Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, via Bardanzellu 8, I-00155 Rome, Italy.
Department of Chemistry, University of Rome "La Sapienza", p.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185 Rome, Italy.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Dec 26;19(1):236. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010236.
Different plastic toys are on sale in the Italian market: they are sold as souvenirs and/or as toys. Such statuettes, called Gongoli, represent a famous character (a soccer player, a politician, the Pope, etc.). In particular, these products are widely sold, but the material composition is not sufficiently defined. Further, the effect of the release of dangerous compounds on human health is not sufficiently documented. Following this hypothesis, a study on eight different statuettes was carried out both for evaluating the possible presence of heavy metals and for evidencing their release from these objects. Preliminary analysis by means of EDS spectroscopy highlighted the percentage chemical composition of different products, especially the presence of total Cr and Ni. Release tests evidenced the release of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb: Pb reached 74 mg kg, which is an interesting value even if it is lower than reported in the legislation. This study should be considered preliminary due to its limitations, such as the number of items investigated and the large variability found for some elements, but it highlights a serious problem related to the classification of these products which are marketed as souvenirs but manipulated by children.
它们被当作纪念品和/或玩具出售。这些名为 Gongoli 的小雕像代表着一个著名的人物（足球运动员、政治家、教皇等）。特别是，这些产品广泛销售，但材料成分没有得到充分定义。此外，危险化合物释放对人类健康的影响也没有得到充分记录。基于这一假设，对八种不同的小雕像进行了研究，以评估是否存在重金属，并证明这些物体释放了这些重金属。通过 EDS 光谱分析初步发现了不同产品的化学成分百分比，特别是总铬和镍的存在。释放测试表明铬、铜、镍和铅的释放：铅达到 74mg/kg，即使低于法规中报告的值，这也是一个有趣的数值。由于其局限性，如调查的物品数量和某些元素的较大变异性，本研究应被视为初步研究，但它突出了与这些被归类为纪念品但被儿童操作的产品相关的严重问题。
