[Smokin]

Im an artist working with lead carbonate, and lead oxides (PBO) which are used as siccatives to get paint to dry faster. I am interested in cooking PBO into my oils which has been done for centuries, but the modern day artist usually gets equiped with a radiation like suit and cooks thier lead outside with resperators and all kinds of safety equipment to prevent lead getting absorbed or breathed in. All which I dont object to, its good to be safe, but here is my question, does it help at all?!

I was watching youtube chemistry vids and was surprised to see someone take a test tube of lead and take a blowtorch to it for some reason, but it was all done with no respirators or and saftey gear other than to hold the test tube at arms lenth. Is the modern day artist geting into all this safety gear an overkill? The boiling point of Linseed oil is 350 C, the boiling point of litharge I believe is 600C. I dont plan to heat up the oil or lead passed 120ish C.  Is there any chance of fumes or vapors if the temp of the substance Im cooking does not reach anywhere close to the boiling point?

BTW, the idea behind cooking the litharge into the oil is to disolve it into the oil and to use the oil to grind pigments into a paint. The PBO acts as an oxidizer wich speeds the drying time of oil which dry through an oxidation process.

[Arkcon]

I don't really know all the possible reactions between your lead salts and linseed oil, there's a lot going on in your description.  A decent respirator seems like a good precaution for working in bulk with heating lead, but you might be safe with playing with tiny amounts outdoors.  But really, just because someone on youtube is a lunatic, is no reason to accept their procedure.  An adult exposing themself to large amounts of lead vapors, over a long period of time, stands the risk of a wide variety of health problems.  A child exposed to a tiny amount stands the (commonly reported) risk of permanent loss of developing nervous function.  So what you want to do depends on scale and personal environment.

[Smokin]

Thank you. Sorry for over complicating the question there.

To simplify, my question is, if one does not heat a substance to its boiling point or anywhere close to it's boiling point, does one have to worry about that substance emmiting a vapor or getting airborn?

Assuming one isnt heating an evaporative substance as well.

[Arkcon]

No, it is possible to increase the evaporation of a substance by heating it below it's boiling point.  Even for a solid.  Since lead is pretty dangerous in fairly low concentrations, I really can't be sure what will happen, depending on scale (how much at once, how often) and circumstances (how much ventilation, does the wind blow it back at you, will you eat a sandwitch in your old clothes, does your cat lick your hair.)