I think we’re all aware we shouldn’t eat our paints (at least those of us over age three or so) but when handling any chemical substance daily, it makes sense to ask – what’s in this stuff? Is it toxic to me? Is it toxic to the environment?
There’s a great deal of information out there to answer the “is it toxic to me” question, which we’ll look at in this post. The environmental impacts are much harder to discern, but perhaps just as important to learn about – we’ll look at that next week! Here’s what I’ve been able to find out – and what I’ll be doing differently going forward!
What Toxins Are In Paint?
As we learned in previous posts about pigment weight, pigments can be divided into two categories: Inorganic and Organic. Inorganic paints are made from minerals, and can be either naturally occurring or human-made. This category includes a bunch of pigments that are made from heavy metals, which are not great for human health. You’ve probably heard tales about how Vincent Van Gogh was poisoned by his paint, with lead white being a leading culprit. Historically, arsenic and mercury were also used as pigments. These days cadmium and cobalt-based pigments are the toxic colors that jump to mind. Besides being very expensive, cadmium pigments may be banned sometime in the not-to-distant future due to their toxicity. Look for a post soon about less toxic substitutes! Manganese Blue and Manganese Violet have been discontinued from most paint lines already, because of health concerns. However, Raw and Burnt Umber also contain large amounts of naturally occurring manganese. Cobalt-based pigments include Cobalt Blue, Cobalt Turquoise, and Cobalt Violet, as well as Cerulean Blue and Aureolin. Chrome Green and Viridian both contain chromium. Zinc, titanium, vanadium, copper, and nickel are also used in paints. These metals are not all equally toxic. According to Jackson’s Art: “There is widespread agreement across regulating bodies that cadmium compounds are carcinogenic, and there is evidence that they may be mutagenic and toxic to reproductive health… High concentrations of cobalt in the body can have harmful effects, including on the cardiovascular, pulmonary, endocrine, and nervous systems.” Concerns for other metals range from similar concerns about mutagens to the possibility of developing metal allergies or sensitivities.
The organic pigments sold in paints are almost entirely “synthetic organic” pigments, invented in labs and made from various coal-tar derivatives. Although “organic” sounds happy and healthy – and organic pigments are often thought of as being safer than inorganic pigments with heavy metals – this is actually highly processed tar-goo we’re talking about, and it’s not all sunshine and roses. Many pigments, including carbazole (used in Dioxyzine Violet) and phthalo pigments can create toxic chemicals during the manufacturing process (and here), including PCBs (forever chemicals linked to cancer and immune system problems) and some of the same cancer-causing toxins found in cigarette smoke. However, these chemicals don’t seem to remain in the paint in enough quantities to be rated as being hazardous (at least at this time). Other synthetic organic pigments are manufactured with metals, such as Nickel-Azo yellow, and Phthalo colors (made from copper), and can be sensitizing for those with metal allergies (according to health safety data). There’s also just less data on a lot of these pigments, because they haven’t been around as long.
Besides the pigments, some paints also contain preservatives. Because watercolors generally include some type of sugars in the ingredients (often honey), those sugars can ferment and cause paint to swell, leading to tube explosions (or paint spewing out when you unscrew the cap), as well as mold growth in pans. To stop this, various additives may be used, ranging from clove essential oil to formaldehyde. Most manufacturers don’t disclose what preservatives they use (and it may vary for different colors), however many folks with formaldehyde sensitivities report having allergic reactions to Windsor and Newton paints.
Am I Being Poisoned By My Paint?
Short answer: maybe, if you’re lackadaisical about how you handle it.
The Art and Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) evaluates art materials for both acute and chronic health hazards. Paints which have been evaluated and approved have either an “AP” (Approved Product) seal, which means they “contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans, including children,” or a “CL” (Cautionary Labeling) seal which indicates that they are not hazardous if used correctly, but that It is important to read the product label in full before opening a product, and it should not be used by children. Most professional paint lines have ACMI seals on all their products, indicating that they are safe to use.
For pigments containing heavy metals, it’s important to consider how “bioavailable” the heavy metals are. This is a measure of how readily the heavy metals can be absorbed by your body, or other animals or plants. Luckily, the heavy metals used for pigments are not very bioavailable overall, which makes using these paints safer. Chrome Green is even sold as an eye shadow because the chrome is not bioavailable. This page from Jackson’s Art has good information on this topic, if you’d like to learn more.
That said, it’s a safe bet that no industrial pigment is going to really be good for you. This was brought home for me recently when I was cleaning up 20+ messy watercolor palettes from a workshop I taught. I put all the palettes soaking in a bucket, and then foolishly scrubbed off the remaining paint with my fingers, my hands immersed in the painty water, without gloves. Later that night I woke up with hives all over my hands, which spread over my body as the night went on (don’t worry – I was fine by the next day. It just made for a stressful and itchy night.)
If you want specific information on how to safely handle any paint, the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the product is the place to look. You can find these on paint manufacturer’s websites and on Blick and other online retailers. The website artistspigments.org, is even easier to use – you can look up any pigment and read about its chemical makeup and any health precautions all in one spot.
However, most paint handing precautions are the same for every pigment, whether heavy metal-filled or not – the goal is just to keep the paint outside of your body!
Don’t Eat Paint
- Don’t share dishes or tools between your studio and kitchen
- Thoroughly wash your hands when you’re done painting, including under your nails
- Don’t eat while you paint
- Don’t lick your brushes to make them pointy (or for any other reason!)
Don’t Breathe Paint
- Wear a mask and work outside or in a ventilated space if you’re doing anything to make pigment into dust or mist; such as airbrushing, pastel painting (which makes dust), or sanding a painting
- Clean up your work area with water and dispose of paint-covered paper towels, etc. – dry paint will flake or dust off and become airborne.
Don’t Absorb Paint Through Your Skin
- Although this is much less of a concern than eating or breathing paint, you should still avoid getting paint on yourself.
- If you tend to get a lot of paint on your hands or are engaging in messy clean up, wear gloves
- Use a rubber shaper or eraser to blend opaque paint, instead of your finger
Following these precautions should keep your body safe from whatever paint you’re using. Don’t forget about protecting children and pets who share your space as well, and consider avoiding paints with the “CL” seal if you have small children in your studio.
Next week we’ll look at the third question: Is My Paint Poisoning The Environment? (As you’ve probably figured out from reading this far, the answer is “yes” – but we’ll look at the why and how, and what we as artists can do about it.)
Carrie Glessner 