ASSESSMENT OF CADMIUM CONTENT IN COSMETICS BY EXTRACTION WITH DILUTED HCl AND AQUA REGIA

The intensive industrial and technological development results in anappearance of a large amount of pollutants and toxic substances in the biosphere includinglarge quantities of heavy metals. Some heavy metals are biogenic (Cu, Zn, Se etc.) andessential for proper maintaining of the metabolism in the human body. The main dangers tothe human health are associated with the exposure to toxic elements such as Pb, Cd, Hg andAs. Emission of Cd in the environment has increased during the 20th century mainly due tothe recycling of the products containing this element. Cadmium accumulates in the humanbody with a biological half-life from 10 to 30 years and could cause very serious toxiceffects. Cosmetic products are potentially a source of cadmium as well as some other heavymetals mostly due to the frequent and uncontrolled usage of cosmetics of poor аnd/orsuspicious quality. The goal of the study is to determine the cadmium content in variouscosmetic products (lipsticks, eyeshadows and blushes) present in the markets of the Republicof Srpska. The content of Cd was determined with atomic absorptionspectrophotometry (AAS) after the extraction with diluted HCl and aqua regia. The resultsof the research show that the cadmium concentrations in the investigated products are inaccordance with the regulations of the Republic of Srpska (Regulations on safety of consumergoods; „Official Gazette RS“ – No.17/15).