Editing Pencil (section)

== Health ==

Residual graphite from a pencil stick is not poisonous, and graphite is harmless if consumed.<ref>{{cite web
 |url         = http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33124
 |title       = Graphite – Identification, toxicity, use, water pollution potential, ecological toxicity, and regulatory information
 |publisher   = Pesticideinfo.org
 |accessdate  = 23 July 2009
 |deadurl     = no
 |archiveurl  = https://web.archive.org/web/20090618000853/http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33124
 |archivedate = 18 June 2009
 |df          = dmy-all
}}</ref>

Although [[lead]] has not been used for writing since antiquity, lead poisoning from pencils was not uncommon. Until the middle of the 20th century the paint used for the outer coating could contain high concentrations of lead, and this could be ingested when the pencil was sucked or chewed.<ref>{{cite journal|date=7 July 1972|title=Pencils, paint and pottery can give you lead poisoning|journal=[[Life (magazine)|Life]]|volume=73|issue=1|page=46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_1QEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=life+Pencils,+paint+and+pottery+can+give+you+lead+poisoning&source=bl&ots=QlNXqz-sQB&sig=8TBI4CB_ykihPI24dKZsN3xWP18&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhw9jysc3QAhWMyoMKHb0YCq8Q6AEIHzAB#v=onepage&q=life%20Pencils%2C%20paint%20and%20pottery%20can%20give%20you%20lead%20poisoning&f=false}}</ref>