White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3·Pb(OH)2.[1] It is a complex salt, containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions. White lead occurs naturally as a mineral, in which context it is known as hydrocerussite,[1] a hydrate of cerussite.[2] It was formerly used as an ingredient for lead paint and a cosmetic called Venetian ceruse, because of its opacity and the satiny smooth mixture it made with dryable oils. However, it tended to cause lead poisoning, and its use has been banned in most countries.[3]
Color pigments used on the warship Vasa, with white lead second from left, bottom shelf
White lead compounds known as lead soap were also used as additive for lubricants for bearings and in machine shops.[4] Lead soap was also used as an oil drying agent for paints made with drying oil or air drying paints made with alkyd resins. Lead is often used with cobalt driers. Lead free substitutes have been developed to replace this use of lead in paint.
What is commonly known today as the "Dutch method" for the preparation of white lead was described as early as Theophrastus of Eresos[5] (ca. 300 BC), in his brief work on rocks or minerals, On Stones or History of Stones. His directions for the process were repeated throughout history by many authors of chemical and alchemical literature. The uses of cerussa were described as an external medication and pigment.[6]
Clifford Dyer Holley quotes from Theophrastus' History of Stones[7] as follows, in his book The Lead and Zinc Pigments.
Lead is placed in earthen vessels over sharp vinegar, and after it has acquired some thickness of a sort of rust, which it commonly does in about ten days, they open the vessels and scrape it off, as it were, in a sort of foulness; they then place the lead over vinegar again, repeating over and over again the same method of scraping it till it has wholly dissolved. What has been scraped off they then beat to powder and boil for a long time, and what at last subsides to the bottom of the vessel is ceruse.[8]
Later descriptions of the Dutch process involved casting metallic lead as thin buckles and corroded with acetic acid in the presence of carbon dioxide. This was done by placing them over pots with a little vinegar (which contains acetic acid). These were stacked up and covered with a mixture of decaying dung and spent tanner's bark, which supplied the CO2, and left for six to fourteen weeks, by which time the blue-grey lead had corroded to white lead. The pots were then taken to a separating table where scraping and pounding removed the white lead from the buckles. The powder was then dried and packed for shipment or shipped as a paste.[9] One benefit of the process was that it was not necessary to dry the paste of white lead, removing its water. All that needed was to mill the paste with linseed oil, and the white lead would take up the oil and reject the residual water, to give white lead in oil. [citation needed]
Can of Dutch Boy Paint, consisting of basic lead carbonate and linseed oil
White lead has been the principal white pigment of classical European oil painting. There have been claims that it is partly responsible for darkening of old paintings over time, reacting with trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide in the air to produce black lead sulfide. Other authorities dispute this; the most traditional view is that impermanent pigments and dirty varnish (which is often cleanable) are more likely responsible for darkening.[citation needed]
White lead has been mostly supplanted in artistic use by titanium white, which has much higher tinting strength than white lead.[10] Critics argue that substitutes like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are more reactive, become brittle, and can flake off.[11][12] White lead is less used by today's painters, not because of its toxicity directly; but simply because its toxicity in other contexts has led to trade restrictions that make white lead difficult for artists to obtain in sufficient quantities.[13]Winsor & Newton, the English paint company, was restricted in 2014 from selling its flake white in tubes and now must sell exclusively in 150 ml (5.3 imp fl oz; 5.1 US fl oz) tins.[14]
In the eighteenth century, white lead paints were routinely used to repaint the hulls and floors of Royal Navy vessels, to waterproof the timbers and limit infestation by shipworm.[15]
Other synonyms (as an art pigment)edit
Among the synonyms for white lead are Berlin white, Cremnitz white, Dutch white lead, flake white, Flemish white, Krems white, London white, Pigment White 1, Roman white, silver white, slate white and Vienna white.[16]
^Hernberg, Sven (September 2000). (PDF). American Journal of Industrial Medicine. 38 (3): 244–254. CiteSeerX10.1.1.477.2081. doi:10.1002/1097-0274(200009)38:3<244::AID-AJIM3>3.0.CO;2-F. PMID 10940962. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-04-13. Retrieved 2015-04-12.
^Klemgard, E.N. (1937). "Lead base greases". Lubricating Greases Their Manufacture And Use. Reinhold Publishing Corporation. p. 677.
^Holley, Clifford Dyer (1909). The Lead and Zinc Pigments. John Wiley & Sons. p. 2.
^Lead411.org 2008-04-03 at the Wayback Machine based on Warren, Christian. "Toxic Purity: The progressive era origins of America’s lead paint poisoning epidemic". Business History Review. Winter 1999, Vol. 73(4)
^Laver, M. (1997). "Titanium Dioxide Whites". In Fitzhugh, E. W. (ed.). Artists' Pigments. Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. p. 309.
