Systematic Investigation of Heavy Metal Assays in Indian Fashion Jewellery

Abstract

The assessment of heavy metals viz., aluminium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt copper, iron, lead, mercury, molybdenum, nickel, tungsten and zinc, present in fashion jewellery widely used in SAARC Countries were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) method. The observed ICP-OES results indicate that most of the fashion jewellery items contain significant levels of  highly toxic heavy metals, which are in excess of WHO, USEPA and CPCB standards. This can cause adverse toxicological impact on human health upon prolonged exposure/ contact.