Heavy Metal Ions In Glass And Related Legislation

Within the framework of the measures taken to regulate the use of toxic heavy materials the recent EC Directive 94/62, of environmental concern, and the revision of the ISO 7086, of more specific food safety concern, are playing a very significant role. The compositional limits for heavy metals set up by the Directive on Packaging and Packaging Waste are not really relevant to the aim of preventing leaching from a glass because of the inherent inertness of the glass as a material. On the other hand it may discourage recycling which is a main objective of the Directive. An overview on the typical contamination occuring for glass bottles available on the market is given, together with the corresponding migration levels.