Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons: PAH

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 casters 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 PAH concentrations

BfR and ZEK developed a restriction proposal for consumer products based on the regulations. The restrictions are divided into three categories based on how much contact the products are likely to have with skin or food. TENTE's casters 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 group of PAHs

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

Naphthaline (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-c,d]pyrene (C23H13)

Dibenzo[a,h]anthracene (C22H14)

Benzo[g,h,i]perylene (C22H12)

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

All of TENTE's products comply with the PAH concentration guidelines.