In the field of ceramic tableware, lead has traditionally been used in glazes and low melting fluxes (combined with pigments to form colours). Cadmium has largely been used in the form of cadmium sulphoselenide pigments, to generate red, orange and yellow colours. Cadmium can also feature in fluxes for these colours. This paper largely concentrates on glazes, reviewing unleaded formulations researched and giving an indication of the extent to which the UK tableware industry is converting to unleaded glaze formulations. An initiative by Middlesex and Galway Universities, Galway Crystal & Royal Brierley Crystal is reviewed, addressing the question "how safe are the elements we propose to replace lead with?" through a progrmme of factory dust/volatiles monitoring and metal release testing. Finally, the difficulties of finding replacements is discussed.
