Health concerns and oil painting
ca...@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca
Hey there!
I usually work with oils and at the end of a painting session they usually
get every where, including my face. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows
the risks involved with getting oil paint on your skin and any preventative
measures I can take?
Thank you kindly,
Catherine
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Charles Eicher
> Hey there!
> I usually work with oils and at the end of a painting session they usually
> get every where, including my face. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows
> the risks involved with getting oil paint on your skin and any preventative
> measures I can take?
Managing the toxicity of painting is a very tricky issue, the more you
learn, the safer you will be. There are whole books on this subject, I
don't know them offhand, but surely someone will suggest a title for you.
Most of the exposure to toxics comes from touching the face and mouth with
your fingers. It may seem obvious, but you just have to learn to not touch
your face during a painting session. It is also advisable not to eat,
drink, or smoke while painting, you might transfer pigments from your
fingers to the cigarette, food, or food/beverage container, and into your
mouth. Keep plenty of clean rags around, keep clean during the work
session. Use rubber gloves when painting, this prevents absorption through
the skin. (BTW, I don't use rubber gloves, but then, I am very careful, I
rarely ever get paint onto my hands).
Exposure to toxic chemicals is cumulative, it adds over time, since many of
the metal elements aren't easily excreted from the body. The easiest way to
avoid toxic exposure is to use pigments that aren't as toxic. For example,
hardly anyone uses Lead White these days, they all use Titanium White or
other substitutes. There are some pigments (like chromium greens) that are
still in common use, but are very toxic. There are usually adequate
substitutes for these colors.
There are other risks in painting, primarily inhalation. There's a lot of
controversy about what's the best solvent, that combines reduced vapors and
toxicity with adequate dissolving power. I think that Turpenoid works fine.
But solvent vaporss are not the only inhalation hazard. I always remember
coming home from charcoal drawing classes and coughing and sneezing up
black phlegm for a couple of hours. Carbon isn't such a hazard (its
basically inert) except for prolonged, repeated exposure. However, using
toxic chemical pigments in a dry medium like powdery pastels can be a
hazard. I know one drawing teacher who used to scream at me every time I
blew dust and eraser crumbs off my drawings.. but then, she was the one who
told me about the hazards of inhaling powdered pigments. I do think she was
rather overstating the case, though, but it depends on what you're doing. I
mostly work in chalk, she mostly worked in bright color pastels. I can
understand why she wouldn't want to snort up cadmium or chromium.. which is
mostly why I don't work with these colors.
I can think of several examples of people who learned too late that they
were working in very toxic media.. I remember a wave of fiberglass and
acrylic scupltors during the 1960s and 70s who mostly all died of liver
cancer due to occupational exposure (it was a very short-lived technique,
since the artists all died). One of the last of these sculptors died
recently (can't remember his name) but had lived with cancer for quite a
long time.
--
| Charles Eicher |
| -=- |
| cei...@inav.net |
zi...@interport.net
You should get an annual check on the heavy metal content of your
blood. You can inhale and ingest through your skin a little cadmium,
cobalt and lead. But the real problem is eating it.
So you should make sure that you have clean hands and face when you
eat.
Also there is a really bad geometric ration abouit the use of paint
togther with cigarette smoke, especially if you happen to get paint on
your cigarette and thence into your lungs.
But other than eating and smoking it is not too dangerous. I think,
except for incredible slobs, it is the solvents which are most
dangerous.
Gabriel
ca...@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca wrote:
>Hey there!
> I usually work with oils and at the end of a painting session they usually
>get every where, including my face. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows
>the risks involved with getting oil paint on your skin and any preventative
>measures I can take?
>Thank you kindly,
Leshiye
> I usually work with oils and at the end of a painting session they
usually
>get every where, including my face. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows
>the risks involved with getting oil paint on your skin and any preventative
>measures I can take?
>
>Thank you kindly,
>
>Catherine
>
gloves to be awkward. I've been planning on but haven't tried it yet, getting
Winsor and Newtons Artguard. Its cream you rub on your hands that are supposed
to work like a glove. I imagine you can try it on your face.
Charles Eicher
In article <19980223195...@ladder03.news.aol.com>, les...@aol.com
(Leshiye) wrote:
> > I usually work with oils and at the end of a painting session they
> usually
> >get every where, including my face. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows
> >the risks involved with getting oil paint on your skin and any preventative
> >measures I can take?
