Chemical products: cadmium — reported risk evidence
The acquired cohort contains 9 official alert references published from 2012-10-12 to 2020-08-07. This page compares 4 selected, distinct product descriptions, including tattoo ink, bike lock. The other 5 records still contribute to the cohort counts but are not displayed: descriptions may repeat, lack the display inputs, or fall outside the eight-description display limit. The recorded risks raise separate evidence questions about cadmium. Compare the product features and dated findings below before scoping an investigation. These historical observations do not determine your product’s compliance or a market failure rate.
Evidence retrieved 2026-10-07. Source versions and topic-specific limits are listed below.
Dated official observations
Compare the product features and reported failure mechanism
The source wording below describes the reported case at that time. Read each complete report before using it in an investigation.
Tattoo ink · A12/00096/20
Report published 2020-01-24 · notifying country Italy · reported origin United States
Reported product description
29,6 ml of light brown tattoo ink in a transparent plastic bottle fitted with a dispensing nozzle and a screw-top. [1]
Reported risk explanation
The product contains the aromatic amine o-anisidine (measured value: 10.3 mg/kg) and an excessive amount of barium and cadmium (measured values: 324 mg/kg and 0.33 mg/kg, respectively). O-anisidine may cause cancer.Barium can be easily absorbed and have toxic effects on the body impairing muscle, kidney and heart activity, leading to arrythmia, paralysis or gastrointestinal alterations.Cadmium is harmful to human health because it accumulates in the body, can damage the kidney and bones, and it may cause cancer.The Council of Europe Resolution ResAP (2008)1 on requirements and criteria for the safety of tattoos and permanent make-up, recommends that aromatic amines with carcinogenic mutagenic, reprotoxic or sensitising properties should neither be present in tattoos and permanent make-up products nor released from azo-colourants and that barium does not exceed 50 mg/kg or cadmium 0.2 mg/kg. [1]
Reported measures, verbatim
Type of economic operator to whom the measure(s) were ordered: ImporterCategory of measure(s): Ban on the marketing of the product and any accompanying measuresDate of entry into force: 25/11/2019 [1]
Report published 2018-08-03 · notifying country Croatia · reported origin United States
Reported product description
Bright red tattoo ink in a plastic bottle with screw top. [2]
Reported risk explanation
The ink contains cadmium (measured value: 0.62 mg/kg), mercury (measured value: 0.32 mg/kg) and barium (measured value: 62 mg/kg). Exposure to lead is harmful for human health and can cause developmental neurotoxicity. Salts of barium can be absorbed from the tattoo ink and have toxic effects.The Council of Europe Resolution ResAP (2008)1 on requirements and criteria for the safety of tattoos and permanent make-up recommends that the levels of cadmium and mercury in tattoo inks do not exceed 0.2 mg/kg and that the level of barium does not exceed 50 mg/kg. [2]
Reported measures, verbatim
Type of economic operator to whom the measure(s) were ordered: DistributorCategory of measure(s): Ban on the marketing of the product and any accompanying measuresDate of entry into force: 29/06/2018 [2]
Report published 2015-06-05 · notifying country Sweden · reported origin People's Republic of China
Reported product description
Tattoo ink in black colour. Black plastic bottle, height 8 cm, 1/2 oz. [3]
Reported risk explanation
null The product contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)s, including benzo(a)pyrene and naphthalene (measured value of PAHs: up to 20 mg/kg), as well as cadmium, lead and zinc (measured values 28 mg/kg, 41 mg/kg and 246 mg/kg). The Council of Europe Resolution ResAP (2008)1 on requirements and criteria for the safety of tattoos and permanent make-up, recommends that the total amount of PAHs do not exceed 0.5 mg/kg. The recommendation for cadmium, lead and zinc is that they do not exceed 0.2 mg/kg,, 2 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg respectively. The product does not comply with the national legislation. [3]
Reported measures, verbatim
Type of economic operator taking notified measure(s): OtherCategory of measure(s): Withdrawal of the product from the marketDate of entry into force: 16/12/2014 [3]
Report published 2014-10-24 · notifying country Germany · reported origin Unknown
Reported product description
Bike lock in a clear plastic pack, topped by blue cardboard. [4]
Reported risk explanation
null The plastic in the packaging contains an excessive amounts of cadmium (measured value up to 0.03%). The product does not comply with the requirements of the REACH Regulation. [4]
Reported measures, verbatim
Type of economic operator to whom the measure(s) were ordered: OtherCategory of measure(s): Ban on the marketing of the product and any accompanying measuresDate of entry into force: Unknown [4]
9 distinct official alert references, published between 2012-10-12 and 2020-08-07. Counts describe the acquired reports, with no market denominator.
