A blog reader, Sara Mast, recently posted a comment on an entry called, Perplexing Pigments, that I posted in October of 2006. The topic of this post is the safety of using pigments in the dry natural form. Sara wanted to know about my working procedures. This is something that is of great importance to me, and I use great care while handling the pigments.
I always use a NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) approved dust mask while handling the more common earths like umbers and siennas; however, a different approach is applied for others. Lead tin yellow, cinnabar, Naples yellow, and lead white require specific guidelines. I wear a respirator with a filter cartridge, smock, and gloves making sure there is no air movement from furnace vents, windows and such, therefore preventing pigment dust from blowing onto other surfaces.
Because I mix only small amounts at a time for one or two day's use, there is not a big mess. On a glass plate, pigment and linseed are mixed with a knife and placed right onto the palette. Any soiled paper towels are carefully placed into a container which will be taken later to our local disposal center. After the dry pigment is fully mixed into the oil and is no longer airborne, normal safety precautions are utilized. A good resource for this very important topic is The Painter's Handbook by Mark David Gottsegen. Anyone have more suggestions for Sara?