> >
> >Thank you kindly,
> >
> >Catherine
> >
> I agree with the person who said try not to touch your face but I find
wearing
> gloves to be awkward.
Well, so do I.. I can't get used to wearing gloves, its too sweaty. I don't
even use them in the photo lab unless I'm doing something really toxic. I
even do one photo process that you're supposed to wear a gas mask due to
VERY toxic vapors, but I don't have one, so I use the "one breath method"..
You go outside the darkroom, gulp a huge breath, hold it, run into the
darkroom and work for as long as you can, run back out before you exhale..
I use my tiny bathroom (with a monster vent fan) for this process..
> ..I've been planning on but haven't tried it yet, getting
> Winsor and Newtons Artguard. Its cream you rub on your hands that are
supposed
> to work like a glove. I imagine you can try it on your face.
Eww.. that couldn't be good. Even most cosmetic facial creams say "avoid
applying near eyes".. You're mostly trying to avoid your mouth, nose and
eyes, its the mucous membranes that absorb toxics most easily.. I read one
report that said about 80% of toxic exposure during painting is accidental
ingestion by touching fingers to the mouth, holding paintbrushes with your
teeth, etc...
Ehud Yaniv
The cream is usually called a barrier cream and can be bought in tool
and industrial supply houses. When I worked as an Industrial
First-Aid attendant, we used them all of the time.
Ehud
_______________________________________________________
On 23 Feb 1998 19:56:50 GMT, les...@aol.com (Leshiye) wrote:
>> I usually work with oils and at the end of a painting session they
>usually
>>get every where, including my face. I'm wondering if anyone out there knows
>>the risks involved with getting oil paint on your skin and any preventative
>>measures I can take?
>>
>>Thank you kindly,
>>
>>Catherine
>>
>I agree with the person who said try not to touch your face but I find wearing
>gloves to be awkward. I've been planning on but haven't tried it yet, getting
sch...@lookingglass.net
>I've been planning on but haven't tried it yet,
> Winsor and Newtons Artguard.
You can buy barrier creams in most drug stores too
and probably for a lot less cost than W&N products.
There are other sources of barrier creams too. Try
auto parts stores that sell hand cleaners and barrier
creams for mechanics. I wouldn't put any of these
near my eyes, nostrils, or mouth though without
reading the label first. And if there is any doubt
about whether to put it on the face and label isn't
clear on the subject, I would not. Plain old Vaseline
is a good substitute, as most women who use cosmetics
know. Put it on BEFORE you begin your exposure to
paints and it will ease the removal when you go to
wash later. Barrier creams are supposed to have the
same quality -- easy removal. T'bird.
redi...@earthlink.net
I have no scientific proof to back this up, but I sometimes reflect on the
pigments/chemicals that are disolved into the solvents in my brush
cleaning canisters. Cadmiums, lead, cobalt, chromiums, etc.etc. A fairly
toxic soup...and hardly a day passes that some of that soup doesn't get
splashed or wiped onto clothing, hands, forearms, etc. Have worn surgical
latex gloves with an almost religious discipline for several years now...a
can of baby powder on the palette and squirted inside the gloves before
donning (and repeated) makes them last longer and go on and off easy. Only
question is what levels of baby powder does one have to breath before that
becomes a hazard. Also, it keeps my hands springtime fresh.
-N.
Andrew Werby
In article <redirect-270...@1cust124.tnt5.nyc3.da.uu.net>,
redi...@earthlink.net wrote:
Have worn surgical
> latex gloves with an almost religious discipline for several years now...a
> can of baby powder on the palette and squirted inside the gloves before
> donning (and repeated) makes them last longer and go on and off easy. Only
> question is what levels of baby powder does one have to breath before that
> becomes a hazard. Also, it keeps my hands springtime fresh.
>
[That depends on the powder. Contrary to popular belief, baby powder is not made
from babies. Instead, it is either talcum (steatite) or cornstarch. The former
has been blamed for lung scarring when used excessively, the latter is
essentially non-toxic.
UNITED ARTWORKS- SCULPTURE AND MORE
http://users.lanminds.com/~drewid
Useful Resources, Technical Tips
and Custom Art in Many Media
Bob Parsons
Didn't someone just win a large settlement in a lawsuit concerning
cornstarch in latex gloves? Believe the suit said that the cornstarch
added to the allergic reaction some people have to latex...
--
Bob Parsons
Remember, keep smiling....that way they'll never know what you're up to!
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