In 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium. Claimed to have restorative properties, radium was added to toothpaste, medicine, water, and food. A glowing, luminous green, it was also used in beauty products and jewelry. It wasn't until the mid-20th century we realized that radium's harmful effects as a radioactive element outweighed its visual benefits. Unfortunately, radium isn't the only pigment that historically seemed harmless or useful but turned out to be deadly. That lamentable distinction includes a trio of colors and pigments that we've long used to decorate ourselves and the things we make: white, green, and orange. Our story begins with white. As far back as the 4th century BCE, the Ancient Greeks treated lead to make the brilliant white pigment we know today. The problem? In humans, lead is directly absorbed into the body and distributed to the blood, soft tissues, and mineralized tissues. Once in the nervous system, lead mimics and disrupts the normal functions of calcium, causing damages ranging from learning disabilities to high blood pressure. Yet the practice of using this toxic pigment continued across time and cultures. Lead white was the only practical choice for white oil or tempera paint until the 19th century. To make their paint, artists would grind a block of lead into powder, exposing highly toxic dust particles. The pigment's liberal use resulted in what was known as painter's colic, or what we'd now call lead poisoning. Artists who worked with lead complained of palseys, melancholy, coughing, enlarged retinas, and even blindness. But lead white's density, opacity, and warm tone were irresistible to artists like Vermeer, and later, the Impressionists. Its glow couldn't be matched, and the pigment continued to be widely used until it was banned in the 1970s. As bad as all that sounds, white's dangerous effects pale in comparison to another, more wide-spread pigment, green. Two synthetic greens called Scheele's Green and Paris Green were first introduced in the 18th century. They were far more vibrant and flashy than the relatively dull greens made from natural pigments, so they quickly became popular choices for paint as well as dye for textiles, wallpaper, soaps, cake decorations, toys, candy, and clothing. These green pigments were made from a compound called cupric hydrogen arsenic. In humans, exposure to arsenic can damage the way cells communicate and function. And high levels of arsenic have been directly linked to cancer and heart disease. As a result, 18th century fabric factory workers were often poisoned, and women in green dresses reportedly collapsed from exposure to arsenic on their skin. Bed bugs were rumored not to live in green rooms, and it's even been speculated that Napoleon died from slow arsenic poisoning from sleeping in his green wallpapered bedroom. The intense toxicity of these green stayed under wraps until the arsenic recipe was published in 1822. And a century later, it was repurposed as an insecticide. Synthetic green was probably the most dangerous color in widespread use, but at least it didn't share radium's property of radioactivity. Another color did, though - orange. Before World War II, it was common for manufacturers of ceramic dinnerware to use uranium oxide in colored glazes. The compound produced brilliant reds and oranges, which were appealing attributes, if not for the radiation they emitted. Of course, radiation was something we were unaware of until the late 1800s, let alone the associated cancer risks, which we discovered much later. During World War II, the U.S. government confiscated all uranium for use in bomb development. However, the atomic energy commission relaxed these restrictions in 1959, and depleted uranium returned to ceramics and glass factory floors. Orange dishes made during the next decade may still have some hazardous qualities on their surfaces to this day. Most notably, vintage fiestaware reads positive for radioactivity. And while the levels are low enough that they don't officially pose a health risk if they're on a shelf, the U.S. EPA warns against eating food off of them. Though we still occasionally run into issues with synthetic food dyes, our scientific understanding has helped us prune hazardous colors out of our lives.
1898 年 瑪麗和皮埃爾·居禮發現了鐳 鐳被宣稱具有修復性 因此曾被添加到牙膏 藥物 水 和食物裡 由於鐳的綠色帶有光澤感 它也用於美容產品和珠寶製作 直到 20 世紀中期 我們才意識到鐳作為一種放射性元素 帶來的害處超過了它視覺上的好處 然而在歷史上 鐳並不是唯一的看上去無害 實則致命的顏料 長期以來,我們使用三種顏料 用來裝飾自己及物品 白色 綠色 和橙色 我們先來說說白色 早在公元前四世紀 古希臘人使用鉛來製作白色顏料 問題在於什麼呢? 鉛可以直接吸收進人體 進入血液 軟組織 以及礦化組織 鉛一旦進入神經系統 會模仿並干擾鈣元素的正常功能 造成的損害輕則使人出現學習障礙 重則導致高血壓 但使用這種劇毒顏料的工藝 在很多文化中持續了很久 直到 19 世紀,鉛白是唯一用於 白油畫和蛋彩畫的顏料 藝術家為了作畫 會將鉛塊磨成粉末 這樣,他們會充分 接觸這些劇毒的成分 這種顏料的過分使用 導致了「畫家的腹絞痛」 我們現在稱之為鉛中毒 使用鉛的畫家會出現肌肉麻痹 心情抑鬱 咳嗽 視網膜放大 甚至失明 但是鉛白的質感 不透明性和溫暖的色調 令包括維梅爾及之後的 印象派畫家難以捨棄 沒有其他顏料可以媲美鉛白的光澤 這種顏料繼續廣泛使用 直到 1970 年代才被禁止 如上所述 鉛白帶來的危險性 與另一種顏料相比則頓失光芒 那就是廣泛使用的綠色 謝勒綠和巴黎綠 是兩種合成的綠色色素 18 世紀時首次問世 相比於天然染料較沉悶的綠色 他們的顏色更加明亮鮮艷 因此這兩種色素迅速流行 用於繪畫、紡織品染色 壁紙 香皂 蛋糕裝飾 玩具 糖果 衣物 這些綠色的染料由某種化合物製成 這種化合物稱為砷酸銅 人如果接觸砷 會損傷細胞通訊及功能 高劑量的砷與癌症 和心臟疾病直接相關聯 因此在十八世紀 紡織廠工人經常出現中毒 且據報導,穿綠裙子的女性 因皮膚接觸裙子上的砷而昏倒 還有傳言說,臭蟲也不會 生活在綠色的房間中 人們甚至推測拿破崙 就死於慢性砷中毒 因他睡在自己那鋪著綠色壁紙的臥室 這種劇毒綠色顏料的配方 一直處於保密狀態 直到 1822 年發佈了砷的配方 一個世紀之後,這種綠 被改變用途成為殺蟲劑 合成綠色染料或許是 廣泛使用的顏色中最為危險的 但至少它並沒有鐳的放射性 而另一種顏色則具備這一特徵 橙色 第二次世界大戰之前 陶瓷餐具製造商在彩釉中 使用氧化鈾是非常普遍的 這種化合物能夠產生 鮮艷的紅色和橙色 如果不是因為其放射性 這些顏色都是吸引人的特色 當然,放射性是在 19 世紀晚期才為我們意識到 更不用提在更久之後才發現 與輻射相關的癌症風險 在第二次世界大戰期間 美國政府沒收了全部的鈾 以發展核武器 然而在 1959 年 原子能委員會放鬆了管制 鈾重新回到了瓷器和玻璃工廠 接下來十年中生產的橙色餐具表面 很可能至今仍然具有此危險特質 尤其連經典餐具品牌 Fiestaware 都有放射性 雖然在架上擺著時 輻射很低不至於構成健康威脅 美國環保局仍發出警告 不要用這些餐具裝食物 我們雖然偶爾還會遇到 有問題的人工食物色素 但科學認知已經幫助我們 在生活中去掉了那些危險的顏色