History’s deadliest colors - J. V. Maranto

翻译人员: Riley WANG 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

In 1898, Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium.

1898年，居里夫人与皮埃尔·居里发现了镭。

Claimed to have restorative properties,

镭被宣称具有修护的特性。

radium was added to toothpaste,

牙膏、

medicine,

药物、

water,

水、

and food.

食物中，都会添加镭。

A glowing, luminous green,

由于镭的绿色带有光泽感，

it was also used in beauty products and jewelry.

它也用于美容产品和珠宝制作。

It wasn't until the mid-20th century

直到19世纪中期，

we realized that radium's harmful effects as a radioactive element

我们才意识到 镭，作为一种放射性元素，

outweighed its visual benefits.

带来的害处超过了其好处。

Unfortunately, radium isn't the only pigment that historically

然而，不幸的是在历史上，

seemed harmless or useful

镭并不是唯一的看上去无害

but turned out to be deadly.

实则致命的颜料。

That lamentable distinction includes a trio of colors and pigments

长期以来，我们使用了三种颜料

that we've long used to decorate ourselves and the things we make:

用来装饰自己及物品，它们是：

white,

白，

green,

and orange.

绿，

橙。

Our story begins with white.

我们先来说说白色。

As far back as the 4th century BCE,

早在公元前四世纪，

the Ancient Greeks treated lead to make the brilliant white pigment we know today.

古希腊人使用铅来制作白色颜料。

The problem?

问题在于什么呢？

In humans, lead is directly absorbed into the body

对于人而言，铅可以直接吸收进人体

and distributed to the blood,

进入血液、

soft tissues,

软组织、

and mineralized tissues.

以及矿化组织。

Once in the nervous system,

铅一旦进入神经系统，

lead mimics and disrupts the normal functions of calcium,

会模仿并干扰钙元素的正常功能，

causing damages ranging from learning disabilities

造成的损害轻则使人出现学习障碍，

to high blood pressure.

重则导致高血压。

Yet the practice of using this toxic pigment

但使用这种剧毒颜料的工艺

continued across time and cultures.

在很多文化中持续了很久。

Lead white was the only practical choice for white oil or tempera paint

直到19世纪，

铅白是唯一的 白油和蛋彩颜料的实用选择。

until the 19th century.

To make their paint, artists would grind a block of lead into powder,

艺术家为了作画， 会将铅块磨成粉末

exposing highly toxic dust particles.

这样，他们会充分接触这些剧毒的粉尘。

The pigment's liberal use resulted in what was known as painter's colic,

这种颜料的过分使用 导致了画家们的腹绞痛，

or what we'd now call lead poisoning.

我们现在称之为铅中毒。

Artists who worked with lead complained of palseys,

使用铅的画家会出现肌肉麻痹，

melancholy,

心情忧郁，

coughing,

咳嗽，

enlarged retinas,

视网膜放大，

and even blindness.

甚至失明。

But lead white's density, opacity, and warm tone

但是铅白的质感、不透明性和温暖的色调

were irresistible to artists like Vermeer, and later, the Impressionists.

令包括弗美尔及之后的 印象派画家难以放弃。

Its glow couldn't be matched,

没有其他颜料可以媲美铅白的光泽，

and the pigment continued to be widely used until it was banned in the 1970s.

这种颜料继续广泛使用， 直到1970年代才将其禁止。

As bad as all that sounds,

如上所述，

white's dangerous effects pale in comparison

铅白带来的危险性 与另一种颜料相比则顿矢光芒。

to another, more wide-spread pigment, green.

那就是广泛使用的绿色。

Two synthetic greens called Scheele's Green and Paris Green

谢勒绿和巴黎绿是 两种合成的绿色色素，

were first introduced in the 18th century.

