Zeitschrift für Laser, Optik und Photonik

Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy for the Detection and Quantitative Analysis of Toxic and Non-Toxic Elements in Toys

Abstract

Hira Yaseen*, S. Bashir, H. Z. Batool, S. Shaheenb and A. Hayat

Toys of different brands were analyzed by Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique employed for the analysis of toxic and nontoxic elements. All samples were irradiated without sample preparation treated under the ambient environment of argon gas. The analysis of emitted spectra reveals the presence of different elements in the samples which was verified by the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) database. Both toxic and non-toxic elements like lead, tin, mercury, potassium and magnesium are found indifferent concentrations. The concentration of heavy metals like lead, mercury and tin in different toys were in the range of 897.2 ppm-320.5 ppm, 88.2 ppm-140.4 ppm and 8.4 ppm-10.2 ppm respectively which is much higher than the permissible value set by US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) and other regulatory authorities. The concentration of non-toxic elements like magnesium and potassium are within safe permissible limits.