Artist Beware of Fine Dust.

Artist Beware of Fine Dust. 01/20/2010

A close up of a soft pastel art work, showing the fine particals of pigment impregnated fine dust, talc, a hazard for artist's who breath this fine dust as they work..

Soft pastels have always carried the risk of inhalation of the fine dust.

Modern brands made in Europe, US and Australia claim their products are currently asbestos, free. They take this information from the companies supplying the talc used in the production of the soft pastel.

Tests by the United States Mine Safety and Health Administration found asbestos in all four, supposedly asbestos free, talc samples that it tested in 2000. Asbestos was found, in Artist’s Pastels and Children’s crayons as recently as year 2000.

It is a case of ‘Artist’s Beware’, when you work with soft pastels, as you are working with fine dust that when inhaled is harmful. Whether it contains asbestos or not, we do not need a mesothelioma lawyer, to help us understand that the inhaling of fine partial talc and pigments is a serious health hazard.

I love working in artist’s pastels. If I did not already own a kit worth thousands of dollars, I would never begin to use them and I swear I will never buy another pastel. I am currently having a little play with them, trying to decide what to do with the kit I have. My knowledge tells me I should not ever use them, the recent results of what can creatively be achieved in a quick pastel sketch, makes me want to cling to these hazardous art materials. My heart has me clinging still to something, intellect tells me I should relinquish.

Do yourself a favour, if you already work with pastels, wear a dust mask, work with as little dust as possible, no tapping on the back of the work or blowing of the dust, indoors and damp dust after each use. Use them as infrequently as possible and do not substitute this medium for anything else you could inhale, like volatile thinners.

Do all spraying of fixatives out of doors. Discourage others from taking up any art medium where the risk of inhalation poisoning is unacceptably high.

Yes, for sure the pastel manufacturers label these materials safe. The marketers are not the ones contracting cancers at a higher rate than the general population like professional artists do.

Art is to be enjoyed; you cannot enjoy life or art if you are chronically ill so chose your mediums with health as the high priority.

Work safely, free from the risks of inhalation, ingestion and absorption through the skin; pigments and binders. This means to minimise your contact with artist’s soft pastels.