Metal Pigments
pigment processing in India (Wikipedia)
Metal Pigments used in Paints and Inks
by Center for Safety in The Arts | Various Authors
Cadmium Poisoning European Chemical Agency
Mechanism of toxicity
Cadmium (Cd) is an extremely toxic industrial and environmental pollutant classified as a human carcinogen, according to International Agency for Research on Cancer; according to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and 1B carcinogen classified by exposure may occur.
Regulations that set permissible levels of exposure, however, are enforced to protect workers and to make sure that levels of cadmium in the air are considerably below levels thought to result in harmful effects.
Artists who work with cadmium pigments, which are commonly used in strong oranges, reds, and yellows, can easily accidentally ingest dangerous amounts, particularly if they use the pigments in dry form, as with chalk pastels, or in mixing their own paints.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium_poisoning
BEYOND CADMIUM TO MORE COLORS! – The Art Treehouse
(antimony sulfate, barium sulfate)
TOXICITY Moderate to High, Reproductive toxin
HEALTH EFFECTS
All paths of entry; dusts and fumes irritate eyes, upper respiratory tract; known affect enzymes, heart, lungs, ingestion may cause acute digestive upset, liver, kidney damage and, in extreme exposures, possible respiratory failure, coma, death, can cause ulcers on skin and anemia
USES
Pigment inantimony white 11, Naples yellow 41, usually contaminated with arsenic, a suspected carcinogen
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid powder; prevent skin contact; symptoms with ingestion may include: metallic taste, vomiting, dirrhea, irritability, fatigue, muscular pain
ARSENIC
TOXICITY
High; Suspected carcinogen
HEALTH EFFECTS
All paths of entry; corrosive to skin, mucous membranes; peripheral nervous system, kidney damage; possible skin cancer, bone marrow damage, lung cancer
USES
A metal in pigments such as cobalt violet (cobalt arsenate); green 21 and 22: emerald green (copper acetoarsenite), Scheele?s green (copper arsenite), English, Paris, Schweinfurt, Veronese greens; and yellow 39
PRECAUTIONS
Do not use; symptoms: numbness in hands and feet; chest pain, headache, vomiting, diarhhea, coma, death
CADMIUM
(cadmium sulfide, cadmium selenide)
TOXICITY
High; Reproductive toxin; suspected carcinogen
HEALTH EFFECTS
All paths of entry, irritating to eyes, skin, respiratory tract: cough, chest pain, chills, breath shortness, weakness; ingestion: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, kidney, lung damage, anemia; associated with lung and prostate cancer
USES
Ingredient in red, orange, yellow pigments: red 108, 113; orange 20, 23; yellow 37
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid powdered and pastel pigments; wear gloves; avoid ingestion and inhalation
CHROMIUM COMPOUNDS /
CHROMIUM III
(chromic oxide, chromic sulfate)
TOXICITY
Moderate to High; Reproductive toxins, Suspected carcinogen
HEALTH EFFECTS
By all routes; dermatitis, corrosive to skin, mucous membranes; respiratory irritation,lung damage; severe enteritis, fluid loss, even shock if ingested
USES
Metal in orange, yellow, green pigments
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid if possible; use local exhaust ventilation and wear gloves; avoid powdered pigments
CHROMIUM IV
(Barium, lead strontium, and zinc chromate)
TOXICITY
Suspected carcinogen
HEALTH EFFECTS Associated with cancer
PRECAUTIONS Avoid
COBALT
(cobalt arsenate, oxide, phosphate; potassium cabaltinitrite)
TOXICITY
Slight to Moderate
HEALTH EFFECTS
Eye, skin irritant, allergen; chronic inhalation may cause asthma, pneumonia, fibrosis; ingestion may cause vomiting; diarrhea; heart damage
USES
Ingredient in blue, green, yellow, and violet pigments; dryers
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid powdered pigments or paint sprays; wear gloves
COPPER
TOXICITY Slight
HEALTH EFFECTS
By skin, may discolor skin, contact with eyes may cause conjunctivitis and corneal ulcers; elemental copper is poorly absorbed orally
USES
A metal in pigments
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid powdered pigments; wear gloves
LEAD COMPOUNDS
PRECAUTIONS
(lead antimoniate, lead carbonate, lead chromate, others)
TOXICITY
High, Reproductive toxin
HEALTH EFFECTS
Inhalation and ingestion are major routes that cause lead poisoning, symptoms of which are anemia, gastroenteritis, weakness, malaise, headaches, irritability, joint and muscle pain, kidney, liver, and nervous system damage; may affect neurological development in fetuses and children; accumulates in bones and tissues; children and fetuses are more susceptible to lower doses
USES
