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Wah Keung
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http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010116/us/fog_machines_2.html
Tuesday January 16 2:51 PM ET
Stage Fog Blamed for Vocal Problems
By KELLY YAMANOUCHI, Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Those clouds of manmade fog that dazzle
audiences nightly at operas, concerts and Broadway shows around the
country may be doing more than creating atmosphere.
Opera chorus singer Pamela Dale says the fog is making her cough.
Even worse, she says, it is keeping her from reaching high notes
during performances.
``I'm just trying to keep my job,'' Dale says. ``But how can you sing
when you're coughing?''
Dale, who sings with the San Francisco Opera, is one of many
performers from New York to Seattle who have filed workers'
compensation claims complaining of respiratory problems, throat
irritation and other ailments that they blame on theatrical fog.
The type of fog that has given Dale the most problems, she says, is
made from a chemical called glycol. It has been found to be safe in a
number of studies and is used without problems in many performances.
But over the past 18 months, the 52-year-old singer has filed more
than 50 complaints with the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration, resulting in nine citations.
OSHA found that the San Francisco Opera needed to provide more
training and education about the fog, something that has been
completed, according to opera spokeswoman Elizabeth Connell Nielson.
``We are continually looking for whatever is the safest and most
effective means of getting the kind of production results we want and
need,'' she says. ``We take very seriously any problem or complaint
any artist might have.''
The San Francisco Opera says it dropped glycol fog more than a year
ago because of Dale's complaints and because stage designers want
different effects. They have instead used mineral oil, liquid
nitrogen or dry ice, or combinations of those.
Dry ice has been found to be safer, according to Michael McCann, who
did a report on fog for the Center for Safety in the Arts.
But Dale says the mineral oil fog also irritates her throat.
The San Francisco Opera has permitted Dale and at least two other
singers to skip any performances in which fog is used, including the
current production of Mozart's ``The Magic Flute.'' As a result, Dale
is putting in about half her usual performances.
``Our industrial hygienist has met with the chorus and said if you
feel that you might have some sort of reaction to this, you're not
going to lose your job, you're not going to lose your pay,'' says
Russ Walton, the opera's director of human resources.
Alexandra Nehra, another San Francisco Opera singer who has filed a
workers' compensation claim, says her problems started during a
performance of Verdi's ``Nabucco'' during a scene that used fog and
propane torches. ``I was coughing up black stuff,'' Nehra says.
Glycol fog machine manufacturer Rosco International of Stamford,
Conn., maintains the fog is safe when used properly, meaning not
``overfogging'' and using only fluid recommended by the manufacturer.
``We have been advised over the years that this is an extremely safe
material to be around,'' says Eric Tishman, senior product manager.
Even so, Tishman says the minimum amount of fog needed to achieve an
effect should be used, or it could cause dryness in the throat and
nose.
Others maintain that the fog cannot do any permanent damage.
``When somebody sees a smoke or fog like this, it's a psychological
problem,'' says Jim Kehrer, head of pharmacology and toxicology at
the University of Texas. ``If you see some sort of fog or smoke
rolling at you, and you already have a breathing problem, it's going
to get worse.''
A 1995 study commissioned by Actors' Equity Association and conducted
by Consultech Engineering, a consulting company, found that
fog-exposed performers were much more likely to report respiratory
problems.
Another study, conducted by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health in 1994, found no evidence that the fog causes
asthma as long as it is used correctly.
But because the fog can be irritating or drying, the institute said,
exposure to the fog should be minimized, the fluids should be heated
to the lowest temperature necessary and the proper fluids should be
used.
Singers are not the only ones to complain. In 1995, nearly a third of
the 25 members of the pit orchestra in the Broadway production of
``Beauty and the Beast'' complained of asthma-like effects, according
to Bill Moriarity, president of American Federation of Musicians
Local 802. One lawsuit was filed, and it is pending.
Some audience members have also claimed to have suffered reactions.
The San Francisco Opera posts notices to audiences when fogs or other
special effects are used, though it is not required by law to do so.
Dale says that opera houses should be more creative with lighting and
rely more on the audience's imagination instead of fog.
But ``they'll stop using it when someone like Luciano Pavarotti gets
a reaction to stage fog,'' says lawyer Steven Weiss, whose client
Will Roy, an opera singer, received an undisclosed settlement from
the Cleveland Opera after claiming he suffered an allergic reaction
in 1990.
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