European Survey on the Presence of Banned Azodyes in Textiles

Abstract

Abstract A European survey on the presence of banned azodyes in textiles, in particular textile clothing, produced all over the world was performed. The selection of fabrics was planned among coloured textile products, in order to cover as many different types of fibres and type of garments as possible. The whole population was considered as target. Samples were bought in 24 Member States of the European Union, from different sources, with different compositions and various production countries or areas. Part of them was printed and some were ¿easy care¿ or Oeko-Tex labelled. A total of 116 samples were analysed with standard method EN 14362-1 (without extraction) and 72 also with standard method EN 14362-2 (with extraction). Measurements were performed in duplicate and standard deviations were calculated. In the case of the method without extraction, 2.6 % of samples (3 out of 116) intended to be in direct contact with skin contained over 30 mg/kg of some banned aromatic amines, which is the limit established by Directive 2002/61/EC. The highest concentration (434.2 mg/kg) was measured for benzidine. Other ten samples (8.6 %) contained some prohibited aromatic amines in levels lower than the limit. Comparison between method EN 14362-1 and a slightly modified version of it showed that generally the standard method gave lower results than the ones obtained with the modified one. Considering the method with extraction from fibres, only one sample T188 contained some banned aromatic amines, one of which, benzidine, in concentration of 39.0 mg/kg. Several not carcinogenic aromatic amines, different from the ones listed in Directive 2002/61/EC, were detected in 21 samples. They were quantified based on calibration curves of some banned aromatic amines of similar structure. Their concentration was often higher than 30 mg/kg and in certain cases even higher than 100 mg/kg. Colour fastness to washing, perspiration and saliva was evaluated for the samples which contained some forbidden aromatic amines, in order to estimate the tendency of dyes to migrate. Results showed a very high colour fastness in terms of colour degradation, except for some samples including the two positive ones T188 and T292. On the contrary, colour fastness in terms of staining was not high, in particular on polyamide. Staining was generally higher to washing than to saliva; the lowest staining was obtained to perspiration. Almost no differences were observed among results obtained with acid and basic saliva or with acid and basic perspiration simulants. The three positive samples T148, T188 and T292 were among the worst specimens concerning both colour degradation and staining. Following the recommendations of the Technical Guidance Document, data were used to estimate adult and child dermal exposure to carcinogenic aromatic amines. From data obtained with the EN-14362-1 standard method and the modified one, the maximum dermal uptakes evaluated in the case of a child were 8.2 and 11.8 mg/kg bw and, in the case of an adult, 3.1 and 4.4 mg/kg bw respectively.