18世纪时首次问世。

They were far more vibrant and flashy

相比于天然染料较沉闷的绿色，

than the relatively dull greens made from natural pigments,

它们的颜色更加明亮鲜艳，

so they quickly became popular choices for paint

因此这两种色素迅速流行， 用于绘画、

as well as dye for textiles,

纺织品染色、

wallpaper,

壁纸、

soaps,

香皂、

cake decorations,

蛋糕装饰、

toys,

玩具、

candy,

糖果、

and clothing.

衣物。

These green pigments were made from a compound called

这些绿色的染料由某种化合物制成，

cupric hydrogen arsenic.

这种化合物称为砷酸铜。

In humans, exposure to arsenic

人如果接触砷，

can damage the way cells communicate and function.

会损伤细胞交换及运作功能。

And high levels of arsenic have been directly linked

高剂量的砷与癌症和心脏疾病直接相关。

to cancer and heart disease.

高剂量的砷与癌症和心脏疾病直接相关。

As a result, 18th century fabric factory workers were often poisoned,

因此在十八世纪， 纺织厂工人经常出现中毒，

and women in green dresses reportedly collapsed

且据报道， 穿绿裙子的女性因皮肤接触

from exposure to arsenic on their skin.

裙子上的砷而昏倒。

Bed bugs were rumored not to live in green rooms,

还有传言说 臭虫也不会生活在绿色的房间中，

and it's even been speculated that Napoleon died from slow arsenic poisoning

人们甚至推测 拿破仑就死于慢性砷中毒，

from sleeping in his green wallpapered bedroom.

因为他睡在自己那 铺着绿色壁纸的卧室。

The intense toxicity of these green stayed under wraps

这种剧毒的绿色一直处于保密状态，

until the arsenic recipe was published in 1822.

直到1822年发布了砷的配方。

And a century later, it was repurposed as an insecticide.

一个世纪之后， 这种化合物摇身一变成为杀虫剂。

Synthetic green was probably the most dangerous color in widespread use,

合成绿色染料或许是 广泛使用的颜色中最为危险的，

but at least it didn't share radium's property of radioactivity.

但至少它并没有镭的放射性。

Another color did, though - orange.

而另一种颜色则 具备这一特性——橙色。

Before World War II, it was common for manufacturers of ceramic dinnerware

第二次世界大战之前，

陶瓷餐具制造商在釉彩中 使用氧化铀式非常普遍的，

to use uranium oxide in colored glazes.

The compound produced brilliant reds and oranges,

这种化合物能够产生 鲜艳的红色和橙色，

which were appealing attributes, if not for the radiation they emitted.

如果不是因为放射性， 那么这些颜色都是吸引人的特点。

Of course, radiation was something we were unaware of until the late 1800s,

当然，放射性是在 19世纪晚期才为我们意识到的，

let alone the associated cancer risks, which we discovered much later.

更不用提在更久之后， 才发现的与辐射相关的癌症风险。

During World War II,

在第二次世界大战期间，

the U.S. government confiscated all uranium for use in bomb development.

美国政府没收了 全部的铀用以发展核武器。

However, the atomic energy commission relaxed these restrictions in 1959,

然而在1959年， 原子能委员会放松了管制，

and depleted uranium returned to ceramics and glass factory floors.

铀重新回到了瓷器和玻璃工厂。

Orange dishes made during the next decade

接下来十年中 生产的橙色餐盘表面

may still have some hazardous qualities on their surfaces to this day.

很可能至今仍然具有危险的特质。

Most notably, vintage fiestaware reads positive for radioactivity.

最重要的是，经典的节日用具 仍在监测放射性时被显示为阳性。

And while the levels are low enough that they don't officially pose a health risk

虽然如果这些餐盘被束之高阁时

if they're on a shelf,

辐射较少不至于构成健康威胁，

the U.S. EPA warns against eating food off of them.

美国环保局发出警告 不要吃上面的食物。

Though we still occasionally run into issues with synthetic food dyes,

我们虽然偶尔会遇到合成的食物染料，

our scientific understanding has helped us prune hazardous colors out of our lives.

但科学认知已经帮我们在生活中 去掉了那些危险的颜色。