Finding alternatives to gentian violet

Finding alternatives to gentian violet

By Communications Staff

October 10, 2019

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[EngSoc executive members]
Engineering Society of Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s 카지노게임사이트 (EngSoc) President Delaney Benoit, left, and EngSoc Orientation Chair Kennedy Whitfield, right, worked as part of a team that sought an alternative to gentian violet. (카지노게임사이트 Communications)

When Health Canada issued a safety alert on June 12 warning of potential cancer risks associated with exposure to gentian violet, Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s Engineering Society executive members started to search for a comparable but safe alternative in time for orientation week, then just 10 weeks away.

카지노 게임 컬렉션Students love tradition, it카지노 게임 컬렉션s one of the big pillars of our school,카지노 게임 컬렉션 says Engineering Society of Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s 카지노게임사이트 (EngSoc) President Delaney Benoit. 카지노 게임 컬렉션I think there was an immediate concern that we weren카지노 게임 컬렉션t going to be able to purple at all, that the tradition was going to be lost.카지노 게임 컬렉션

[Purple people FRECs
During Orientation Week 2019, student leaders in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science used ProAiir Hybrid Face and Body FX Paint, left, as a safe alternative to gentian violet, right, used in previous years. 

Though a somewhat modern practice in the history of Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s engineering, the all-over skin purpling of some second-year students in character as orientation week leaders 카지노 게임 컬렉션 FRECs 카지노 게임 컬렉션 has been a part of the orientation since at least the early 1990s. Orientation leaders dunked themselves in kiddie pools filled with warm water fortified with the purple dye and medical antiseptic, gentian violet, to achieve the startling purple skin tone so fondly associated with engineering orientation at Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s. It came as a surprise that gentian violet, with its long history as a mild and medically-approved antiseptic, antifungal, and anti-parasitic agent, could pose unforeseen risks. 

Benoit, along with EngSoc Vice-President (Student Affairs) Zaid Kasim, and EngSoc Orientation Chair Kennedy Whitfield, started the search for a safe alternative. Benoit sought clarification on the risks for topical application from Health Canada, a process that took weeks. They met with Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science Kevin Deluzio on the matter and fielded several inquiries and requests for comment from media. 

카지노 게임 컬렉션We had to start making plans without actually knowing where we stood on the warning,카지노 게임 컬렉션 says Benoit. 카지노 게임 컬렉션We started researching alternatives right away: different things we could use, different approaches we could take.카지노 게임 컬렉션

By the time Health Canada was able to respond to Benoit카지노 게임 컬렉션s request for clarification (their advice was to entirely avoid using gentian violet on skin) Benoit, Kasim, and Whitfield had already tried several alternatives including food colouring, and some other food-related products they knew were approved for human consumption.

카지노 게임 컬렉션Then we started looking at different types of face and body paints, cosplay and theatrical makeup, which is how we found ProAiir,카지노 게임 컬렉션 says Whitfield.

Finding a safe alternative

ProAiir Hybrid Face and Body FX Paint is billed by its manufacturer, Tennessee-based ShowOffs Body Art LLC, as a professional-grade body FX makeup. The company provided a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for their makeup that does not include gentian violet or any of its variants among the composition information. The makeup resists water and sweat, can be sprayed on or applied with a sponge, lasts about three days on the skin, but comes off easily and completely with soap or baby oil.

At home in Calgary, Whitfield was able to find a sample of ProAiir makeup in a retail store. Whitfield, Benoit, and Kasim tested it and said they were encouraged by the results. However, time was running short and finding the funds to pay for enough ProAiir to purple all the FRECs in time for Orientation Week was proving to be a barrier. Benoit says ProAiir costs about 10 times that of similar quantities of gentian violet but the supplier stepped up and offered a 50 per cent volume discount on the order. The EngSoc crew were able to secure further one-time support funding from the Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s Alma Mater Society (AMS) Sustainability Action Fund. The ProAiir shipment cleared customs and arrived in Kingston with just a few days to spare.

Benoit and Whitfield demonstrated purpling with ProAiir on a FREC committee member, and Whitfield wrote and distributed among orientation leaders a document about how best to apply it with sponges and special spray bottles. Orientation Week, complete with its purple people, was a success.

카지노 게임 컬렉션We were really excited by how it worked out,카지노 게임 컬렉션 says Whitfield. 카지노 게임 컬렉션The colour was a little bit different than gentian but that turned out to be helpful because we would have been able to tell if anyone had showed up to Orientation Week wearing gentian violet. We let the leaders know, 카지노 게임 컬렉션If you guys show up wearing gentian violet, you will be de-leadered.카지노 게임 컬렉션 We found that no one went against that. We expected that one or two would try, but ProAiir worked so well, I think that people were happy.카지노 게임 컬렉션

Looking for a long-term answer

Still, the story isn카지노 게임 컬렉션t quite over. It remains to be determined if ProAiir is the long-term purple-peopleing  answer. For now, the faculty is taking a stance prohibiting people who have purpled, with any substance, from entering faculty buildings out of concern for damage to the facilities (similar to the policy adopted by Residences). This is of particular interest during next week카지노 게임 컬렉션s Homecoming celebration.

The next challenge for the EngSoc executive to navigate is how to purple jackets in time for the end of final exams in December. Benoit says she is collaborating with representatives of Campus Equipment Outfitters, Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s 카지노게임사이트 Residences, Queen카지노 게임 컬렉션s Environmental Health and Safety, EngSoc General Manager Jay Young, FEAS Operations and Facilities Manager Simon Smith, and others to determine what if any alternative to gentian violet might be useful for dyeing jackets.

카지노 게임 컬렉션The purple dyes that were recommended to us by leather suppliers all have gentian in them,카지노 게임 컬렉션 says Benoit. 카지노 게임 컬렉션We don카지노 게임 컬렉션t know yet whether or not it카지노 게임 컬렉션s safe to use gentian to dye jackets, so we are looking for an agent that gets rid of the gentian issue altogether. We are hoping to find a practical solution in the next couple of weeks.

카지노 게임 컬렉션I think so far, though, that there was no spirit lost during Orientation Week because gentian violet wasn카지노 게임 컬렉션t there. It had the exact same energy as in previous years, if not more, because we found something that worked so well, and that actually made the FRECs lives a bit easier in terms of application and de-purpling. ProAiir was just so much easier to use.카지노 게임 컬렉션 

Smith Engineering