Is the Paint Industry trying to kill us? Warning call!!!

[DAKfreak]

Recently I have had the misfortune of finding out that some Vallejo Acrylics, (which I had changed to from Testors paints because they were labelled as NON TOXIC), contain Cadmium, (a highly toxic element found in many red, yellow and orange paints), which is banned by the EU. The irony is that Vallejo is made in Spain with the EU Health Approved Label. And then under the label it says "NO HEALTH LABEL REQUIRED" which is a bit shady.

Is there any organic alternative?

I guess it makes the production way cheaper than using organic substances?

Lead, Cadmium, Glycol Ethers, Astatine, Cobalt, Chromium, Mercury, Tin, Antimony, Thinners, Turpentine, and Solvents galore!

Anyone else slightly piqued at the notion of the companies putting harmful toxins in our paints just to save a lousy buck?!

[Kekso]

I think in some cases it isn't mater of cost. Simply, there is no effective color pigment substitute than one with heavy metals.
Second, we must differ chemical elements form chemical compounds. In one case element (e.g. mercury) is toxic but its compound
isn't (so called amalgams - mercury alloys). So, I think your question is very complex and you wouldn't find absolute answer.

[Ender Duman]

First of all you need to calm down
Yes we all need to be aware of the ingredients in the paints that we come into contact so often. But that doesn't mean that it is legitimate to name turpentine and thinners in the same sentence with mercury and cadmium. My girl friend is a painter. She uses oil paints all the time. Just like hundreds of thousands of painters before did use them. These materials font kill you instantly you know. You have to be orderly when you use them, that's all.

Furthermore, I don't think that Vallejo uses "real" Cadmium in their paints. If they are concerned with the cost of their paints more than they are concerned with our health (I believe that you are right on that regard. They are capitalists right, profit first:) ) they would prefer using alternatives. Because real cadmium is much more expensive than alternatives. This is true for other pigments also. All real earth pigments are more expensive than their synthetic alternatives.

[Ben Bob]

Apple Barrel acrylics.
$.55 per tube. Non-Toxic. Durable on kits and figures if treated correctly. Every color is available from most craft and super centers.
http://lakeland.edu/AboutUs/MSDS/PDFs/505/Apple%20Barrel%20Acrylic%20Paint%20(Plaid%20Enterprises).pdf

[Paul]

Anyone else slightly piqued at the notion of the companies putting harmful toxins in our paints just to save a lousy buck?!

If they are..and and not labelling it as such, and I find out for sure then they´ll be getting a nice little letter.

[Paul]

http://www.testors.com/media/document/M ... 032811.pdf
looks like They all contain titanium dioxide. No more sucking brushes to get a sharp tip!!

[Ben Bob]

yummy

[Martin]

http://www.testors.com/media/document/MS.0013000.032811.pdf
looks like They all contain titanium dioxide. No more sucking brushes to get a sharp tip!!

so DAKfreak is a little bit right with his concern?

[entrauner]

I wonder if you guys are all non smokers

[zzed]

labels should read - 'a danger of cutting down your own ear after prolonged usage'

[Ender Duman]

I wonder if you guys are all non smokers

I quit a year ago...

Can you imagine what our lives would be like if we stopped using Titanium Dioxide? The industries drink that stuff like water...
Furthermore, I believe that our humble hobby of painting plastic toy soldiers is the last place to start worrying about cancerogenic materials.

[Marshall Nay]

California has stricter labeling laws than many other states, and here's how their cadmium label reads:
"WARNING: DO NOT SPRAY APPLY - THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS CADMIUM, A CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER BY MEANS OF INHALATION."

As a liquid or as a dry film, cadmium is perfectly safe. It's toxic when breathing cadmium dust. So sanding or spray painting cadmium is unhealthy unless you use a good quality mask, and clean up well after sanding or spraying.

I even managed to have a phone conversation with the president of the American artist's paint manufacturer GAMBLIN, and he himself is an artist. I expressed my worries, and he reassured me that unless I'm breathing cadmium dust, there's really nothing to worry about. I came away from the conversation with the impression that the labeling is more a reflection of the litigious nature of society, than of the extreme danger of the material.

So in the words of Alfred E. Neuman, "What, me worry?"