IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2021i1p236-d711420.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Release of Heavy Metals from Plastic Statuettes Used as Souvenirs and/or Toys Handled by Children

Author

Listed:
  • Pietro Pandolfi

    (Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, via Bardanzellu 8, I-00155 Rome, Italy)

  • Maria Pia Sammartino

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Giovanni Visco

    (Department of Chemistry, University of Rome “La Sapienza”, p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Pasquale Avino

    (Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences (DiAAA), University of Molise, via De Sanctis, I-86100 Campobasso, Italy)

  • Virgilio Stillittano

    (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, via Appia Nuova 1411, I-00178 Roma, Italy)

Abstract

Different plastic toys are on sale in the Italian market: they are sold as souvenirs and/or as toys. Such statuettes, called Gongoli, represent a famous character (a soccer player, a politician, the Pope, etc.). In particular, these products are widely sold, but the material composition is not sufficiently defined. Further, the effect of the release of dangerous compounds on human health is not sufficiently documented. Following this hypothesis, a study on eight different statuettes was carried out both for evaluating the possible presence of heavy metals and for evidencing their release from these objects. Preliminary analysis by means of EDS spectroscopy highlighted the percentage chemical composition of different products, especially the presence of total Cr and Ni. Release tests evidenced the release of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb: Pb reached 74 mg kg −1 , which is an interesting value even if it is lower than reported in the legislation. This study should be considered preliminary due to its limitations, such as the number of items investigated and the large variability found for some elements, but it highlights a serious problem related to the classification of these products which are marketed as souvenirs but manipulated by children.

Suggested Citation

  • Pietro Pandolfi & Maria Pia Sammartino & Giovanni Visco & Pasquale Avino & Virgilio Stillittano, 2021. "Release of Heavy Metals from Plastic Statuettes Used as Souvenirs and/or Toys Handled by Children," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2021:i:1:p:236-:d:711420
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1/236/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/1/236/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2021:i:1:p:236-:d:711420. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.