Polychlorinated biphenyls, aka PCBs, have been banned in the United States since 1979. Recent studies, however, have found that one PCB in particular, PCB 11, is still being found in yellow pigments commonly used in paint and for printing clothing and paper. It’s leaching into the air and water and also found in human blood samples.
“For the current study, Rodenburg and other researchers tested readily available consumer goods for the chemical. They found PCB 11 in all 16 pieces of the yellow-printed clothing they tested, most of them children’s items. They also found it in all 28 ink-treated paper samples, including maps, glossy magazine advertisements, postcards, and colored newsprint, that were manufactured abroad. And it was in 15 out of 18 U.S.-manufactured paper goods tested. According to other research, the chemical is also present in yellow paint.”
Source:
PCBs Banned for Decades but Still Lurking in Some Yellow Products
Debra, I sew with 100% cotton quilting and flannel fabrics regularly, almost all of them with the colors printed on one side. Although few of them are yellow or contain yellow, I would assume that some of the other colors are combinations of dyes that include yellow in their mixtures. I do always prewash fabric before sewing.
Do you know if the toxic parts of the yellow dyes can be washed out in the washing machine or are they permanent? Thanks!
The referenced article answers your question.
The woman who did the study says, “she washes any new yellow-printed clothing a few times in hot water before giving it to her own three children (which, she acknowledges, won’t keep it out of sewage treatment, but will keep if off kid’s skin). “