Many people strongly warn against mixing cadmiums with lead white. Vermilion was traditionally mixed with lead white for flesh tones. I m not the only one who thinks its day as an artist s pigment is long past. True, but there are plenty who say the same thing about Flake White, and the cadmiums. Of course, people need to know what they're doing.
Mercuric sulfide is insoluble in water.
This makes it far less dangerous than soluble mercury compounds. Emerald green is far more toxic than Vermilion. It contains both soluble copper and soluble arsenic. Vermilion contains insoluble Mercury. That's a huge difference.