Most art supplies we buy for kids are non-toxic, since—as we all know—kids aren’t too discriminating about what they put in their mouths. As adults, do we need to be concerned about our own supplies?
Getting messy is fun for adults too, and often part of the process. I’ve never bothered to use gloves over the years and transfer paint from my hands to my face and even my hair. Over the years I’ve used oil, acrylic and—more recently—watercolor paints.
For many of the paints, we just need to use common sense. Manufacturers are required to put warning labels on products with chronic adverse health hazards, so read labels and check MSDS sheets for the various pigments you use. Wash hands immediately after use. Keep all adult art supplies out of reach of children and pets.
Paints containing copper, zinc oxide, cobalt and nickel are more of a concern. The long-term hazards of using toxic pigments over time can include: damage to kidneys and liver, respiratory allergies, lung damage, and even cancer. Immediate symptoms of exposure to certain pigments and chemicals (acute toxicity) can be fatigue, irritation of eyes and skin, shortness of breath, wheezing cough, chest tightness, and chest pain. (Details on concerning substances and their side-effects are listed below.)
I imagine the real concern isn’t so much the small quantities absorbed or inhaled by the average artist, than the effect of the waste products of the art community as a whole on our environment. Once toxic substances enter the water and food supply, then we’re ingesting them. I’ll address that further below.
Back in the Day
When I was in art school in the early to mid-80s, little attention was given to the potential hazards of supplies. In 1988, Proposition 65 went into effect in California, requiring warnings on products containing chemicals that might cause cancer or reproductive harm. These products will often contain a yellow triangle warning symbol and the phrase “known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.” I’m guessing that the school disposed of toxic materials responsibly, but I have no memory of these issues being addressed in any classes I took.
As a graphic designer, I worked for a few printing companies early on in my career. We were required to read Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and sign a waiver due to the hazardous (and possibly carcinogenic) materials used in printing inks and press wash. While I wasn’t often in the press room, the fumes from the solvents used to clean inks off the presses drifted into the area I worked in enough to give me headaches. It’s painful to think of what the press operators themselves were exposed to.
Printing industry employees work daily with potentially hazardous materials in inks, pigments, and cleaning solvents, not to mention paper dust and the noise from a room full of presses. Goggles and gloves were recommended (and often ignored), but no safety training was provided, it was purely for owner protection. My husband, Patrick also worked as a printer for several years early in his career. Decades later, we’re aware of at least two printer friends who have died of cancer—and that’s just among the few we’ve managed to keep in touch with.
These days, I’ve become more aware of and careful about what I put in and on my body. I check labels and because I’ve developed a few chronic issues as I’ve aged, I’ve chosen to avoid toxins and search for other options. Sometimes, we just don’t question the wisdom and ethics of the pigments we use. (Case in point: Mummy Brown pigment, popular in sixteenth-century Europe, was made from ground Egyptian mummy bodies. It wasn’t until the 1960s that its use was discontinued. On that note, we’ll move on to precautions.)
Precautions for Use
Manufacturers suggest the following precautions when using hazardous pigments and materials: Provide adequate ventilation (or use suitable respiratory protection), avoid contact with eyes and skin, use barrier creams or gloves to prevent skin contact, wash hands thoroughly after handling. Do not eat, drink or smoke when using these products, and wash clothing before reuse.
I used to have a bad habit of keeping a drinking glass nearby when I painted. I stopped that after I lifted a glass of turpentine to my face without thinking. The smell snapped me out of my distracted state long before I would have taken a sip, but it did get me to thinking that even having a drinking glass in the area was probably not wise. A no-brainer, right?
I also caught my cats drinking out of my brush rinse water a couple of times. Why this is a temptation when they have fresh water available to them at all times, is beyond me—but I suspect it has something to do with the old adage about curiosity and cats. That said, they are now banished from my work area. Cats and painting just don’t mix for a number of reasons.
I’ll throw in another bit of trivia I came across recently that illustrates the point that what we don’t know can hurt us: evidence suggests that Napoleon had lifelong exposure to arsenic, which was widely used in green pigments during the nineteenth century. Because arsenic is also toxic to microorganisms, it slows down decomposition, which likely explains the extraordinary condition of his body when exhumed in 1840 for reburial in Paris. Yikes!
