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Screening for Toxic Heavy Metals in Packaging
Overview
and steel) and product types, mostly in the retail sector. With growing concerns in the manufacturing, recycling and environmental industries regarding toxic elements in consumer products, the need to be environmentally responsible and to assure adherence to regulations requires a strong verication program at all stages of a product’s life cycle. Nineteen U.S. states have toxics in packaging laws that prohibit the sale or distribution of packaging containing intentionally added cadmium, lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium, and limit the incidental concentration of these materials allowed in packaging. Additionally, the European Union Directive 94/62/EC calls for Member States to enforce similar standards. These laws are necessary to prevent toxic metals from discarded packaging materials from entering landlls, recycling streams, and ultimately, the environment.The Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse (TPCH), a national organization that coordinates testing and implementation of legislation on behalf of its member states and serves as a single point of contact for manufacturers and retailers seeking information, also conducts testing programs for toxic heavy metals in packaging. Companies found to be noncompliant with toxics in packaging laws are subject to investigation by their state agencies and potential monetary penalties.With funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, TPCH conducted the rst comprehensive test program of packaging in the U.S., screening 355 packaging samples between October 2005 and February 2006 for the presence of the four restricted metals using a handheld NITON x-ray uorescence (XRF) analyzer from Thermo Fisher Scientic. The packaging samples tested were selected to represent a variety of different materials (aluminum, glass, paper, plastic,
Testing was performed using a handheld, nondestructive NITON XLt 797 analyzer. The ease of operation, speed and portability of these instruments make them ideal tools for quality control and rapid testing of packaging materials wherever needed – in a
construction, on the
assembly line manufacturer, or in the back of a truck. With the simple pull of a trigger, quantitative analysis of cadmium, lead, mercury, and total chromium – as well as additional elemental constituents – is obtained in less than one minute, with little or no sample preparation required.
Methodology
The concentration of the four metals (cadmium, lead, mercury, and chromium) was evaluated as pass (< 100 ppm) or fail (> 100 ppm), taking into consideration the reported range of uncertainty for each metal. Samples were either measured directly or mechanically prepared to meet a minimum sample thickness of 5 mm. All samples were analyzed for 120 seconds, and at least two analyses were taken for each packaging component. The results reported for each metal are the average of the measurements taken of each packaging component.The test results were compiled and analyzed for trends in compliance and non-compliance with state toxics in packaging laws, including percentage of samples that passed and failed the screening test and the characteristics of failed samples, including product sector, material types and which restricted metals were detected above the screening threshold.16% of the packaging components tested exceeded the allowed concentration of 100 ppm of one or more of the restricted heavy metals, and may