You may not believe it, but some books could literally give you cancer. A new study reveals that some Victorian-era cloth-bound books contain toxic dyes. 

The study authors detected arsenic, barium, chromium, lead, mercury, and various other poisonous elements in the dyes used on the cloth covers of these books. While long-term exposure to some of these elements can cause cancer, others are linked to cardiovascular and nervous issues.

What’s even more shocking is that many public libraries and local book collectors across the globe house such books, unaware of their potential danger.  

“While many are familiar with the dangers of toxic paints and dyes in Victorian wallpapers, there is less awareness about the risks posed by old and rare books. Our research aims to extend the survey of toxic books to local libraries and book collectors, raising awareness about the health hazards of handling Victorian-era books,” Abigail Hoermann, one of the study authors and an undergrad student at Lipscomb University, told ZME Science. 

The science of identifying poisonous books

You might be wondering why Victorian-era bookmakers used toxic dyes in their book covers. Well, the reason is quite simple. All the Victorian-era poisonous books have one thing in common — their cloth covers are bright and vibrantly colored. 

“The use of toxic dyes in book cloth during the Victorian era was likely due to the availability and vibrant colors these chemicals provided, despite the lack of awareness regarding their long-term health implications,” Hoermann said.

This isn’t the first study that reveals the poisonous nature of cloth-bound Victorian-era books. Some previous studies have also shown similar results. However, this time the study authors went one step further and detected the amounts of toxic elements in such books.

They collected tiny samples of the cloth covers of some 19th-century books from the Lipscomb University library and conducted three tests. First, they used X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to check the presence of toxic heavy metals. In the next step, they dissolved the samples in nitric acid and performed Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES).

This second test allowed them to estimate the quantities of the toxic elements used in the cloth dyes. Finally, they did X-ray diffraction (XRD) which revealed that heavy metals were present in the dyes as lead chromate, lead oxide, and various other pigment molecules.

“These colorful book cloths and pigments contain heavy metals, which means they didn’t become toxic overtime but were likely toxic from the beginning,” Jafer Aljorani, who has graduated from Lipscomb University and is one of the study authors, told ZME Science.

Test results reveal alarming levels of toxicity

The study authors identified seven books with significant levels of heavy metals, exceeding the safety thresholds established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For instance, the tested samples contained twice the quantity of lead and six times more chromium than the amounts considered dangerous by the CDC. 

Exposure to such high concentrations of lead and chromium can cause respiratory problems, infertility, and even cancer. This makes the books dangerous to the health of librarians, readers, and anyone who handles them. 

Hoermann and her team will conduct additional tests to detect other heavy metals in the book samples. The poisonous books have been sealed and removed from the Lipscomb University library. However, there are many libraries across the globe which contain such books.

“Libraries should consider either removing these books from their collection or handling them with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) due to the health risks,” Aljorani said.

To raise awareness of this issue, the University of Delaware has launched the Poison Book Project, which maintains a database of books containing toxic dyes and promotes research projects aimed at identifying techniques, such as XRF, that could be useful in identifying poisonous books.

Hoermann and her team will also contribute the findings of their study to the Poison Book project. 

“Our goal is to develop an accessible procedure that allows public libraries and local book collectors to easily identify and manage these toxic materials, promoting safer handling practices,” Hoermann told ZME Science.

The study is presented at ACS Fall 2024.