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Analysis report of textile fabrics

Tests for presence of formaldehyde and metal contentin baby fabrics

12/8/2009 [Type the author name]

Introduction:

Health effects of Formaldehyde:Although formaldehyde is less toxic than most reactive compounds,certain factors make formaldehyde a particular problem to human health.Firstly, it is a gas that can spread throughout the work and living space.Secondly, most of the formaldehyde resins and their end-use products arepotential to liberate formaldehyde. The risk of adverse reaction toformaldehyde depends on the sensitivity of an individual, the time of exposure, and the type of contact.On breathing formaldehyde vapor, formaldehyde can result in irritationof nerves in the eyes and nose, which may cause burning, stinging sensation,a sore throat, teary eyes, runny nose and sneezing1. Skin contact withformaldehyde can cause skin rashes and allergic skin reactions.Formaldehyde is well-known sensitizer for dermatitis and instances of dermatitis resulting from wearing clothing containing high levels of formaldehyde have been documented1. The International Agency forResearch on Cancer, a World Health Organization panel of 26 scientists hasconcluded that the formaldehyde is a human carcinogen2.Formaldehyde Release from Textiles: The formaldehyde-containing chemicals are most effective crosslinkingagents for wrinkle resistance, dimensional stability and flame retardantproperties of textiles. During the finishing process, the N-methylolcompounds in formaldehyde-containing reagents can react with hydroxylgroups of cellulose, resulting in the preferable crosslinking reaction; theymay also react with themselves or with NH groups, which occupy thereaction places on crosslinking agents (Figure I). The formaldehyde cansimply be released from the N-methylol compounds (Figure II) which comefrom the excess finishing agents or by hydrolysis of crosslinking agents3. The formaldehyde released from a treated fabric will depend onnumber of factors including the following2:

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The type and quantity of formaldehyde resin used

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Environmental temperature and relative humidity

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The degree that the formaldehyde resin has been cured

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The after-treatment of finishing such as washingFigure I: Equilibrium reaction of N-methylol compounds with hydroxyl groupof cellulose, with themselves, with NH groups.

Figure II. Equilibrium reaction of formaldehyde release from N-methylolcompounds.Health Effects of Heavy Metal in Textile: The toxicity of heavy metals on human health are well known:damages of organs, disorders in the respiratory system, dysfunction of heartand blood, disorders in nervous system, skin diseases, and abnormalities infertility5. Unfortunately, heavy metals are often present in different textileprocesses and toxic heavy metal is one of the major chemical pollutants ontextiles. For instance, cobalt, chromium and occasionally copper and nickelare part of the most commonly used dyes for, cotton, nylon, wool and leathermaterials. Antimony is used to improve wash fastness on nylon fibers.Zirconium, aluminum are also used extensively in some textile processing6. To prevent these adverse effects, different standards and regulations areenacted to limit the amount of heavy metals in textile products:

Oeko Tex Standard

Clean fashion, Commitextile, EC Approach, EPG

(The EuropeanProduct Guarantee) and

Ecomarc Scheme

. Some of the azo dyes are alsoproven to be carcinogenic, and its usage is banned. Therefore it is important to analyze textile garments for toxicsubstances like formaldehyde, heavy metals and banned azo dyes to confirmtheir safety to users. In this project two baby garments were tested forformaldehyde and metals. Infants and young children are more sensitivetowards toxic substances and these products must meet the stringentinternational toxicity regulations.

Approach to the problem:

Measurement of Formaldehyde in Textiles:Measuring the content of free formaldehyde in textiles has beensubject of research for many years. AATCC Method 112 and Japanese LawMethod 112 are generally accepted standards for measuring the