In the 18th and 19th Centuries, arsenic was used as a way to colour fabrics with inevitable consequences.
The use of arsenic for green pigments was commonplace, before safer alternatives were found, and the colours were used in wallpapers and fabrics, carpets and book-bindings. Some clothing was painted with the colour, and sweat and movement caused the pigment to loosen and drift, to be breathed in or absorbed through the skin.
In New Zealand a dress is currently on display for the very last time because of the arsenic that it contains. The handmade frock is in the custodianship of the Whanganui Regional Museum and it dates from the mid-19th Century. Visitors to the museum will be able to see it for the month of July, after which it will go back into permanent storage.
Read more:
Radio New Zealand article (and interview with the Acting Director of the Museum, Patricia Nugent-Lyne)
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