engleski

Exposure to chromium from tanned leather

People can be exposed to chromium through breathing, eating or drinking and through skin contact with chromium or chromium compounds. Leather is the major industrial product made from a natural fabric, animal skin. It is produced through a tanning process converting the putrescible skin into a durable, long-lasting and versatile natural material for various uses. About 90 % of the global leather production makes use of the conventional chrome-tanning process resulting in serious environmental concerns (waste-water) as well as in considerable health problems. Allergic contact dermatitis caused by chromium(VI) resulting from oxidation of Cr(III) during the tanning process is a proven fact. Thus much importance is attached to the analysis of chromium-tanned leather. Not only the quantification of the total concentration of chromium in the final product is important to be known, but also the extractable amounts of total chromium and in particular of chromium(VI). Extraction experiments were performed using artificial sweat and saliva. After different time periods the extraction solutions were analyzed by ICP-OES. Furthermore the total amounts of chromium were determined by ICP-OES after acidic microwave assisted digestion. In order to quantify the amounts of extractable chromium(VI) the samples were extracted using a K2HPO4 solution prior to complexation with 1, 5-diphenyl-carbazide for UV-VIS-measurements. Since the extracted amounts of chromium are in the same order of magnitude than the prescribed limits or they even exceed them, it is direct and prolonged contact of leather materials with the skin is not advisable.

tanned leather; ICP-OES; UV-VIS; chromium

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