Category: Hazard & Art

Fumes is a common problem for artists nowadays. Oil painting, air brushing, spray paint or anything that emits toxins in the air is dangerous to one’s health. Inhaling solvents and its pigments are hazardous to our health. They cause a variety of health issues like cancer, respiratory disease, allergies etc. When inhaled many people suffer from headaches, dizziness and nausea. Ventilation is very important and opening windows is not enough. Artists find giant filters as a great help in eliminating these fumes. However, this equipment is not cheap and many artists hardly can afford it.

Here are some options:

• Wear a respirator. This is effective especially when spray painting.
• When using odorless thinners get yourself some air tight medium holders. This will prevent the fumes from mixing with the air in your studio.
• Open your windows when dealing with fumes.

There’s a whole variety of toxic solvents. Some of this are common in many art studios. A lot of people are still using them as an art material. Many are not aware of the health hazards they can cause. Here are some toxic solvents that should be use with care and precaution.

1. Lacquer Thinner. Lacquer is a mixture of a variety of different solvents like petroleum, aromatics, ketones, esters, alcohols and glycol ethers. These are all toxic in their own way and we have a difficulty of understanding what are all this thing added to make lacquer thinner.

Why should we avoid lacquer thinner?

• It evaporates both quickly and slowly. It can be inhaled inside the body.
• It can cause reproductive harm
• It is highly flammable

2. Turpentine. This is a commonly used solvent that is also toxic. Chronic exposure can harm the skin that can cause allergies, liver, kidneys and nerves. It causes contact dermatitis; this is a reaction very common to artists working with these ingredients.

Odorless minerals like Gamsol are less toxic. This contains few of those aromatic solvents that we find in lacquer thinner and turpentine. However, this can still be absorbed in the skin. So you still need to be careful when working with them.

3. Paint removers. We should also be careful when using this ingredient. This contains methylene chloride that is very volatile. It is easily inhaled and absorbs through the skin. It is known to be a carcinogen and mutagen. When inhaled, it can damage the liver, kidneys and brain.

The art studio is always considered as a safe, calm and creative space to create vibrant arts. But the art studio maybe more of a dangerous place than you think. Art is something for the care. Art is something for the carefree and creative spirit. If you’re an artist, you don’t want to be the person who creates an installation that ends up injuring everyone that goes to see it. Health and safety is important.

If you’re planning an installation or a performance piece, first of all consider the following:

• Think about where you’re going to do it.
• What space will you need?
• Who will be your audience?
• Can your audience move freely around the space? If so, how are you going to keep them there?
• Does the work itself create any hazards or could it have an adverse effect on the audience?
• It’s also worth checking what is and isn’t allowed in the venue well in advance.
• Once you’ve got your location sorted, before you begin doing anything, you’ll probably have to fill out a risk assessment to show the owners of the space you’re using that what you’re doing is safe.
• In order to get the most creativity out of your performance or installation, you need to think logistically about what you can achieve.
• The bottom line is that whatever you do, you need to make sure that it’s safe.

Making ceramics is a form of art and its fun. Most ceramics are colored and what they fondly use to color them are glazes. Before using these colorants check the box and read all labels. Sometimes they do not have labels but all should contain warnings. The colorants in ceramics usually contain nontoxic and toxic ingredients. Cadmium and lead are usually found in these colorants. They are known to be neuro toxic compounds. Both are also carcinogenic.

When working with ceramics you also have to work with clay. There are options when working with this material. One option is working with dry clay and mixing them yourself. The common problem working with dry clay is you can generate a lot of dust. These dusts contain crystalline silica which when inhaled can cause impairment of your lung function.  It may also be a cause to serious lung disease like silicosis and lung cancer. A good way to avoid this is getting your clay pre wetted. This type of clay generates no dust until you finally end up using it.

Ways to avoid people from inhaling these dusts:

1. Use a mask or a respiratory protection that can help block these particles.
2. Using a vacuum with a high efficiency particulate air filter can filters out the fine dust and keeps it from being suspended in the air.
3. Wet mop your floor to pick up any dust particulates. Avoid sweeping them.

Unfortunately, in the art world there are a lot of misinformation that creates unnecessary fear for people who wants to start an art activity.

Here are some basic studio safety protocols to follow when dealing with art materials.

1. Many people believe that cadmium colors are highly toxic. Is this statement correct? Many art materials contain cadmium however in small amounts. They usually contain cadmium salt which is not enough to be toxic. The only way you get cadmium poisoning is to literary eat or ingest the paint. So make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before eating.
2. Avoid inhaling the paints. Especially in its dry form. These is especially true when spray painting.
3. When using paints containing lead be sure not to sand it and inhale the dry components. Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after very use.

4. Use protective gears and creams while using these art materials. There are some creams designed to help protect your skin from these harmful elements. When working with pastels dry pigments usually sticks in your hand. This may dry and irritate your skin. Use creams and soaps that is designed to help avoid this.

5. When painting with oils you usually need thinners. Try using thinners that are odorless. This made with lesser toxins. Make sure that your windows are open when using thinners. If you have the extra cash, invest on an air filter that will filter out toxic elements in the air.

6. Dispose of your used art materials properly. Do not dump them in your sink. This will contaminate the environment.

7. Be careful not to live oily rugs in a container to avoid fires. Soak this rugs in water to prevent spontaneous combustion.

Many art materials contain ground metals. These materials come from rocks which have colorants that are powdered.  Without our knowledge some of this are very hazardous to one’s health. Inhalation is usually the route of concern. If they were in a liquid form its harder to breath them in. The finer the particles, the greater the danger of inhaling them.

Here are some examples of Toxic Metals in Art Materials:

1. Antimony – This is usually used in water colors. When inhaled it can cause damage to the heart and lungs. Ingestion of this toxic metal can cause kidney damage and respiratory failure. It can also cause skin ulcers when in contact with the skin.
2. Arsenic – This was often used in the past. However today, there are still products that have this ingredient. This is very corrosive when in contact with the skin. It can damage the nervous system, kidneys and the mucous membrane.
3. Cadmium – This is poison by inhalation and when ingested. It causes internal organ damage. It is also known to cause lung and prostate cancer.
4. Chromium – It is also known to be carcinogenic. It causes lung damage and may irritate the skin.

Art materials such as crayons, watercolors, paints, are used by people of all ages. They can bring out your creativity and they are fun to use. But not all art materials are safe especially for children. There are some chemicals and toxins found in these materials that can potentially harm ones health. They can cause slight to major health problems. This is especially true when these materials are used in a long period of time, ingested or even inhaled. Remember that there are laws and regulations that are mandated to protect its users. Manufacturers are required to properly label the product. It should include the production and expiration date including when the last review of the ingredients was performed. Manufactures should be responsible enough to make their consumers aware of the potential risk when handling these art materials. They should include in their label the health risks associated with use. As a user we should learn to use these materials in a responsible and careful way. We should always supervise our children when we give this to them for use. Reading labels and knowing the different ingredients used including the possible effects to our health is important.  Let’s be alert for any accident and we should be prompt enough to treat them. Going to the nearest hospital during serious cases is important.