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Thank you for posting that PDF file.
It begins by stating the compilers are students at some local land grant university and cites the usual material common to such documents...injecting turpentine into the abdomen of a shrimp causes health problems and similar citations which rely on the reader to draw their own conclusions. Those conclusions are generally drawn from the readers basket of preferences and prejudices. Most readers who cite such things use such information in much the same way a drunkard uses a lamp post -- less for illumination than for support.
The single thing that comes out of all similar research is turpentine "will cause taste and odor problems well before reaching toxic levels." That's the canary in the coal mine that odorless mineral spirits does not have. The atmosphere of a room filled with the fumes of odorless mineral spirits can reach roxic levels without any warning to the senses.
The students erroneously state that turpentine and mineral spirits are interchangeable as solvents. Clearly, they know not whereof they speak because turpentine is a far more aggressive solvent than mineral spirits.
The students make the same mistake that uninformed artists make in assuming that turpentine is a monolithic substance rather than something separated into grades. The cosmetic/perfumery grade is very different than the grade used to make industrial solvents.
The reason that turpentine will travel through the skin barrier appears to be unknown to the student volunteers. Well known to chemists is one of the by-products of turpentine distillation is DMSO, a powerful penetrating carrier used by the leather dyeing industry. It will carry virtually any soluble substance into the skin. It is used as a linament for animals with the proviso that the area of application be completely clean because DMSO will carry whatever is on the skin to the interior.
Some DMSO (trace amounts) is found in coarsely distilled turpentine. Don't use that. It stinks. The turpentine we use to formulate Double Mastic varnish is the cosmetic grade (the USDA has passed on it as being safe). Don't forget, you can always use Oil of Spike in lieu of turpentine.
A simple test is to try to mix damar varnish with mineral spirits. It will grow cloudy and, if cooled, will precipitate like a tiny snowfall (ever wonder about those little specks of white in your paint surface...they're not dust).
As I stated before. It's all chemistry. If you wish to use alkyds, by all means do. I welcome people limiting their options and making the act of painting as difficult as possible for themselves.
The solutions to using turpentine are simple...(1) open the window, (2) don't spill any on you (if you get paint on your clothing, you might want to work on improving your accuracy with a brush). I often have to paint wearing a suit. Missing my stroke by 1/8 of an inch would be obvious. Missing the stroke by several feet and getting it on my suit is ludicrous.
Again, rather than adhering to the writing of student volunteers or manufacturer's copywriters, please make test panels and document them. After a few years you will have a much deeper understanding of what to expect from your materials. Studies injecting art materials into the abdomens of crustaceans will not bring you closer to understanding the masters.
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