Is chalk dangerous?
by
Marcy
+2
I'm going to be painting a large wall in my office with chalkboard paint. We'll be using the wall as a huge message board etc. Employees sit right near the wall and someone raised a concern that it might be unhealthy for them to sit so close to chalk bc of the dust or other chemicals in the chalk. I've done some research online but didn't find any real reason for concern. What can all you helpful hometalkers tell me?
5 answers
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No it is not harmful. If the product was bad it would not be for sale.
Janet Pizaro
on Sep 01, 2015
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It's hard for me to keep a straight face here. Not because of your question but because someone actually expressed their concern to you about being close to chalk dust? Really? It's hard for me to believe someone would raise such a concern over something like chalk when there are so many other potentially harmful things we come in contact with on a daily basis...the residual pesticides on/in our foods, the growth hormones and antibiotics given to animals that provide our meat and milk supplies, contamination in our water, air polution, all the chemicals in the cleaning products we use in our homes, beauty products etc. How about the stress on our kidneys and liver as they attempt to filter out all the chemical *toxins* from the millions and millions of dollars worth of prescription and over-the-counter drugs Americans put into their bodies every year? The list could go on and on! When you stop and think about it, most of us were exposed to chalk dust 6 hours day/9 months of the year/12+ years of our life when we were in school and I never heard of anyone developing any health condition from it. (In fact, when I was in elementary school, the most coveted job, besides "Line Leader", was "Chalkboard Eraser." Every student wanted to be chosen to erase the chalkboard for the teacher!) I would think it would take (purposely) inhaling A LOT of chalk dust to cause someone problems. To appease the worry-wort(s), you could use liquid chalk pens as an alternative. They're dustless, but certainly a lot more expensive than a box of regular chalk. Personally, if it were me, I would use the regular chalk and not worry about it.
Shari
on Sep 01, 2015
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Hi Marcy, it is only a concern if anyone has allergies or a sensitivity to it. Some people with respiratory problems react, if they are in close proximity to it. Others get dry, itchy hands from using it, You can buy a chalk holder to prevent this. I would imagine your co-workers would already know if they did, based on its previous use in schools, and from playing with it as kids. Overall it is quite safe. I've seen more people react to the ink in dry erase markers. It does create more dust (even the dustless kind), but it is manageable.
B. Enne
on Sep 01, 2015
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Thanks everyone for your helpful answers :)!
Marcy
on Sep 02, 2015
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Marcy, I painted a wall, with chalkboard paint, in my grandkid's playroom. I have textured walls and when the kids used the chalk, it was like sandpaper to the chalk and all this chalk dust landed on the baseboards and carpet. Because they used colored chalk too, the baseboards are stained. There is an alternative to chalkboard paint, they now have white board paint; it would be much cleaner. Again, it would work better on smooth walls.
Pib2230842
on Sep 03, 2015
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