We’re a little more informed these days, but we don’t know what we don’t know —so it is still wise to take precautions!
Material Safety Data Sheets for Popular Paint Brands
- Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors MSDS
- M. Graham Safety Data Sheets
- Qor Modern Watercolors Health & Safety
- Schmincke Safety Data Sheets
- Sennelier Safety Data Sheet
- Winsor & Newton Health & Safety Information
Colors to Avoid
- Daniel Smith: Cobalt Yellow, Cobalt Green Deep, Cobalt Green Pale, Cobalt Blue, Cobalt Turquoise, Cobalt Violet Deep, Cobalt Violet Light, Cobalt Teal Blue, Nickel Titanate Yellow, Nickel Azo Yellow
- Golden Artist Colors / QoR Watercolors: Ardoise Gray, Aureolin Modern, Bohemian Green Earth, Burnt Sienna (Natural), Burnt Umber, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Purple, Cadmium Red Deep, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Yellow Primrose, Carbon Black, Cerulean Blue Chromium (PB 36), Chinese White, Cobalt Blue, Cobalt Blue Deep, Cobalt Green, Cobalt Teal, Cobalt Turquoise, Cobalt Violet, Cold Press Ground, French Cerulean Blue (PB 28), Hookers Green, Indian Yellow, Indigo, Iridescent Gold (Fine), Iridescent Pearl (Fine), Ivory Black, Manganese Blue, Naples Yellow, Neutral Tint, Nickel Azo Yellow, Nickel Yellow, Olive Green, Paynes Gray, Paynes Gray Cool, Permanent Gamboge, Permanent Green Light, Phthalo Blue / G.S., Phthalo Green / B.S., Phthalo Turquois, Quinacridone Gold, Raw Sienna (Natural) 20 7000485 Raw Umber (Natural), Sap Green, Sepia, Sevres Blue, Terre Verte, Titan Buff, Titanium White, Viridian Green, Watercolor Ground, Yellow Ochre (Natural) 20
- M. Graham: Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cerulean Blue, Cerulean Blue Deep, Cobalt Blue, Cobalt Green, Cobalt Teal, Cobalt Violet, Nickel Azo Yellow, Nickel Quinacridone Gold
- Schminke: Brilliant Yellow Dark, Cadmium Orange Deep, Cadmium Orange Light, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red Deep, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Middle, Cadmium Red Orange, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Yellow Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Yellow Middle, Chrome Yellow Lemon (no lead), Chrome Yellow Light (no lead), Cobalt Blue Deep, Cobalt Cerulean, Cobalt Green Dark, Cobalt Green Pure, Cobalt Green Turquoise, Cobalt Turquoise, Green Yellow, Naples Yellow, Sap Green, Translucent Yellow
- Sennelier: Cadmium Green, Cadmium Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Red Light, Cadmium Red Orange, Cadmium Red Purple, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Yellow Light, Cadmium Yellow Orange
- Winsor & Newton: Cobalt Blue Deep, Cobalt Violet, Cadmium Colors, Chinese White
Toxic Pigments
- Cadmium Compounds: are classified by IARC, NTP, and OSHA as probably carcinogenic in humans through inhalation. OSHA also classifies such compounds as causing lung and kidney disease. WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer by means of inhalation.
- Carbon Black: IARC classification as Group 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans. WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer. (Applies to airborne particles of respirable size only)
- Chromium and some of its compounds: are considered carcinogenic, both in animals and humans. Evidence of Chromium (III) compounds carcinogenicity, in pigment form is inconclusive. May cause delayed effects involving the respiratory system. Eye and skin irritant.
- Cobalt: Individuals hypersensitive to cobalt may develop asthma, bronchitis, or shortness of breath. May cause skin sensitization. Cobalt compounds, when used as anti-foams, have caused cardiac damage when ingested with large quantities of fluids. IARC lists cobalt and cobalt compounds as possible human carcinogens and notes inadequate evidence of carcinogenicity in humans based upon animal studies.
