Artists See Red Over Cadmium Ban
A Europe-wide ban of cadmium pigments in acrylic, oil and watercolor paints is under consideration that, if successful, could be enforced within two years. The EU is weighing a restriction on the chemical following pressure from Sweden, which argues that artists pollute the food chain when they rinse their brushes in the sink. Cadmium ends up in sewage sludge and is then spread on agricultural land. But artists and paint manufacturers say they are being used as scapegoats. “[Nickel cadmium] batteries are the real problem,†says Michael Craine, the managing director of Spectrum Artists’ Paints.