^"Zinc White: Problems in Oil Paint". The Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute exposes long-term problems with zinc white
^Macchia, Andrea; Cesaro, Stella; Keheyan, Yeghis; Ruffolo, Silvestro; La Russa, Mauro (2015). "White zinc in Linseed Oil Paintings: Chemical, Mechanical and Aesthetic Aspects". Periodico di Mineralogia. 84 (3A): 483–495. doi:10.2451/2015PM0027.
^Raine, Craig (5 September 2020). "Epic of gossip (review of The Lives of Lucian Freud : Fame 1968-2011 by William Feaver". The Spectator: 30/2.
^. Winsor & Newton. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014. For reasons of toxicity these Lead White colours are only available in tins in the EU.
^Hough, Richard (1994). Captain James Cook. Hodder and Stoughton. p. 56. ISBN978-0-340-82556-3.
^"Lead white". Conservation and Art Materials Encyclopedia Online (CAMEO). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Massachusetts). Retrieved 6 June 2019.
Further readingedit
Gettens, R.J., Kühn, H. and Chase, W.T. "Lead White", in Roy, A., (Ed), Artists' Pigments, Vol 2, Oxford University Press, 1993, pp. 67–81
External linksedit
Wikisource has the text of The New Student's Reference Work article "White Lead".
Lead white, Colourlex
January 01, 1970
white, lead, basic, lead, carbonate, 2pbco3, complex, salt, containing, both, carbonate, hydroxide, ions, occurs, naturally, mineral, which, context, known, hydrocerussite, hydrate, cerussite, formerly, used, ingredient, lead, paint, cosmetic, called, venetian. White lead is the basic lead carbonate 2PbCO3 Pb OH 2 1 It is a complex salt containing both carbonate and hydroxide ions White lead occurs naturally as a mineral in which context it is known as hydrocerussite 1 a hydrate of cerussite 2 It was formerly used as an ingredient for lead paint and a cosmetic called Venetian ceruse because of its opacity and the satiny smooth mixture it made with dryable oils However it tended to cause lead poisoning and its use has been banned in most countries 3 White lead Names Other names Basic lead carbonate Identifiers CAS Number 1319 46 6 Y 3D model JSmol Interactive image ChemSpider 14148 ECHA InfoCard 100 013 901 EC Number 215 290 6 PubChem CID 14834 UNII WDF96425HV Y CompTox Dashboard EPA DTXSID9029641 InChI InChI 1S 2CH2O3 2H2O 3Pb c2 2 1 3 4 h2 H2 2 3 4 2 1H2 q 3 2 p 6Key RYZCLUQMCYZBJQ UHFFFAOYSA H SMILES C O O O C O O O OH OH Pb 2 Pb 2 Pb 2 Properties Chemical formula 2PbCO3 Pb OH 2 Molar mass 775 633 g mol Appearance White powder Hazards Occupational safety and health OHS OSH Main hazards Lead poisoning GHS labelling Pictograms Hazard statements H302 H332 H360 H373 H410 Precautionary statements P201 P202 P260 P261 P264 P270 P271 P273 P281 P301 P312 P304 P312 P304 P340 P308 P313 P312 P314 P330 P391 P405 P501 Except where otherwise noted data are given for materials in their standard state at 25 C 77 F 100 kPa Y verify what is Y N Infobox references Color pigments used on the warship Vasa with white lead second from left bottom shelf White lead compounds known as lead soap were also used as additive for lubricants for bearings and in machine shops 4 Lead soap was also used as an oil drying agent for paints made with drying oil or air drying paints made with alkyd resins Lead is often used with cobalt driers Lead free substitutes have been developed to replace this use of lead in paint Contents 1 History 2 Paints 2 1 Other synonyms as an art pigment 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksHistory editWhat is commonly known today as the Dutch method for the preparation of white lead was described as early as Theophrastus of Eresos 5 ca 300 BC in his brief work on rocks or minerals On Stones or History of Stones His directions for the process were repeated throughout history by many authors of chemical and alchemical literature The uses of cerussa were described as an external medication and pigment 6 Clifford Dyer Holley quotes from Theophrastus History of Stones 7 as follows in his book The Lead and Zinc Pigments Lead is placed in earthen vessels over sharp vinegar and after it has acquired some thickness of a sort of rust which it commonly does in about ten days they open the vessels and scrape it off as it were in a sort of foulness they then place the lead over vinegar again repeating over and over again the same method of scraping it till it has wholly dissolved What has been scraped off they then beat to powder and boil for a long time and what at last subsides to the bottom of the vessel is ceruse 8 Later descriptions of the Dutch process involved casting metallic lead as thin buckles and corroded with acetic acid in the presence of carbon dioxide This was done by placing them over pots with a little vinegar which contains acetic acid These were stacked up and covered with a mixture of decaying dung