Some Victorian-era tomes coated in vibrant yellow pigments exceed exposure limits for the heavy metal By Old books can be beautiful to look at. But handle with care — they just might be toxic. The covers of Victorian-era books are already known to sometimes have pigments that contain toxic heavy metals such as lead, chromium and arsenic.
But when researchers recently assessed a collection at their university’s main library, they found toxic metal concentrations on some tomes that exceeded safe levels. “I think it’s very important for librarians to be aware of those risks,” says Leila Ais, an undergraduate student studying biochemistry at Lipscomb University in Nashville who will present the team’s findings August 18 at the American Chemical Society meeting in Denver. Librarians approached the team about testing old, brightly colored books in the university’s collection.
The researchers used a handheld machine called an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to detect metals in the covers of 26 books. Additional laboratory studies helped the team determine the amount of each metal compound present in the cover. In the golden-yellow covers of some books, Ais and colleagues found crocoite — a compound containing the toxic metals lead and chromium — and lead sulfate, two compounds that make up a pigment called chrome yellow.
Post-Impressionist painter notably used chrome yellow pigments in his sunflowers series ( ). “[One] thing that surprised me is how concentrated .