School fined as girl loses fingers in art lesson

snopes · #1 13 October 2009, 06:27 PM

A school in eastern England was ordered to pay $30,140 after a 16-year-old girl lost nearly all her fingers when she put her hands in a bucket of plaster of Paris during an art lesson.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_fingers

AnglRdr · #2 13 October 2009, 06:53 PM

Was she not at all supervised? Did her teacher tell her that that was how to do it?

And what's the difference between a "forefinger" and an "index finger?"

DemonWolf · #3 13 October 2009, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnglRdr

And what's the difference between a "forefinger" and an "index finger?"

That confused me too. I thought that they were the same.

Andrew of Ware · #4 13 October 2009, 08:29 PM

In the BBC report linked to below there is a picture of the girl's hands.

BBC report (warning: unpleasant photograph)

If you didn't want to look at the report it looks as if the only fingers she has left are the index finger and the middle or third finger of her right hand. The report also gives details of how the pupil did not follow the teacher's instructions, However, she had her hands in the Plaster of Paris for ten minutes before it began to set - surely the teacher should have noticed something in that time.

On a BBC Radio Two report this morning it said that other pupils tried to smash the plaster off, as did an ambulance crew. Eventually power tools at the hospital had to be used. Poor girl - but congratulations to her on getting three 'A' level passes. Depending on the grades she could now get into a university.

Here, by the way, is the BBC's original 2007 report of the accident. Apparently the school had had a similar accident two years earlier (in 2005) when a pupil lost two fingers.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6485481.stm

llewtrah · #5 13 October 2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew of Ware

Apparently the school had had a similar accident two years earlier (in 2005) when a pupil lost two fingers.

There really needs to be better supervision if plaster of paris is going to be used. It is very tempting to make casts in that way (especially if they've heard tales of penis casts being made that way) without understanding the hazards.

Maybe the school should show photos of disfigured hands and describe how it happened as a deterrent to future classes.

When I was 10/11, we were allowed to use the plaster-impregnated gauze strips. By that time I'd already had a broken arm in a plaster cast - 3 times - which made me somewhat of an expert in the teachers' eyes!

Cervus · #6 14 October 2009, 01:44 AM

$30,140 seems like an extremely small fine for such a disfigurement.

llewtrah · #7 14 October 2009, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cervus

$30,140 seems like an extremely small fine for such a disfigurement.

You have to take into account the fact the girl disobeyed instructions (she was told to make a clay mould) and the sum would be reduced because of that. It wasn't as though the teacher told her to put her hands in the plaster of paris.

Hans Off · #8 14 October 2009, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by llewtrah

There really needs to be better supervision if plaster of paris is going to be used. It is very tempting to make casts in that way (especially if they've heard tales of penis casts being made that way) without understanding the hazards.

Quite, however, until I came across the story yesterday in the paper, I was also unaware of the nature of plaster of paris!

Jay Tea · #9 14 October 2009, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hans Off

Quite, however, until I came across the story yesterday in the paper, I was also unaware of the nature of plaster of paris!

Aye it's sorta considered a 'drying' substance, but it 'sets', if you've ever had a plaster cast you know it gets pretty warm even though it's only a very thin layer, poor lass

We had a few unsupervised 'near' disasters at school. Exploding pug mill, falling stage light, starter pistol discharged rather close to an eardrum or two, but fortunately nothing serious ever occured.

Artemis · #10 14 October 2009, 02:18 PM

I had NO IDEA P of P was so dangerous. Good god. This is horrifying. Can they get her prosthetic hands or something?

Gibbie · #11 14 October 2009, 02:53 PM

Add me to the crowd of didn't know it was dangerous. I mean, didn't we use this stuff in elementary school? I remember making hand prints in it, and shell castings in it. I also remember squishing it through my fingers! Is there a different substance that's routinely called plaster of paris that's really not?

