water treatment for well water

This article discusses the discovery of phosphorescent lithopone on watercolor drawings by American artist John La Farge dated between 1890 and 1905 and the history of lithopone in the pigment industry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Despite having many desirable qualities for use in white watercolor or oil paints, the development of lithopone as an artists' pigment was hampered by its tendency to darken in sunlight. Its availability to, and adoption by, artists remain unclear, as colormen's trade catalogs were generally not explicit in describing white pigments as containing lithopone. Further, lithopone may be mistaken for lead white during visual examination and its short-lived phosphorescence can be easily missed by the uninformed observer. Phosphorescent lithopone has been documented on only one other work-to-date: a watercolor by Van Gogh. In addition to the history of lithopone's manufacture, the article details the mechanism for its phosphorescence and its identification aided by Raman spectroscopy and spectrofluorimetry.

The European region struggled with the rising inflation that caused energy prices to rise leading to higher production costs thereby, negatively impacting the prices of titanium dioxide. The transportation routes were further disrupted along with the uncertainties in the construction and automotive industries. In addition to this, the offtakes and purchasing behaviour of the end-user consumers also declined, fueling the declining price trendss for titanium dioxide.

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While the conclusions of the EU expert panel were considered in this report, Health Canada's Food Directorate conducted its own comprehensive review of the available science. This included evaluating new scientific data that addressed some of the uncertainties identified by the EU expert panel and were not available at the time of their review.    

The aim of this work was to examine particularly the Degussa P25 titanium dioxide nanoparticles (P25TiO₂NPs) because they are among the most employed ones in cosmetics. In fact, all kinds of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO₂NPs) have gained widespread commercialization over recent decades. This white pigment (TiO₂NPs) is used in a broad range of applications, including food, personal care products (toothpaste, lotions, sunscreens, face creams), drugs, plastics, ceramics, and paints. The original source is abundant in Earth as a chemically inert amphoteric oxide, which is thermally stable, corrosion-resistant, and water-insoluble. This oxide is found in three different forms: rutile (the most stable and substantial form), brookite (rhombohedral), and anatase (tetragonal as rutile), of these, both rutile and anatase are of significant commercial importance in a wide range of applications [3]. Additionally, the nano-sized oxide exhibits interesting physical properties, one of them is the ability to act as semiconducting material under UV exposure. In fact, TiO₂NPs are the most well-known and useful photocatalytic material, because of their relatively low price and photo-stability [4]. Although, this photoactivity could also cause undesired molecular damage in biological tissues and needs to be urgently assessed, due to their worldwide use. However, not all nanosized titanium dioxide have the same behavior. In 2007, Rampaul A and Parkin I questioned: “whether the anatase/rutile crystal form of titanium dioxide with an organosilane or dimethicone coat, a common titania type identified in sunscreens, is appropriate to use in sunscreen lotions” [5]. They also suggested that with further study, other types of functionalized titanium dioxide could potentially be safer alternatives. Later, Damiani found that the anatase form of TiO₂NPs was the more photoactive one, and stated that it should be avoided for sunscreen formulations, in agreement with Barker and Branch (2008) [6,7].

In a 2016 study published in Scientifica (Cairo), Egyptian researchers examined the effects of titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the organs of mice by orally administering the food additive daily, for five days. The results showed that the exposure produced “mild to moderate changes in the cytoarchitecture of brain tissue in a time dependent manner.” Furthermore, “Comet assay revealed the apoptotic DNA fragmentation, while PCR-SSCP pattern and direct sequencing showed point mutation of Presenilin 1 gene at exon 5, gene linked to inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease.” The researchers wrote: “From these findings, “the present study concluded that TiO2NPs is genotoxic and mutagenic to brain tissue which in turn might lead to Alzheimer’s disease incidence.”

Regarding flavoring substances, JECFA concluded that there is no safety concern and established specifications for 21 agents across three classes: aliphatic primary alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, acetals, and esters containing additional oxygenated functional groups; linear and branched-chain aliphatic, unsaturated and unconjugated alcohols, aldehydes, acids, and related esters; and saturated aliphatic acyclic linear primary alcohols, aldehydes, and acids.

How to Approach Titanium Dioxide in Products

Exposure to titanium dioxide in utero and in breastfeeding children