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I'm confused too! I know many brands continue to offer Cadmium paints, and have a few myself. I don't eat or inhale any of them, but do wonder about disposal of my dirty brush water. I've been told many foods we eat contain Cadmium, including vegetables. I wonder if some get their color from it, probably not. I wonder if it was introduced into our foods by man??? Hope someone who knows something about Cadmium in general contributes to he thread. Great question!!!
Cadmium is toxic to us and getting things onto your skin is sometimes more toxic than eating them. Our digestive system is essentially an isolated tube running through our system and, when healthy, can keep things from filtering into your body. However, skin is actually our largest organ and is exposed - we take things right in. Because of the toxic load in our food and water, I saw this news and wondered if they are simply doing this as an additional effort to protect people or if perhaps the elements they use to create the color have become more rare and they are switching to others that are also cadmium-free.
I had blood work completed a couple of years ago that showed I had near toxic levels of mercury and cadmium in my blood. The first thing they asked me in relation to the cadmium was if I was a painter or worked in a nail salon (that’s where they normally see people with these results). Apparently it is something that can get into your system very easily just by breathing it in.
Cadmium is toxic to us and getting things onto your skin is sometimes more toxic than eating them. Our digestive system is essentially an isolated tube running through our system and, when healthy, can keep things from filtering into your body. However, skin is actually our largest organ and is exposed - we take things right in. Because of the toxic load in our food and water, I saw this news and wondered if they are simply doing this as an additional effort to protect people or if perhaps the elements they use to create the color have become more rare and they are switching to others that are also cadmium-free.
I had blood work completed a couple of years ago that showed I had near toxic levels of mercury and cadmium in my blood. The first thing they asked me in relation to the cadmium was if I was a painter or worked in a nail salon (that’s where they normally see people with these results). Apparently it is something that can get into your system very easily just by breathing it in.
WOW, your post is such an eye opener! Do you think it was from paint? Still wondering about the amount found in foods, I love chocolate, and understand it's found in cocoa.
Well, cadmium is toxic. Scroll down -- there is a big safety section that goes in to detail. Cadmium - Wikipedia
Got it! I do remember reading somewhere it is found in cocoa and some other foods. Thanks to the article I now see fertilizers and a high cadmium content in agricultural soils are the culprits, for some reason I thought it was naturally occuring . Thanks, helpful read!
WOW, your post is such an eye opener! Do you think it was from paint? Still wondering about the amount found in foods, I love chocolate, and understand it's found in cocoa.
You know, I’m really not sure. I’m a stamper and use a lot of ink, but only recently got into watercoloring (not acrylics or other mediums). I do have my nails painted occasionally, but they assured me it would come from more routine exposure. Truth is, I could have been exposed years ago (drinking tainted water?) and just carried it with me until This doctor decided to check.
I use cadmium watercolor, sometimes acrylic but not too often. I don't usually get covered in watercolor paint. My husband on the other hand has stopped using cadmium paints most of the time, he's a messy artist lol.
The Frugal Crafter has posted before about heavy metals being present in some art supplies like paints. They have been used for a long time because of their colors. I had always thought that is why there are student grades of art supplies, they might not be the classic color, or light safe, or whatever, but they are safer.
Having had a couple of training sessions with Winsor & Newton technical staff, I think the main factor between students and professional isn't taking toxicity into account, it's purely budget-related. The student ranges are pretty much synthetic, which is why they sell at the same price point across the range. The professional ranges often use naturally occurring pigments, some of which are more expensive to extract, and the price points vary much more. At one stage lapis lazuli was in extreme short supply because of the situation in Afghanistan, where a lot of it was mined, and one particular blue paint was only available in the student version for quite some time. Historically, at least according to the story the chief chemist told us, they did withdraw one particular green in the professional range because of its toxicity.
If you want a fascinating read on colour and pigment, I highly recommend "Bright Earth, the Invention of Colour" by Philip Ball : https://www.amazon.com/Bright-Earth-.../dp/0099507137
I read something in a watercolor book once about colors that have toxic ingredients in them but I can't remember what book. Cadmium was one ingredient and I am pretty sure cobalt is another and is rarely used to make cobalt blue anymore as a result. I just took a quick look at one of my books but didn't find the info. If I do find it I would be happy to post here but I've read a lot of books from the library as well so may not be able to find the info again.
I copied this information from "From the Studio" blog. This is good information that anyone using any types of paints, whether watercolor, acrylic, oil, or others, should be aware of.
I have a confession to make. I have a background in the chemical industry. So when I see those hazard warnings on the back of my paints I take notice. Health and safety isn't often mentioned in connection with fine arts, but we are exposed to more toxins than we may be aware of. You may know that the cadmiums are toxic but what about your other paint colors? Are they toxic? I am not saying do not use toxic paints. In fact, my research leads me to believe that would be pretty much impossible, but you should know what you are handling and take care.
