Determination of metal load and extractable amounts in leathers dyed with metal-complex dyes

Heavy metals represent a major environmental problem in many industries and they may cause potential danger to human health when they are present in/on leather and textile and exposed long term contact with them in sweaty condition. The aim of this work was to determine the amount of metal ions in leathers dyed with 1:1 metal-complex dyes and their extractable amounts by artificial sweat solution. Measurements were done by using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). Total metal loads in leather samples were found between 115 and 1860 (min.-max. in mg/kg). Results in extraction solutions samples were found to be 0 to 6.55 (min.-max. in mg/L). The results obtained from the study were compared with the Oeko-Tex Standard limits and discussed.