Friday, August 26, 2022

New research points to potentially harmful chemicals in tattoo ink

This has been known for several decades! Given that tattoos have become a fashion of our times with hundreds of millions individuals in Western countries adorned with them, I thought they had cleaned up the act in the meantime. 

Whatever enters your body may have negative health consequences! It's that simple!

"New research presented at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society has raised concerns that many tattoo inks contain chemicals that may be damaging to human health. Analyzing nearly 100 currently used tattoo inks the researchers found many inks contained chemicals not declared on their ingredient list, and at nanoparticle sizes suspected to be harmful. ...
In the United States tattoos fall within the confines of cosmetics, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This means the inks being used do not need to be approved by the FDA and no regulations require a manufacturer to even list the ingredients in tattoo ink. ..."

"... “Big companies manufacture pigments for everything, such as paint and textiles. These same pigments are used in tattoo inks.”  ...
“For example, 23 of 56 different inks analyzed to date suggest an azo-containing dye is present.” Although many azo pigments do not cause health concerns when they are chemically intact, bacteria or ultraviolet light can degrade them into another nitrogen-based compound that is a potential carcinogen, according to the Joint Research Centre, which provides independent scientific advice to the European Union.
In addition, the team has analyzed 16 inks using electron microscopy, and about half contained particles smaller than 100 nm. “That’s a concerning size range,” says Swierk. “Particles of this size can get through the cell membrane and potentially cause harm.” ..."

New research points to potentially harmful chemicals in tattoo ink

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