# Newspaper toxicity



## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

Hi Guys

I am convinced that newspaper inks can not be toxic. Regulations must be in place and I've never heard of any issues keeping snakes on them.

However, some members of the forum seems to think that they are toxic and detrimental to the health of my animals, therefore I would love it if you guys could find some hard evidence one way or the other!

The closest I could find is this, taken from The Huber Groups website (a global company that makes newspaper inks) although I don't know which UK papers use them!


*What are newspaper inks made of?
*The chrominance or colourfulness of newspaper inks is obtained through the use of water-insoluble pigments. Black is produced using inorganic carbon blacks, while the chromatic colours are made from organic pigments. These pigments are dispersed in the vehicle, a solution that consists of resins borne in mineral or vegetable oils. Small quantities of additives are also used to improve certain printing characteristics.
*Are the constituents hazardous substances?
*No! None of the raw materials we use require special labelling in line with material identification and labelling regulations and guidelines. If and when individual raw materials are discovered to pose a hazard of some description and become subject to such labelling requirements, they will be replaced by non-hazardous substances. This policy has already been followed in the past with respect to a number of mineral oils.
*What role do heavy metals play?
*When we talk about heavy metals, we need to distinguish between toxic and non-toxic ones. The former are not used in the production of our inks. The technically unavoidable concentration of traces of toxic heavy metals is regulated by various standards. The total concentration of four such elements, namely lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium(VI), must be less than 100 ppm. This value has been complied with for many years now.
Less toxic heavy-metal compounds, such as specific copper complexes, are used in blue shades and to some extent for toning. In these cases, the copper is present in a chemical form in which it has absolutely no negative effects on the environment. This is also reflected in its classification as a "non-water-endangering" substance. Small quantities of molybdenum and tungsten compounds may also be used in chromatic inks, but thanks to their properties and the very small amounts actually used, they do not pose any threat to the environment.
*What about organic halogen compounds?
*Organic halogen compounds in the form of chlorinated pigments are used to produce some hues. That said, these are substances that are in no way comparable with conventional chlorinated compounds. In contrast with such compounds, these are not soluble in water, that is, they are of no use with respect to biological processes and they are not volatile. As such, they are capable of polluting neither the atmosphere nor the ground water. Extensive investigations carried out by various ink manufacturers, pigment suppliers and a newspaper publisher, and with the assistance of an environmental protection organisation, led us all to arrive at the standpoint that it is at the present time not feasible to do without chlorinated pigments.
Other comprehensive investigations conducted by the paper industry in cooperation with printing ink manufacturers have likewise confirmed that printing inks do not pose any threat as regards dioxin.
*What is the cause of "black fingers" after reading the paper?
*Newspaper ink dries by the process known as absorption: that is, the paper absorbs the oils while the pigment particles, together with the resins and the small amounts of oil residue, remain on the surface of the paper. Since no form of energy is employed, the resulting ink film obtained with this "mechanical" drying process is not as smudge-free and setoff-proof as that produced by inks that dry with thermal assistance or by chemical means. This phenomenon may indeed be a nuisance, but it does not pose any health risk thanks to the harmless character of the ink. English nobility and others who are not short of a penny or two solve this problem by getting their butler to run the iron over the newspaper beforehand!
*Do your newspaper inks contain VOCs?
*VOCs (volatile organic compounds) are organic compounds whose vapour pressure at 20 °C is greater than 10 Pascal. In the production of newspaper inks, oils are used whose boiling point is approximately 300 °C and whose vapour pressure is therefore well below 10 Pascal. This means they are certainly not VOCs, a point that is also underlined by the fact that the pressurised
installations are exempt from all licensing requirements. Despite this, other auxiliaries that contain VOCs also have to be taken into consideration.
*Can you wrap your fish & chips in a newspaper?
*As those of us of British or Irish descent and old enough to remember know – and sometimes still yearn for! – this practice used to be part of our daily lives. Today, this is no longer the done thing, because newspaper is not exactly the best solution from a packaging point of view. Irrespective of this, however, the use of newspaper to wrap up greasy foods poses no risk to one’s health. The constituents of the inks are harmless and apart from that, the amount of them actually on the surface of the paper is exceedingly small. As a result of the increased use of coloured inks in the newspaper sector, the amount of ink on the surface is never any greater than 2 percent by weight, and anything that could find its way onto your chips would be minimal
 

Cheers

Andy


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## bothrops (Jan 7, 2007)

Shameless bump!

No-one have any thoughts?


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## elliot ness (Oct 5, 2008)

hope you have sent a copy of this to our friend.... alias the complete idiot


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## zon3k (Jun 7, 2009)

Newsprint Bedding for Livestock, CDFS-129
newsprint is non toxic, fact!
if anyone wants a cheap option that is DEFINATELY safe though, try and get hold of some chip paper (plain newsprint); its rated by the food standards association and lasts for AGES, ask if you can buy a pack from your local chippy


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## Meko (Apr 29, 2007)

bothrops said:


> However, some members of the forum seems to think that they are toxic and detrimental to the health of my animals,


that does actually say it all. Some members on here take things to the extreme.. 
Providing heating for a 60minute car trip,(as though reptiles never have some time without heat)
not using MDF because the fumes are toxic (the glue is when inhaled when cutting high quantities)

and many other fables that have been fabricated along the way. If newspaper ink was toxic they wouldn't use it for newspapers, we wouldn't have had out chips wrapped in it and there'd be masses of threads about reptiles dying from being poisoned.


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