Gibbie

Jay Tea · #12 14 October 2009, 03:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gibbie

Add me to the crowd of didn't know it was dangerous. I mean, didn't we use this stuff in elementary school? I remember making hand prints in it, and shell castings in it. I also remember squishing it through my fingers! Is there a different substance that's routinely called plaster of paris that's really not?

Gibbie

Chances are you were making moulds and squidging other stuff through your fingers 'before' pouring the plaster. Alginate, or something like that...

musicgeek · #13 14 October 2009, 03:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jay Tea

Chances are you were making moulds and squidging other stuff through your fingers 'before' pouring the plaster. Alginate, or something like that...

No, I'm pretty sure Gibbie's memory is accurate, as we did the same projects. However, those molds/castings were typically done in shallow trays (or empty half-pint-size milk cartons in the case of the shell castings), and we never completely immersed our hands or objects to be cast - it was always a matter of depressing the Vaseline-coated hand, shell, etc. just into the plaster. (With the shells, we then coated the resulting mold in Vaseline and poured a second layer of plaster to create a positive relief casting.) There would be a sensation of heat as the plaster set, but the amount of plaster used and the open nature of the casting set-up prevented any serious buildup of heat from the exothermic reaction.

llewtrah · #14 14 October 2009, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gibbie

Add me to the crowd of didn't know it was dangerous. I mean, didn't we use this stuff in elementary school? I remember making hand prints in it, and shell castings in it. I also remember squishing it through my fingers! Is there a different substance that's routinely called plaster of paris that's really not?

The amount of heat generated as it sets is related to the quantity. A small amount squished through fingers isn't going to generate much heat. Ditto a small tup where you just press your hands into it to make handprints. However, a bucket of the stuff is going to get pretty hot once the reaction starts. I used it a few years ago after making some alginate moulds and I think it may be faster acting (and therefore hotter) than the stuff I recall from childhood (or, indeed, recall from having my arm mended).

Jay Tea · #15 14 October 2009, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicgeek

No, I'm pretty sure Gibbie's memory is accurate, as we did the same projects. However, those molds/castings were typically done in shallow trays (or empty half-pint-size milk cartons in the case of the shell castings), and we never completely immersed our hands or objects to be cast - it was always a matter of depressing the Vaseline-coated hand, shell, etc. just into the plaster. (With the shells, we then coated the resulting mold in Vaseline and poured a second layer of plaster to create a positive relieve casting.) There would be a sensation of heat as the plaster set, but the amount of plaster used and the open nature of the casting set-up prevented any serious buildup of heat from the exothermic reaction.

Makes sense - hospital is my only experience with the stuff, oh and pouring it into animal paw prints in the mud.

Gibbie · #16 14 October 2009, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musicgeek

No, I'm pretty sure Gibbie's memory is accurate, as we did the same projects. However, those molds/castings were typically done in shallow trays (or empty half-pint-size milk cartons in the case of the shell castings), and we never completely immersed our hands or objects to be cast - it was always a matter of depressing the Vaseline-coated hand, shell, etc. just into the plaster. (With the shells, we then coated the resulting mold in Vaseline and poured a second layer of plaster to create a positive relief casting.) There would be a sensation of heat as the plaster set, but the amount of plaster used and the open nature of the casting set-up prevented any serious buildup of heat from the exothermic reaction.

Yes! That's exactly it. It seemed so innocuous. I really had no idea it would be dangerous the way she used it.

Gibbie

snapdragonfly · #17 14 October 2009, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gibbie

Yes! That's exactly it. It seemed so innocuous. I really had no idea it would be dangerous the way she used it.

Gibbie

Yikes! I didn't know that either! And I'm an artist and former art teacher. And have always paid careful attention to toxicity, safety procedures, anything that might put out an eye or cause illness!

But I've done limited work with 3 d or plaster of paris, except a project where we poured some into the bottom of a milk carton to make a base for a sculpture. I usually research anything I'm not familiar with very thoroughly and experiment with it myself before I do it with kids, so I would hope I would have found out about th dangers of improper use of plaster of paris.