Metals, metallic compounds, and, recently, metallic nanoparticles appear in textiles due to impurities from raw materials, contamination during the manufacturing process, and/or their deliberate addition. However, the presence of lead, cadmium, chromium (VI), arsenic, mercury, and dioctyltin in textile products is regulated in Europe (Regulation 1907/2006). Metal determination in fabrics was performed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after microwave-assisted acid digestion. The ICP-MS procedure has been successfully validated; relative standard deviations were up to 3% and analytical recoveries were within the 90–107% range. The developed method was applied to several commercial textiles, and special attention has been focused on textiles with nanofinishing (fabrics prepared with metallic nanoparticles for providing certain functionalities). Arsenic content (in textile T4) and lead content (in subsamples T1-1, T1-2, and T3-3) were found to exceed the maximum limits established by the European Regulation 1907/2006. Although impregnation of yarns with mercury compounds is not allowed, mercury was quantified in fabrics T1-2, T5, and T6. Further speciation studies for determining hexavalent chromium species in sample T9 are necessary (hexavalent chromium is the only species of chromium regulated). Some textile products commercialised in Europe included in this study do not comply with European regulation 1907/2006.

No abstract

Metals are present in cosmetics due to deliberate addition by the manufacturers, contamination of raw materials, and/or contamination during their manufacture or storage. The objective of this work was to explore the metal content in the most-consumed moisturising creams on the Spanish market, to verify their degree of compliance with Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union, regarding the presence of metals in cosmetics. The moisturisers were digested (microwave-assisted acid digestion) and analysed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), for metal assessment. The ICP-MS measurements were successfully validated (RSDs lower than 5% and analytical recoveries within the 91–110% range). Metals banned in cosmetics were found at very low concentrations in some of the moisturisers, as inevitable traces of pollutants. This was the case with beryllium (found in only two samples, at concentrations lower than 0.10 µg g−1), cadmium (found at 0.075 µg g−1 in one sample), mercury (found in four samples at concentrations within the 0.10–0.18 µg g−1 range), and lead (also found in four samples at concentrations from 0.03 to 0.44 µg g−1). Furthermore, nickel (0.16–0.56 µg g−1, six samples), chromium (0.09–0.30 µg g−1, three samples), and cobalt (lower than 0.13 µg g−1, two samples) were also found in the analysed creams.

No abstract

No abstract