Report year
Recorded alerts
2012
3
2014
1
2015
1
2018
1
2020
3
Recorded risk labels within this evidence task
Label combinations are source facts within one comparison; they do not create separate guides with identical preparation tasks.
Chemical: 8 recorded references
Environment: 1 recorded references
Source selection, exclusions and calculation method
Filter the acquired, completely parsed English weekly XML releases. Deduplicate official alert references. Group by product category and the complete set of conditional evidence-question topics supported by actual risk text. Risk-label combinations remain recorded cohort facets and do not create buyer intents. Brand, product name, model, origin, notifying country, measurement-only changes and different wording of the same questions do not create intents. Unrecognized mechanisms stay internal for enrichment. Count report years and notifying countries deterministically. Display at most eight newest descriptions with at least 40 characters after whitespace normalization, nonempty reported measures and distinct casefolded descriptions; break date ties by official identifier. All cohort records count even if their description is shorter or not displayed. This is not a representative sample. Counts concern this acquired corpus only.
One acquired version per official public alert reference. Display at most eight newest distinct product descriptions whose normalized whitespace-collapsed text contains at least 40 characters and has nonempty reported measures; ties sort by official identifier. The complete cohort includes shorter descriptions. This is an explicit display selection, not a representative sample.
4 distinct descriptions displayed; 5 cohort records not displayed. Missing fields: {'measures': 3}.
These are selected, dated enforcement observations in the acquired weekly reports, not a random market sample, market-wide failure rate, proof of current product status, or a determination about your product. Notification country is not a complete sales-market or jurisdiction-coverage field. A quoted legal/standard reference is the report’s statement, not independently verified current law or a mandatory test panel.
Calculation safety-gate-evidence-comparison-10; units recorded alerts; no incidence denominator.
Turn the reported failure mechanism into a scoped investigation
Use this checklist to gather your business or product details before speaking with a specialist. The items below explain what to record and suggest useful supporting documents. You can add your own answers in the editable project brief.
Cadmium-bearing component or material evidence — what evidence do we have?
If the corresponding material/component is used in your product, identify which part and finish are in scope and obtain composition/lot evidence. Keep the report’s measured amount as a dated reported observation; ask a specialist to verify identity, use/actor conditions and current legal criteria before any conclusion.
Useful evidence: Component/finish BOM, supplier composition/lot documentation, relevant analytical results with method and detection limits, and a current applicability review.
Can we trace the affected component, formula or design revision across our supplied products?
Compare the reported descriptions with your own identifiers and change records. Treat missing or “Unknown” source fields as unresolved; they do not establish that no action was needed.
Useful evidence: Product identifiers, revision history, supplier/batch traceability and market/operator records.
Who would own an evidence review and any resulting corrective-action decision?
Read the reported measures as historical observations. Establish your own operator roles, sector-specific rules, decision owner and communication responsibilities before adopting another case’s response.
Conditional: Product-risk evidence and operator-role review — Compare the recorded product features and failure mechanism with your product. Confirm the applicable product regime, deciding evidence, operator responsibilities and justified next steps. This does not assume that GPSR or a representative appointment applies to every alert category.
Questions for providers
Which specific product features and reported risk mechanism make these cases relevant or irrelevant to our product?
What current legal, standards or scientific sources support your proposed investigation criteria, and what cannot be concluded from these dated alerts?
Which existing evidence can answer the risk question, what additional work is justified, and who owns any resulting corrective-action decision?
Sources and data dates
Read the official document in context. The audit details identify the precise locators and preserved versions used for this page.