Pigment, paint ingredient: flake white, Naples yellow, chrome yellow; white 2, 4; red 103, 104, 105; orange 21, 45; yellow 34, 46; green 15; ingredient in ink dryers
PRECAUTIONS Avoid
LEAD CARBONATE
(flake white, lead white)
TOXICITY High
HEALTH EFFECTS See lead compounds
USES
A pigment used in painting and primers
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid; substitute non-lead gesso paints and inks
LITHIUM
Slight to Moderate
HEALTH EFFECTS
Mild skin, eye, and mucous membrane irritant; if ingested, may cause fatigue, dizziness, and gastrointestinal upset; systemic absorbtion can cause; tremors, muscular weakness, seizures, coma, death
USES
Found in some pigments
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid inhalation of powdered pigments
MANGANESE COMPOUNDS
(manganese ammonium phosphate, dioxide, silicates; barium manganate)
TOXICITY Moderate to High
HEALTH EFFECTS
Can irritate eyes, muous membranes, and respiratory tract; chronic inhalation can produce behavioral disturbances and a degenerative nervous system disorder resembling Parkinsonism
USES
Dryer in inks; pigment ingredient inmars brown, raw and burnt umber, manganese blue and violet; red 48; blue 33, violet 16, black 14, 26
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid; substitute cobalt linoleate as drier; wear gloves; do not use powdered pigments
MERCURY
(mercuric sulfide)
TOXICITY High
HEALTH EFFECTS
Acute inhalation of large amounts of elemental mercury vapor may cause respiratory irritation and pulmonary edema; skin contact leads to irritation and/or sensitization; mercury salts, if acutely ingested, can cause intestinal, liver, kidney, and nervous system damage; chronic inhalation of elemental vapor, or chronic ingestion of mercury salts, can cause gum disorders, kidney damage, and permanent impairment of nervous system
USES
Pigment ingredient: vermilions, cinnabar, mercadium colors, red 106
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid all mercury compounds; vapor has no odor warning
NICKEL
TOXICITY
Moderate, Suspected Carcinogen
HEALTH EFFECTS
Common cause of severe skin allergy, chronic eczema; ingestion of salts can cause giddiness and nausea; fumes irritate respiratory tract and may cause pulmonary edema; inhalation of some nickel compounds associated with nasal and lung tumors
USES
Pigment ingredient: yellow 53, 57, green 10
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid powdered pigments and spray paints
TUNGSTEN
TOXICITY
Slight; Flammable
HEALTH EFFECTS
May irritate respiratory tract; some salts may release acid on contact with moisture; chronic exposure to tungsten carbide has been associated with lung scarring
USES
Metal used in pigments
PRECAUTIONS
Avoid powdered pigments and spray paints
As an eco artist I make all my paints from earth, chalk, flower dyes mixed with cold pressed linseed or egg yolk. I also make all the paper that they are painted on from recycled junk mail etc. My website http://www.motherearthprints.co.uk, under the further info section, tells you how to do all this. Diane Johnson
UIC Health and the Arts Program
Online Health and Safety in the Arts Library
Angela Babin: Pigment Safety
BEYOND CADMIUM TO MORE COLORS!
At one point, cadmium red was thought to be a safer alternative to vermilion (cinnabar). Because of the mercury in vermilion, it was considered the death sentence for miners. However cadmium is not really that much better. It accumulates in the body, gives no warning symptoms, and is considered by OSHA to be “extremely toxic”. For this reason most paint manufacturers have created less toxic replacements. These alternatives will often be labeled “Cadmium Hue”, or will sometimes carry the name of the manufacturer, such as “Brandname Red”.
Since the development in 1911 of hansa (azo) yellow, there have been many alternatives to cadmium introduced. Hanza yellow is cooler than cadmium yellow – not a perfect match – and so is combined with other pigments to create a hue. Indian yellow is closer to cadmium, but has it’s own unique qualities such as larger pigment particles, making it more opaque. Quinacridone is an excellent pigment used for making cool reds. However, not until napthol red was introduced did a decent warm red become available as a cadmium alternative.
The attached image with six samples shows a selection of yellows and reds for comparison. Of particular interest is the extremely high chroma of the napthol red. Old Holland sells this as Schevening Red Medium. It is deep, intense, permanent, and semi-transparent. The hansa yellow shown is used by many artists in combination with other pigments. Indian yellow is warmer, and is worthy of more attention than it gets. The quinacridones are unsurpassed for magentas. This particular madder red is a quinacridone mix that has much better lightfastness than traditional madder.
