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 verification program at all stages of a product’s life cycle.
十九个美国在包装法律中具有毒品，禁止包含有意添加的镉，铅，汞和十六万的包装销售或分配，并限制包装中允许的这些材料的偶然浓度。亚博网站下载此外，欧盟指令94/62/EC呼吁成员国执行类似的标准。这些法律对于防止被丢弃的包装材料的有毒金属进入垃圾填埋场，回收流以及最终的环境所必需。亚博网站下载
Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse
包装交换所（TPCH）的毒物，该组织是一个国家组织，该组织代表其成员国协调立法测试和实施立法，并作为寻求信息的制造商和零售商的单一联系点，还针对包装中有毒重金属的测试计划进行测试。发现与包装法中有毒理学的公司不合规，其州机构和潜在的货币罚款受到调查。
在美国环境保护局的资助下，TPCH在2005年10月至2006年2月之间进行了第一个全面的包装测试计划，以使用手持式Niton X射线荧光（XRF）筛选了355个包装样品，以筛选四个限制金属（XRF））来自Thermo Fisher Scientific的分析仪。选择了测试的包装样品，以代表各种不同的材料（铝，玻璃，纸，塑料和钢）和产品类型，主要是在零售领域。亚博网站下载
Thermo Scientific Niton Analyzers
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 warehouse, on the assembly line, 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.
Contamination Levels Detected
测试的包装组件中有16％超过了一个或多个受限重金属的100 ppm允许的浓度，并且可能违反包装法中的状态毒物。
镉和铅是四种受调节金属中最常检测到的。有两种类型的包装具有特别高的故障率：柔性聚氯乙烯（PVC）包装，以及用于塑料购物/邮件袋上的墨水和着色剂。限制金属水平升高的包装似乎主要是从亚洲进口的，那里通常仍使用含有这些重金属的溶剂墨水。
跟进
Companies whose products were not in compliance with state toxics in packaging laws were contacted by TPCH and asked to verify or refute the test results. Only 15% of the companies contacted acknowledged that their packages were not in compliance with state toxics in packaging requirements. Most companies claimed compliance and submitted supporting documentation for almost 70% of the packages that failed the TPCH screening tests. Companies that did not respond to the requests were referred to member states for appropriate action, including enforcement.
There are several possible explanations for the discrepancy between the TPCH test results and company compliance claims. First, suppliers or raw materials may have changed since the time that TPCH obtained a given package. Second, TPCH suspects that conventional laboratory preparation methods are not sufficient to adequately digest the packaging sample, resulting only in the quantification of recoverable metals rather than a true total concentration of the restricted metals.
XRF与传统实验室方法
After receiving numerous analytic test results from companies that refuted TPCH XRF measurements indicating violations of state laws, TPCH sent several samples to the California Department of Toxic Substance Control’s (DTSC) analytical laboratory for further testing. California DTSC analyzed the samples using XRF technology, as well as Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES), a common analytical laboratory technique for determining metals concentration in soil samples. The XRF measurements obtained by TPCH and DTSC, using three different XRF instrument models manufactured by two companies, all indicated that the packages are in violation of state laws. The ICP-AES test results obtained by California DTSC, however, were significantly lower than the collective XRF results. If TPCH had relied on ICP-AES results instead of XRF, most of the failing samples would have passed the compliance test.
鉴于使用常规实验室测试方法获得的结果，毫不奇怪，许多从TPCH收到失败通知的公司根据独立的实验室测试结果声称合规性。TPCH怀疑传统的实验室样品制备方法不足以消化聚合物样品，因此调节金属的测试结果显着降低。加利福尼亚DTSC正在设计一项后续研究，以进一步比较不同的样品制备和测试方法，以确定包装材料中限制金属的总浓度。亚博网站下载
结论
This study conducted by TPCH clearly demonstrates that toxic heavy metals in packaging are still present in the U.S. above the levels allowed by state toxics in packaging laws, with the majority of violations found in packages of imported products. As a result, toxic heavy metals are continuously being fed into the solid waste and recycling streams, eventually being released into the environment. With more and more of the products sold on U.S. shelves being imported from other countries, companies selling or distributing packaging materials and packaged products need to perform verification testing on packaging components before they reach store shelves.
Be ready for the task at hand with Thermo Scientific Niton XRF analyzers, the ideal tools for ensuring that toxics in packaging regulations are followed and the risks to consumers, the environment and legal compliance are minimized.
.jpg)
This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Thermo Fisher Scientific.
For more information on this source, please visit材料ID的Thermo Scientific Portable分析仪。