Articles - Leather Technology Magazine Nš76
Evaluating the presence of lead in leather footwear
traded in the Vale dos Sinos Region/RS/Brazil - Part I
Streit, K.F.; Beroth, M.; Ramirez, A.
SENAI/RS Leather Technology Center
Rua Gregório de Matos, 111- Estância Velha/RS – Brazil kstreit.couro@senairs.org.br
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Evaluating the presence of lead in leather footwear
traded in the Vale dos Sinos Region/RS/Brazil - Part I
Presented at the 17th Latin American Congress of Chemists and Technicians
of the Leather Industry, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 2008.
Key Words: lead, footwear, leather, heavy metal
ABSTRACT
Annually, around 14,000 million pairs of footwear are produced worldwide,
60% of which come from China. In Brazil, total annual production amounts
to 700 million pairs, 550 million of which are allocated to the domestic
market. Leather footwear may contain heavy metals such as lead deriving
from leather processing, especially, from finishing.
The presence of lead in footwear may pose a serious problem for users,
since lead is highly hazardous. Special attention must be placed on children,
since, in general, they are more sensitive and tend to put their shoes into
their mouths, which can increase risk. Lead poisoning is one of the oldest
diseases known by men. Exposure may result from inhalation or ingestion.
Title 16, Section 1303 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) of the
US Consumer Product Safety Commission establishes that surface-coating
products that contain lead in excess of 0.06% (600 mg/Kg) dry weight of
lead are not suitable for trading. This American regulation applies mainly
to toys and furniture and, by extension to the footwear traded by some
of the largest trading networks in the United States. Brazil is yet to pass
legislation concerning the presence of lead in footwear. Samples of men,
women and children footwear have been collected in some cities of the Vale
do Sinos region, composed of the districts of Araricá, Campo Bom, Canoas,
Dois Irmãos, Estância Velha, Esteio, Ivoti Nova Hartz, Nova Santa Rita,
Novo Hamburgo, Portão, São Leopoldo, Sapiranga and Sapucaia do Sul.
In these samples, the total amount of lead was analyzed using the technique
of flame atomic absorption spectroscopy.
This work contains a preliminary diagnosis of the footwear traded in the
Vale do Sinos region concerning the consumers’ exposure to lead. |