- Copper: Inhalation and ingestion are dangerous. Short term exposure induces cold-like symptoms and may irritate the eye. Long term exposure can cause skin irritation and discoloration in skin or hair.
- Crystalline Silica: Considered a carcinogen through particulate inhalation. WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer. (Applies to airborne particles of respirable size only)
- Iron Oxide: Can cause respiratory problems.
- Manganese: Overexposure may affect the central nervous system and lungs, resulting in transitory psychosis, tiredness, weakness, and pneumonitis. May aggravate preexisting neurological conditions.
- Quinacridones: May cause dermatitis. Eye, skin irritant.
- Nickel: IARC and NTP state there is sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experiments with animals and humans. Ingestion may result in damage to the testes. May cause skin irritation. WARNING: This product contains a chemical known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- Phthalocyanines: May cause dermatitis. Eye, skin irritant.
- Titanium Dioxide: Listed by IARC under category 2B, possibly carcinogenic to humans.
- Zinc: Overexposure may result in fever, chills, muscular pain or nausea.
What is Safe to Buy
Products with the AP (Approved Product) Seal of the Art & Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (ACMI) are certified in a program of toxicological evaluation by a medical expert to contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic to humans or to cause acute or chronic health problems. These products are certified by ACMI to be labeled in accordance with the chronic hazard labeling standard ASTM D 4236 and Federal law, P.L. 100-695 and there is no physical hazard as defined with 29 CFR Part 1910.1200(c).
Safety for the Environment
These toxic chemicals are not only a hazard to us, but they are also considered dangerous for the environment. Manufacturers advise that we “avoid discharge into drains or watercourses or onto the ground. Avoid discharge to the aquatic environment.” Now that I’m aware of the potential hazards, I just do not buy the colors with these warnings. If they are not safe for me or my environment, why would I want to handle them?
M. Graham had a web page dedicated to their commitment to the environment. It genuinely seems to be a priority for them, in every aspect of their business.
Golden (maker of Qor watercolors) uses a fair amount of toxic ingredients in their pigments. However, they do offer detailed instructions on how to remove water-based paint solids from rinse water (and even provide a vendor list for the necessary supplies). That said, it’s no simple process. Our county offers a Household Hazardous Waste Day on the first Saturday of each month and that seems like a simpler option.
Other items that need to be disposed of properly include solvents (like paint thinners), pigments, rags, tarps and aerosol cans (that fixatives come in). Leftover art supplies that you no longer need can be donated to local arts organizations.
In Summary
Will I stop painting? Of course not. We live in a toxic world where even organic vegetables are tainted by toxin-laden rain. I’m not going to sweat what I can’t control, but when I can make a safer or more responsible choice, I will. And, as I reorder my art supplies, I will keep safer options in mind and support environmentally-conscious companies whenever possible.
I no longer buy paints with hazardous materials warnings. There are just so many other beautiful colors to work with. I stay away from toxic cadmium and cobalt but don’t plan on giving up the quinacridones (which are only known to cause minor skin irritation). I also do my best to handle my materials in a way that will preserve this beautiful and inspiring world we live in.
How do you take precautions with your art supplies? Is it a concern for you or not? Leave your thoughts in the comments area below…
References
Sources and additional information:
McCouat, Philip. The Life and Death of Mummy Brown, Journal of Art in Society, 2013. http://www.artinsociety.com/the-life-and-death-of-mummy-brown.html
Marshall, Amy S. Harmless Hobby? Watch Out for Toxic Art Supplies. University of Virginia Health System, 30 November, 2017. https://blog.uvahealth.com/2017/11/30/toxic-art-supplies
Tsai, Chung-Jung, I-Fang Mao, Jo-Yu Ting, Chi-Hsien Young, Jhih-Sian Lin and Wei-Lun Li. Quality of Chemical Safety Information in the Printing Industry. Oxford Journals, Annals of Occupational Hygiene, 13 November, 2015.
What is a Carcinogen? American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/general-info/known-and-probable-human-carcinogens.html
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