Technical term

What does PAH stand for?

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic compounds consisting of two or more aromatic ring systems. Some of these compounds are considered to be carcinogenic. PAHs are found, for example, in elastomer and rubber materials, plastics, varnishes, paints and other coatings. These materials are used in castors and wheels, as well as in toys, shoes, tool or bicycle handles, and many other everyday objects. In order to reduce the risk of cancer, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and the Central Exchange of Experience Group (ZEK) are working together to limit the use of these materials.

Guideline values for the PAH concentration

BfR and ZEK have developed under the REACH regulation a restriction proposal for consumer products. The restrictions are divided into three categories based on how much contact the products are likely to have with skin or food. TENTE’s castors and wheels belong to category 3, which covers materials with a predicted skin contact time of up to 30 seconds or without any skin contact. In this category, up to 20 mg benzo[a]pyrene per kg and a total of 200 mg/kg of all 16 affected PAHs are permitted.

The 16 "priority pollutants" in the PAH group

The following hydrocarbons are among the PAHs affected by the BfR's restriction proposal:

Naphthalene (C₁₀H₈)
Acenaphthylene (C₁₂H₈)
Acenaphthene (C₁₂H₁₀)
Fluorene (C₁₃H₁₀)
Phenanthrene (C₁₄H₁₀)
Anthracene (C₁₄H₁₀)
Fluoranthene (C₁₆H₁₀)
Pyrene (C₁₆H₁₀)
Chrysene (C₁₈H₁₂)
Benzo[a]anthracene (C₁₈H₁₂)
Benzo[b]fluoranthene (C₂₀H₁₂)
Benzo[k]fluoranthene (C₂₀H₁₂)
Benzo[a]pyrene (C₂₀H₁₂)
Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (C₂₃H₁₃)
Dibenzo[ah]anthracene (C₂₂H₁₄)
Benzo[ghi]perylene (C₂₂H₁₂)

The substances were initially defined by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as so-called priority pollutants, which is why they are often referred to as "EPA-PAH".

TENTE products all comply with the directives concerning the concentration of PAH.