In the end, some people will hold on to a favorite color regardless of toxicity issues, but there are less toxic close approximations to cadmium available from multiple sources. In addition to looking for a perfect cadmium substitute, it might be interesting to experiment with new alternatives, and thereby discover new color combinations. For example, some artists paint a transparent glaze as a base color stroke, and then add a high chroma layer on top. The effect can be quite stunning. The possibilities for new effects are endless, with the wide range of colors now available!
Pigments
Painters use pigments in oil paints, acrylics, watercolor
paints, gouache, encaustic, poster paints, casein paints and tempera. Sometimes commercial paints such as oil enamel, epoxy paints and automobile paints are used.
Paints are pigments mixed with a vehicle or binder. Both inorganic and organic pigments are used as colorants. Dry pigments are especially hazardous because they are easily inhaled and ingested. They are used in encaustic, paper-marbleizing and in the fabrication of paint products, and will be discussed more thoroughly in the section below on pastels.
Hazards
- Poisoning can occur if toxic pigments are inhaled or ingested. The main hazard in standard painting techniques is accidental ingestion of pigments due to eating, drinking or smoking while working, inadvertent hand to mouth contact, or pointing the paint brush with the lips. If methods such as spraying, heating, or sanding are employed then there is an opportunity for inhalation of toxic pigments.
- The classic example of a toxic inorganic pigment in painting is white lead, or flake white (basic lead carbonate). Lead pigments can cause anemia, gastrointestinal problems, peripheral nerve damage (and brain damage in children), kidney damage and reproductive system damage. Other inorganic pigments may be hazardous, including pigments based on cobalt, cadmium, and manganese. (See Table 1)
- Some of the inorganic pigments, in particular cadmium pigments, chrome yellow and zinc yellow may cause lung cancer. In addition lamp black and carbon black may contain impurities that can cause skin cancer.
- Chromate pigments (chrome yellow and zinc yellow) may cause skin ulceration and allergic skin reactions (such as rashes).
- The long-term hazards of the modern synthetic organic pigments have not been well studied. (See Table 1)
Table 1 – Toxic Pigments
Known or Probable Carcinogens/Highly Toxic Pigments antimony white (antimony trioxide) barium yellow (barium chromate) burnt umber or raw umber (iron oxides, manganese silicates or dioxide)
cadmium red or orange (cadmium sulfide, cadmium selenide)
- The long-term hazards of the modern synthetic organic pigments have not been well studied. (See Table 1)
cadmium yellow (cadmium sulfide) | cadmium barium colors (cadmium colors and barium sulfate) cadmium barium yellow (cadmium sulfide, cadmium selenide, barium sulfate, | (zinc sulfide) | chrome green (prussian blue, lead chromate) | chrome orange (basic lead carbonate) | chrome yellow (lead chromate) | cobalt violet (cobalt arsenate or cobalt phosphate) | cobalt yellow (potassium cobaltinitrate) | lead or flake white (basic lead carbonate) | lithol red (sodium, barium and calcium salts of soluble azo pigment) | manganese violet (manganese ammonium pyrophosphate) | molybdate orange (lead chromate, lead molybdate, lead sulfate) | naples yellow (lead antimonate) | strontium yellow (strontium chromate) | vermilion (mercuric sulfide) | zinc sulfide zinc yellow (zinc chromate)
Moderately Toxic Pigments/Slightly Toxic Pigments
According to a recent study by the National Institutes of Health, the common pigment alizarin crimson is considerably more toxic than previously thought, and should be considered to be in the ‘toxic’ category, as the new findings suggest. (liver enzyme toxicity and damage to the immune system).
“The toxic effects of alizarin red S on catalase at the molecular level“
alizarin crimson (lakes of 1,2-dihydroxyanthaquinone or insoluble anthraquinone pigment)
— also see note above — | carbon black (carbon)
| cerulean blue (cobalt stannate)
cobalt blue | (cobalt stannate)
| cobalt green (calcined cobalt, zinc and aluminum oxides) | chromium oxide green (chromic oxide)
| manganese blue (barium manganate, barium sulfate) | prussian blue (ferric ferrocyanide)
| toluidine red (insoluble azo pigment)
| toluidine yellow (insoluble azo pigment)
| viridian (hydrated chromic oxide)
| zinc white (zinc oxide)
Precautions
- Obtain MSDSs on your paints to find out what pigments you are using. This is especially important
because the name that appears on the tube of color may or may not truly represent the pigments present.
Manufacturers may keep the name of a color while reformulating the ingredients. - Use the least toxic pigments possible. Do not use lead or carcinogenic pigments.
- Avoid mixing dry pigments whenever possible.
- If dry pigments are mixed, do it inside a glove box (a box with a glass or plexiglas top and holes in the front.
- Avoid mixing dry pigments whenever possible.
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