very occasionally we receive a faulty batch of resin, this is the reason for our batch recording. We have a chemical register that records resin that comes in and goes out of the studio in these batches and copies of relevent SDS's are attached to this register.
POST PRODUCTION
Our resin of choice cures over the course of 7 days. Once cured it becomes food grade.
Depending on the resin class you undertake, you may take your work home or you may leave it with us. As the resin starts to cure it starts to harden. Hard does not mean cured and so we, therefore, disclose that customers that resin must be left in a level, pest/dust/hair/pet free location for 7 days before any post-production or use. Most commonly, resin cheeseboards require sanding to remove resin drips. We offer this service for free at our studio. Our staff use a properly filtered professional rubber ventilator mask with replaceable filters to undertake this task, along with safety gloves and glasses. We also use an extration fan for sanding services.
The reason for these precautions and timing is simple. When the dust from partially cured epoxy is inhaled, the particles become trapped in the mucus lining of the respiratory system and can cause serious health problems.
TORCHING / HEATING RESIN
Whilst everyone loves a mirror surface on their resin art, and torching your resin will certainly achieve that we decline to participate in torching resin in our workshops. Our choice is simple - customer safety is far more important. Just Resin Art Resin is considered stable under normal conditions.
Torching (or heating resin) is a handling method that causes extremes of temperature. This causes increased production of vapours of Nitrogen, Carbon Monoxide both of which are extremely toxic.
We feel that torching resin is a breach of our duty of care and something that there is a great deal of misinformation about available online. We also think it is a careless choice for resin workshop providers. Providers will often supply paper masks, and whilst they will be somewhat of a barrier, we still take the stance that a fitted air-purifying mask is a more suitable option when you are dealing with the increaerd vapours of Nitrogen and Carbon Monoxide produced through torching.
We prefer to cut the problem off before it becomes one and so have made the decision to simply not torch resin in workshops. We have made this informed decision based on research including reviewing the Saftey Data Sheets for the chemicals we choose to use, and in conjunction with our public liability insurance provider.
PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE
We hold and are financial for our public liability and product liability insurance our policy is 20,000,000 in cover and our insurer is Bizcover, further information can be located here:
Policy Number: BIZ065011BUS
UnderWriter: The Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd
Certificate of Currency: Here
OH&S SERVICES
We engage and pay a monthly premium to Employsure, a company that undertakes the management of our HR and OH&S responsibilities. Our paid policy covers Employment Relations and Health and Safety Statutory Liability and they provide us with our policies, record keeping, OH&S records and provide us with our position on anything to do with OH&S. This includes a physical audit of our studio and processes.
We have a procedure and policy in place for monitoring our classes to keep them safe for our clients, this includes our first aid processes, incident reporting and risk assessments for classes.
FIRST AID AND SAFETY DISCUSSIONS
Our teachers carry first aid kits and are versed in how to manage acute resin first aid situations. They discuss first aid and the process we must follow in the event of an emergency at the commencement of every class and continue to monitor it and remind clients as the class progresses.
The SDS lists the following first-aid measures:
ONGOING STAFF TRAINING & BREECHES OF COMPLIANCE PROTOCOL
We provide monthly training to our staff, this is published publically amidst our event line up. From time to time staff might forget something or make an error. We recognise human error and have a protocol in place to support the ongoing knowledge of our staff. When an error happens, we speak with the staff member involved and discuss the error and the correct process to follow in future. We document the training discussion and place it on their staff file.
DISCLOSURE ABOUT THE RISKS OF RESIN
Every listed ticket contains a link to the resin information page with instruction to read this link before attending class. Customers can also view this on the main menu of our website at any time. Teachers also disclose the risks as part of the safety instruction at the commencement of the class.
CHILDREN AND RESIN
Children are welcome in our resin classes, but caution should be exercised, and parents should make a judgement call as to the suitability of the project, the exposure to chemicals and the ability of the child to participate. Parents take on full responsibility for the supervision of their child while using resin. We operate inclusive classes but do not pretend that there are not risks involved, risks that parents should review and make a decision on. Please carefully review the safety data sheets.
PREGNANCY AND RESIN
Pregnant woman are welcome in our resin classes, but caution should be exercised, and each individual should make a judgement call as to the suitability of the project, the exposure to chemicals when deciding if they want to book. Expecting mothers take on full responsibility for this decision. Working with or exposure to certain epoxies or resins could increase your chances of having fertility problems, miscarriage, stillbirth, or a baby with birth defects. We ask that if you are expecting that you carefully review the safety data sheets.
TOXICOLOGY INFORMATION
We disclose the toxicology information for resin on each class ticket by way of a link asking clients to read thoroughly the information relating to resin before purchasing their ticket. That information is below:
Resin 2/3 of formula provided in workshops
Hardener 1/3 of formula provided in workshops