A little chemistry: most, but not all, of the toxicity issues are associated with heavy, or toxic, metals such as copper, cobalt, cadmium, lead. Over time these poison the body and many are known or suspected to be carcinogens. If you remember your periodic table from chemistry, these are transition metals from that central section. So a quick rule of thumb is that if there's a heavy metal in the pigment name, it's probably toxic.
Below are lists of highly toxic and moderately toxic pigments used in acrylic and oil paints, possibly in pastels and other dry media too. Since color names can be inconsistent, the pigment name follows in parentheses. The pigment used is usually listed somewhere on the tube. Also, the paint manufacturer will have Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on their website. Some of the 'hue' colors contain less toxic pigments, e.g. my Cadmium Red Hue contains Toluidine Red (moderately toxic) in place of Cadmium Red (highly toxic), however it is not as opaque as a true cadmium red. Highly Toxic Pigments
antimony white (antimony trioxide)
barium yellow (barium chromate)
burnt or raw umber (iron oxides, manganese silicates or dioxide)
cadmium red, orange or yellow (cadmium sulfide, cadmium selenide)
chrome green (Prussian blue, lead chromate)
chrome orange (lead carbonate)
chrome yellow (lead chromate)
cobalt violet (cobalt arsenate or cobalt phosphate)
cobalt yellow (potassium cobalt nitrate)
lead or flake white (lead carbonate)
lithol red (sodium, barium and calcium salts of azo pigments)
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
alizarin crimson
carbon black
cerulean blue (cobalt stannate)
cobalt blue (cobalt stannate)
cobalt green (calcined cobalt, zinc and aluminum oxides)
chromium oxide green (chromic oxide)
Phthalo blue and greens (copper phthalocyanine)
manganese blue (barium manganate, barium sulfate)
Prussian blue (ferric ferrocyanide)
toluidine red and yellow (insoluble azo pigment)
viridian (hydrated chromic oxide)
zinc white (zinc oxide)
How to handle toxic paints safely
Do not use the same containers for paints that you do for food or drink. Well, duh, but thought I'd put it in anyway.
Do not put paint brushes in your mouth! Use a brush holder or a piece of kitchen towel.
Wash hands thoroughly after each painting session.
Even better, wear latex gloves whilst painting, or at least whilst using the toxic pigments. I hate wearing gloves but after researching this topic I will be wearing them. Simple as that.
Wear a dust mask if you handle pigment powders. Make sure it's the right one and keep it clean!
Do not have food in your studio and use covered drinks containers.
Since we don't want heavy metals in our rivers either, wipe up paints with kitchen towel and dispose of in the trash, not down the drain.
If you sand your paints at all (as an acrylic painter, yes I do) then wear a respiratory mask. Keeping the paint surface damp as you sand also keeps the dust down.
When I decided to try water coloring, I spent a lot of time researching watercolors. As soon as I read on the Daniel Smith website that they did not use toxic Cadmium pigments I was sold. They cost a little more but I think it is worth it.
This is my first time to ask anything... My question is do the Ranger Distressed inks or the Close to my Heart or Stampin up inks have this STUFF in them.... I jsut looked and my refill bottles and can't find anything about this on them.....Yeaks!
This is my first time to ask anything... My question is do the Ranger Distressed inks or the Close to my Heart or Stampin up inks have this STUFF in them.... I jsut looked and my refill bottles and can't find anything about this on them.....Yeaks!
Heavy metals are likely only in expensive fine art supplies. I am no expert, but wouldn’t expect them in any regular craft supply.
LOL, I thought of this thread last night while watching a DVR'd episode of a medical drama where someone was extremely ill because their metal hip replacement had Cobalt and Chromium in it.
...before anyone panics, I seriously doubt that would really happen since it is a well know fact that these metals are toxic.
Unfortunately, the issue in that medical drama is real. Metal on metal hip replacements are done with (or were done with) metals that contain both toxic metals. The problem comes with wear in the joint.
I wish that there was more info about this years ago. One issue that could develop from that toxicity is Alzheimers. My mom had three metal joint replacements and died of Alzheimers a few years ago.
Exactly. Artists of the past, as well as artists of the present, are affected by the materials they use. Many have died. To be sure, they likely didn't know how toxic the materials they were using were at the time.
Then again, depression was treated with mercury and it was added to wine to make so-so wine taste sweeter, so paint wasn't everything!
I've even read how some paints in some artist's paintings continue to emit toxic gasses several hundred years later. And how the green color in Victorian wallpaper killed the families who put it on their walls.
People usually know about how toxic arsenic, mercury, and lead are today. But they are still learning of the toxicity of other compounds.
What is the problem w cadmium?
