Modern Blue Pigments - Random Bits of Fascination
 
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Modern Blue Pigments — 2 Comments

  1. Random additional trivia:

    Those who read murder mysteries, especially classic ones, may recognize that Prussian blue shares an eponym with Prussic acid, which is derived from it. Prussic acid, aka hydrogen cyanide or hydrocyanic acid is implicated in various poisoning cases.

    Although the pigment Prussian blue does *contain* cyanide, the cyanide in it is not considered a health threat , because iron binds cyanide so tightly that it cannot escape to cause acute toxicity. As Maria pointed out, Prussian blue is so far from being poisonous that it is actually used to sequester thallium (arguably the worst of the heavy metal poisons) and radioactive cesium. (And if a patient has to be treated with Prussian blue over a long period, they may begin to have blue sweat!!)

    That said, do keep in mind, as you use your Prussian blue, that if you convert it to Prussic acid, it can kill you. (Cue mystery novel character saying they detected a scent of bitter almonds.) 😉

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