Cadmium in Crisis
June 4 2014
Picture: Jackson's Art Blog
My post on the National Gallery's new exhibition, Making Colour, prompted to alert me to an EU proposal to ban cadmium pigments (used, for example, to make the lovely red you see above. Michael Craine of Spectrum Paints has written this article for the London firm Jackson's Art Supplies, on their website:
What’s the issue?
It might initially appear rather dry and uninteresting, but the European Union’s Chemical Agency(ECHA) is considering severely restricting or even banning the use of all Cadmium pigments. It could be a significant reduction to the artists’ palette – arguably an even bigger change than the restrictions applied to the use of lead in artists’ colours. Whereas the risks associated with lead were undeniable and obvious, the premise on which the cadmium proposal is based appears both unconvincing and entirely unnecessary to many.
Why all the fuss now?
Pressure from one particular EU member state means that Cadmium pigments could be stripped of the protection they currently enjoy when used in the limited application of artists’ colours, and the changes could be introduced within a couple of years.
What is the objection?
Our understanding is that the objection to the continued use of heavy metal Cadmium pigments is based not on concern for the paint maker or artistic user, but to prevent such materials entering the water course, Essentially, one EU member maintains that by rinsing brushes in the sink, cadmium may enter the waste water treatment plants and end up in the sludge. When the sludge is spread on agricultural land, growing crops absorbs the cadmium and consequently this will lead to an increased exposure to humans via food.
