Art class is often a favorite time during the school day. It\’s an opportunity to use fun materials such as glue, adhesives, magic markers, water color, acrylics, oil paint, lacquer, spray glitter; and to sculpt, chisel and sand, and even use the potters wheel and the list goes on. We protect clothes with smocks, hands with gloves, floors and tables with paper, and eyes with safety glasses. But what is protecting their lungs from ingesting the chemicals and fumes that are emitted by these materials? Here are 5 reasons to have a chemical removing air purifier in every art classroom.
Permanent Markers–These give off a very distinct smell that children are often attracted to. Doing a project with 20 to 30 students all using markers creates quite a smell. The smell is created by a volatile organic chemical evaporating into the air called xylene or toluene. Prolonged exposure to this smell can cause a headache, fainting, or a feeling of light-headedness.
Glues–Rubber cement is often found in the art room and contains volatile organic chemicals such as acetone and isopropyl alcohol to name a few. If it contacts the skin instructions say it should be flushed with water. Breathing the fumes can cause burning sensation in the eyes and throat, headache, dizziness, and trouble breathing. Multiply these symptoms by the number of bottles being used in the classroom at one time, and the children are in the middle of a really toxic environment.
Acrylic Spray Paint–Creates a beautiful finish to an art project but contains chemicals acetone, xylene, and butane that could very well finish you. These are harmful when inhaled and when they come in contact with the skin. The instructions recommend flushing your skin with water for 15 minutes, but your lungs have already started to absorb these chemicals even though you may move to fresh air to alleviate symptoms.
Chalks–While they make beautiful pictures, it is almost impossible to use chalk or pastels without creating a fine dust that goes airborne. And whereas this is less of a problem when one person is working, a group of young artists have the potential to create a cloud of dust.
The Teacher–Generally children are exposed to art class once a week for 45 minutes. But the teacher is exposed to art class all day every day and generally works on a painting unit or chalk unit for example with all the classes resulting in exposure to some of these chemicals for long hours every day. And all of the chemicals mentioned in this article have the potential to cause serious long term health problems.