Abstract
Costume jewelry may expose skin to toxic metals due to sweat and friction, causing intoxications. An investigation was conducted over costume jewelry rings to study its behavior and verify its safety throughout their use, regarding toxic metal contamination. Qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis of the internal and external layers of the ring samples (costume jewelry) were made through X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The ring samples were also immerged in a synthetic sweat solution for 30 days. The lixiviated solution and post treated surfaces were analyzed by ICP-OES and Search Electron Microscopy (SEM), respectively. Metals such as Cu, Cd, Cr and Ni were identified in the surface composition, as well in the composition of the digested samples. The synthetic sweat eroded the rings surfaces, and metals such as Cd and Mn were lixiviated by it. The results indicate the presence and lixiviation of harmful metals that may cause health and environmental problems.
Highlights
The use of costume jewelry is widespread among the Brazilian population
3.1 Synthetic Sweat Lixiviation Test (SSLT) All samples showed macroscopic differences after a month when submerged in the synthetic sweat solution, which can be seen on Figure 2
The synthetic sweat solution was able to cause fissures on the surface of the steel samples but unable to promote the same effect in metal samples, in which it appears that a layer was removed
Summary
The use of costume (or fake) jewelry is widespread among the Brazilian population. An expressive share of this market accounts for imported costume jewelry, mostly from China, which is the World’s biggest exporter (MME, 2017 ; SEBRAE, 2017). The resulting combination of materials includes cheap metals, such as iron or nickel, and sometimes even heavy metal alloys containing cadmium and lead, superficially treated to simulate noble metals (Weidenhamer & Clement, 2007; Guney & Zagury, 2013; Guney & Zagury, 2014). In the scientific literature several works from different countries have already identified the hazardous of toxic metals exposure due to costume jewelries (Moitra, Brashier & Sahu, 2014; Murphy et al, 2016; Adie, Oyebade & Atanda, 2020). As in the ancient Trojan horse myth, the shiny surface of a ring might be just a decoy for hazardous substances ready to attack the person wearing it and the environment
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