Pastel ingredients Who knows?

[Reedgrace]

Hi,
As a new member, painted in many mediums in my time, my great love was soft pastels, had a huge collection, spent hours happily painting with them. About 15 years ago I started getting breathless towards the end of the sessions and this got to the point where my doctor told me to stop using them, which I did.
Ok, so this year after a bad cough lead me to doctor/X-ray/scan and I have asbestosis? From where! Now you know where I am coming from! That I am looking for is answers, have contacted the 3 most known manufactures of soft pastels, asking if they have ever (going back at least 20 years) used asbestos in the manufacture of pastels - no answers from those quarters!
I have done some research and it seems probable that it was used although I would not imagine that it still is used. I am not looking for any thing other than for me to understand how this happened. If any members have knowledge on this subject I would be very interested to hear from them.
Reedgrace

[sketchZ1ol]

hello
i have never heard of asbestos being used to create pigments or to make pastels .

i looked up ' asbestosis ' - the term seems specific to the material and as an occupational hazard .

lung scarring and reduced capacity can happen for lots of different reasons .
ask your doc for a more detailed explanation of his/her diagnosis ,
and what other things could cause a similar ( if not identical ) result .
> those things may be in your environment , and could be corrected .

Ed :}

[Colorix]

Reedgrace, so sorry this has happened to you.

Asbestos tends to be found as traces in much that is mined from the ground -- and has existed in pigments as such traces. A good reason to be wary of older pastel sticks. And to never blow on the painting.

That nasty stuff is everywhere, as it was used in construction of buildings -- mixed into other materials like fibre cement -- for quite some time before they discovered how the little needles lodged in the lungs.

[Barbara WC]

Do you work or live in an old building or house? What is or was your occupation? Our house was built in the 1950's and has asbestos lining the outside of the heating ducts. The previous owners of our house had someone come in to create a "barrier" seal because the asbestos was starting to crumble. Believe it or not, it is much more dangerous to have the asbestos removed than to create a barrier.

Even ceiling and floor tiles had asbestos in them going up to the 1970's. So in the home, the major sources of asbestos are ductwork covering, ceiling tiles, floor tiles, and insulation. If you live in an older home, you might want to get an asbestos evaluation.

So while it is easy to blame pastels because you had a breathing reaction to them, it may not be how you were exposed. I suffer from breathing reactions to pastels- to the point that my doctor gave me an asthma inhaler and ordered several respiratory tests. I am not asthmatic, but do have astmatic type reactions to pastels- however, I've come to learn I'm only reactive to certain pastel brands, and believe it is whatever preservative that is used. I now only use 1 pastel brand the majority of the time, it causes no breathing reactions. I got rid of the brands that bother me.

Also, were your pastels new or bought second hand when you were using them 15 years ago? Do you remember the brands you used? If they were new (past the 1970's), I think it's unlikely that's where the exposure came from.

Hope this helps some.

[sketchZ1ol]

hello
i hope you are not up against a health insurance issue .
that is a difficult subject .

COPD is a more general diagnosis .

Ed :}

[Deborah Secor]

Some people say pastels do contain asbestos... I'm not sure what's true, but there you go.

[Jason1616]

Reedgrace, my heart goes out to you. I'm sorry for your illness and I hope you will be OK.

I can't imagine that asbestos would serve any purpose in pastels which are made with only pigment and a small amount of binder. Maybe the cheap grade ones, but most of us avoid those anyway.

If asbestos were a common ingredient in pastels you would see far, far more pastel artists with lung problems. The fact that your case seems to be a fairly isolated incident would lead me to believe that your exposure came from some other source.

[Reedgrace]

Thank you those members who have replied. A few questions have been aked.
1.This is not an insurance related question.
2. I live in a modern house in a rural area GB. My diagnosis was made by a senior respiratory consultant backed be Ct scans X-rays.
My pastels would have been those available 20 years ago and would have been many brands. For those who have never heard of asbestos in soft pastels - have a look on Wykepedia! I am waiting to read a book called Artist Beware, I am only looking for answers!

[dtumacde]

I would get a second opinion from another physician. I am a respiratory therapist and I would consider a diagnosis of asbestosis as suspect in a person who has no known exposure to high quantities of asbestos. The only real way to absolutely confirm a case of asbestosis without a known exposure is with a tissue biopsy either by bronchoscopy or pneumonectomy.

Perhaps your physician was refering to pneumoconiosis which is a more broad term for the same disease which involves inhaling large amounts of dust over a prolonged period of time. Asbestosis is just too general to the specific antigen for you to possible have a case of it without a known exposure.

Either way, I wish you the best. A lot of people will scoff at the notion of wearing a mask and using personal protective equipment while painting with pastels, however it is important to protect yourself.

[Reedgrace]

Really interesting, that the replies, much appreciated, But! The question is not about medicine it is - Pastel Ingredients - who knows? Still not answered, thanks anyway

[Dougwas]

I just looked up asbestos on Wikipedia, and I think there may be a chance of it being in some pastels from the use of talc. Talc used in crayons was found to be contaminated with asbestos, so maybe those soft tints we all love might be harmful to our health. Even if the manufacturers listed the ingredients it would probably just show up as talc.

Just a thought.


Doug

[Barbara WC]

Originally Posted by Reedgrace

Really interesting, that the replies, much appreciated, But! The question is not about medicine it is - Pastel Ingredients - who knows? Still not answered, thanks anyway

Reedgrace-

I suspect you will never find the answers you are looking for, here or elsewhere. Manufacturers are not required to disclose the ingredients in their pastels, and some brands keep their ingredients and formulas "secret". Some now disclose MSDS sheets, but even then, one will only find out if the brand uses heavy metals, but not find out the exact pigments, binders, nor fillers. I've inquired at various companies for pigment, binder and preservative information, and most are not as forthcoming as I'd hope even with that basic information.

Do you know the brands of pastels you used in the past? Probably the only thing you could do is contact the manufacturers of those brands- but as you know, none are likely to disclose the use of asbestos in their formulations.

Do you still have the pastels you used to paint with? One option, if you still have them, is to contact an independent chemistry testing lab and have them evaluate for asbestos. Only a very small sample would be needed- a lab may even be able to use one of your old paintings to get enough sample to test.

Best of luck to you-

[Reedgrace]

To answer Barbara's question, I no longer have my pastels, I past them to another artist apps. 15 Years ago when I started getting breathless at the end of a good session of pastel painting. My work from that time has either been sold or disposed of, I now work with water based mediums! You were right about the manufacturers not being forthcoming, as yet I have not received an answer to my enquiries! The makes that are i used were probably the 3 most known at the time.
I was interested to see when googling pastel that one manufacturer advertises as-
Quote:- All ......... pure pigment pastels are free from heavy metals, asbestos or other toxic substances. I wonder why?

[aquabone]

very sorry to hear of your problems reedgrace- the thought that something we enjoy to do might be harmful- is a bit sad and scary-
it does seem manufacturers of any product should have to share w/ the consumer anything hazardous- not sure if we can expect it though...

Originally Posted by Reedgrace

Quote:- All ......... pure pigment pastels are free from heavy metals, asbestos or other toxic substances. I wonder why?

Art Spectrum- and i like em!

aquabone

[Colorix]

Quote:- All ......... pure pigment pastels are free from heavy metals, asbestos or other toxic substances. I wonder why?[/quote]

As there are plenty of sites that say there is asbstos in crayons and pastel sticks, probably.

Now, is anyone warning against using talc on baby bottoms?