Adapted from “What Every Artist Needs to Know About Paints and Colors,” by David Pyle, Krause Publications, ©2000, with permission from the author
Essential health and safety pointers:
• Always read the product labels. The labeling standard for Chronic Health Hazards in Art materials (ASTM D-4236) has been codified into US law as part of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act 15 USC S 1277. In cooperation with the Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI), all art and creative products marketed in the USA include labeling that details any currently identified precautions that should be taken. So, if there’s a concern, you’ll see it on the label.
In addition, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has prepared standards for the safe use of artist’s materials. These have been published as a booklet entitled, “ASTM Standards for the Performance, Quality, and Health Labeling of Artists’ Paints and Related Materials” ISBN 0-8031-1838-4.
The address for ASTM is:
ASTM
100 Barr Harbor Drive
West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959
Visit the ASTM web site: http://www.astm.org
When working,
• Always make sure that there’s plenty of fresh air and ventilation, particularly when working with solvents.
• If spray applying any products, wear an approved mask. A spray booth, or, even better, an extraction system, vented to the outside is recommended.
• If working with powdered pigment, the above provisions for ventilation are equally important.
• Always keep all materials, especially solvents, tightly sealed. This means keeping the threads on lids and jars wiped clean, to Health Safety & ensure a better seal when closed.
• Art materials should never be exposed to heat sources or to naked flame.
• Do not eat, drink or smoke when working. You never know what may end up on your fingers, your food, or your cigarette, and then get swallowed inadvertently.
• Avoid skin contact, particularly with solvents. Don’t paint directly with your fingers.
• Wherever and whenever possible, use a low-aromatic solvent, such as Sansodor from Winsor & Newton.
• Avoid Turpentine, wherever possible. Turpentine is a proven health hazard for many, and it can be absorbed directly through the skin. This means that any pigment on your hands, if combined with turpentine, will be carried through your skin and into your system, as well.
• Don’t wash or rinse brushes in the palm of your hand. Doing so, particularly if laden with solvent, is a particularly efficient method for driving pigment into and through your skin.
• When washing brushes or palettes or other tools…
• First, wipe them free of color with a paper towel. If using stiff brushes with thick color, like oils or acrylics, an old toothbrush works well for scraping free excess color. Allow the product on the towel to dry completely before disposal.
• Rinse the brush or tool free of color with a minimum amount of low-aromatic solvent. If working in watercolor or acrylic, rinse with water.
•Wash the brush with a conditioning soap.
•Never store brushes resting in a container, head, or tuft, down.
• If looking to eliminate all solvents from your studio, consider using acrylic colors or water mixable oils.
• Do not point your brushes in your mouth. Swirl the brush in a cup of water, or solvent, to check the point.
• If using solvent, pour out only as much as needed for your current painting session. Too much open solvent means too much vapor in your immediate environment.
• SMALL AMOUNTS of LOW-AROMATIC solvent can be allowed to evaporate in a well-ventilated area rather than being disposed of down the sink. NOTE: “low aromatic” means solvents with a high TLV (such as Sansodor from Winsor & Newton (TLV at 300 ppm). This does NOT include more heavily aromatic solvents like Turpentine.
• Excess solvents can be disposed of at your local recycling center.
• As a safeguard for groundwater, do not dispose of excess oil or acrylic color or solvent down the sink. Instead, use the following guidelines:
• When finished painting with acrylic colors, allow waste paint and paper towels to fully dry before disposal. Why? Because the dried polymer vehicle will provide some containment for the included pigment, minimizing the risk of solubility in landfills and wastewater.
• When finished painting with oil colors, gather up all solvent and paint-laden rags, as well as any discarded palettes. Allow the rags and waste material to dry in a well-ventilated area. (Outdoors is a good place, if protected from excessive wind, or from children and pets). Dispose of them in an airtight, solventproof container.
• Lead-based colors, or any solvents used with lead-based colors, should never be disposed of in household trash or down the drain.
• For disposal recommendations and regulations pertaining to all art materials, as well as more toxic solvents, aerosol cans, and highly toxic pigments (like leadbased colors), write the Center for Safety in the Arts at NYFA, at: 155 Avenue of the Americas, 14th Floor, New York, NY, 10013.
• If paint or solvent is somehow splashed in your eyes, flush immediately and thoroughly with cold water.
• Clean up all spills immediately.
• Unless specifically labeled as safe for children’s use, keep artists’ materials
away from children. Because of lesser size and body weight, youngsters are subject to greater risk with these products than adults. Better to limit their exposure altogether.
• Give things away. If left with products or paints that won’t you be using any more, give them to a friend. Throw away as little as possible.
• Spray cans should never be thrown away unless fully emptied. Before disposing in the trash, spray adhesives, spray fixatives, spray paints, or spray varnishes should be emptied by spraying (outside or in a spray booth) until no residue remains.
• Wash your hands when you’re done! Again, don’t use solvent. Wipe any color or excess materials from your hands with a paper towel. A good soap or hand cleaner should be perfectly adequate for a thorough cleansing.
• A word about gloves. There are times when impermeable gloves are clearly worth using. But, because of potential allergic reactions and other serious toxicity considerations, it’s wise to eschew the use of gloves made from latex. In particular, latex gloves powdered for easy donning and removal should be avoided. Why? Because snapping those gloves off and on, as almost always happens, means that the latex-laden powder ends up in the air and is breathable. A better choice is a more inert nitrile glove, called “Ambri-dex.”
Notice that there are no special precautions listed for colors containing cadmium or chromium. That’s because, if you follow the above procedures, you’ll be insulating yourself and others from exposure to all potentially hazardous materials, not just the few that have been presently identified as being of concern. And, to be safe, all materials should be treated with the same degree of care. Prescribing different levels of precaution, for different colors, is a sure route to confusion and eventual exposure. It’s better to establish safe practices with all materials!
