Survey on European studies of the chemical characterisation of tattoo ink products and the measurement of potentially harmful ingredients

Abstract

The results of the detection of carcinogenic aromatic amines in about 300 ink samples are discussed. All analysed inks contained at least one or more azo compound pigments, and the presence of aromatic amines could only have originated from these compounds through a chemical process named 'reductive cleavage'. Sometimes, aromatic amines were also present as impurities derived from the processing of the pigments. A systematic surveillance programme in Italy, promoted by the Italian Ministry of Health with the involvement of Italian regions, local public health authorities and Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambiente del Piemonte (Environmental Protection Agency), has shown that about 40% of the monitored inks are not regular according to European Resolution ResAP(2008):1. The method utilised for the detection of aromatic amines has allowed the identification of other substances that are not carcinogenic but are toxic or have sensitisation properties that are derived from reductive cleavage or that are present as impurities.