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Heavy Metal Index

A step towards understanding plastic complexity: Antimony speciation in consumer plastics and synthetic textiles revealed by XAS

Portable X-ray fluorescence totals and L3-edge spectroscopy. The methods text says five PET bottles. The table prints six.

Portable X-ray fluorescence totals and L3-edge spectroscopy. The methods text says five PET bottles. The table prints six. This page follows the table.

Key numbers

Six PET bottles: 351, 331, 361, 322, 370, and 370 mg/kg (PDF p.4). Antimony in those bottles was organically bound, consistent with glycolate or acetate, and a significant amount of antimony trioxide was excluded. Three polyester textiles: 286, 471, and 452 mg/kg. One textile spectrum resembled senarmontite. Electrical objects were much higher, with bromine in the thousands of mg/kg on three of them.

Methods (brief)

pXRF and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. Not a migration test into water.

Evidence fitness

Supports speciation in the measured consumer plastics and textiles. Does not support calling the bottles baby bottles or the textiles infant sleepwear.

Limitations

The paper cites Biver but does not say the textiles are the same objects.

Update history

No substantive edit history is available in this build. The full commit record is available in git.