and spent tanner s bark which supplied the CO2 and left for six to fourteen weeks by which time the blue grey lead had corroded to white lead The pots were then taken to a separating table where scraping and pounding removed the white lead from the buckles The powder was then dried and packed for shipment or shipped as a paste 9 One benefit of the process was that it was not necessary to dry the paste of white lead removing its water All that needed was to mill the paste with linseed oil and the white lead would take up the oil and reject the residual water to give white lead in oil citation needed Paints editMain article Lead white nbsp Can of Dutch Boy Paint consisting of basic lead carbonate and linseed oil White lead has been the principal white pigment of classical European oil painting There have been claims that it is partly responsible for darkening of old paintings over time reacting with trace amounts of hydrogen sulfide in the air to produce black lead sulfide Other authorities dispute this the most traditional view is that impermanent pigments and dirty varnish which is often cleanable are more likely responsible for darkening citation needed White lead has been mostly supplanted in artistic use by titanium white which has much higher tinting strength than white lead 10 Critics argue that substitutes like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are more reactive become brittle and can flake off 11 12 White lead is less used by today s painters not because of its toxicity directly but simply because its toxicity in other contexts has led to trade restrictions that make white lead difficult for artists to obtain in sufficient quantities 13 Winsor amp Newton the English paint company was restricted in 2014 from selling its flake white in tubes and now must sell exclusively in 150 ml 5 3 imp fl oz 5 1 US fl oz tins 14 In the eighteenth century white lead paints were routinely used to repaint the hulls and floors of Royal Navy vessels to waterproof the timbers and limit infestation by shipworm 15 Other synonyms as an art pigment edit Among the synonyms for white lead are Berlin white Cremnitz white Dutch white lead flake white Flemish white Krems white London white Pigment White 1 Roman white silver white slate white and Vienna white 16 See also editList of inorganic pigments Venetian ceruse White Lead Painting Convention 1921References edit a b Wiberg Egon Holleman Arnold Frederick 2001 Inorganic Chemistry Elsevier ISBN 0 12 352651 5 see mineral hydration Hernberg Sven September 2000 Lead Poisoning in a Historical Perspective PDF American Journal of Industrial Medicine 38 3 244 254 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 477 2081 doi 10 1002 1097 0274 200009 38 3 lt 244 AID AJIM3 gt 3 0 CO 2 F PMID 10940962 Archived from the original PDF on 2013 04 13 Retrieved 2015 04 12 Klemgard E N 1937 Lead base greases Lubricating Greases Their Manufacture And Use Reinhold Publishing Corporation p 677 J R Partington A Short History of Chemistry 1937 Stillman John Maxson 1924 The Story of Early Chemistry D Appleton pp 19 20 Theophrastus History of Stones p 223 Holley Clifford Dyer 1909 The Lead and Zinc Pigments John Wiley amp Sons p 2 Lead411 org Archived 2008 04 03 at the Wayback Machine based on Warren Christian Toxic Purity The progressive era origins of America s lead paint poisoning epidemic Business History Review Winter 1999 Vol 73 4 Laver M 1997 Titanium Dioxide Whites In Fitzhugh E W ed Artists Pigments Vol 3 Oxford University Press p 309 Zinc White Problems in Oil Paint The Smithsonian s Museum Conservation Institute exposes long term problems with zinc white Macchia Andrea Cesaro Stella Keheyan Yeghis Ruffolo Silvestro La Russa Mauro 2015 White zinc in Linseed Oil Paintings Chemical Mechanical and Aesthetic Aspects Periodico di Mineralogia 84 3A 483 495 doi 10 2451 2015PM0027 Raine Craig 5 September 2020 Epic of gossip review of The Lives of Lucian Freud Fame 1968 2011 by William Feaver The Spectator 30 2 Choosing a white in oil colour Winsor amp Newton Archived from the original on 8 October 2014 Retrieved 18 October 2014 For reasons of toxicity these Lead White colours are only available in tins in the EU Hough Richard 1994 Captain James Cook Hodder and Stoughton p 56 ISBN 978 0 340 82556 3 Lead white Conservation and Art Materials Encyclopedia Online CAMEO Museum of Fine Arts Boston Massachusetts Retrieved 6 June 2019 Further reading editGettens R J Kuhn H and Chase W T Lead White in Roy A Ed Artists Pigments Vol 2 Oxford University Press 1993 pp 67 81External links edit nbsp Wikisource has the text of The New Student s Reference Work article White Lead Lead white Colourlex Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title White lead amp oldid 1195108554, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
