Heavy Metals in Packagings

1. Introduction

In 1997 the Danish Environmental Protection Agency published the report entitled: Survey of the Content of Heavy Metal in Packagings on the Danish Market, Environmental Project No. 349.

At the end of 1998 - to follow up on this project - the Danish Environmental Protection Agency had requested an analysis of a number of bottle and metal packagings for the content of the heavy metals chromium, lead, cadmium and mercury.

In this investigation the threshold limit of 600 ppm was exceeded for one bottle, and the coming threshold limit of 250 ppm was exceeded for eight bottles.

At the end of 1999 the threshold limit of 250 ppm is in effect. To follow the situation, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency has requested an analysis of fifty bottle packagings for content of the four heavy metals.