Bismuth and Silver in Cosmetic Products: A Source of Environmental and Resource Concern?

• Published in: Journal of industrial ecology Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. 99 - 106
• Main Authors: Amneklev, Jennie, Augustsson, Anna, Sörme, Louise, Bergbäck, Bo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Haven Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.02.2016; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: bismuth; Cosmetics; Environmental Science; Heavy metal content; industrial ecology; Manycountries; Miljövetenskap; sewage sludge; silver; Sludge; Studies; substance flow analysis; Water pollution; Water treatment plants
• ISSN: 1088-1980; 1530-9290; 1530-9290
• DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12251

Summary Bismuth (Bi) and silver (Ag) are used in increasing amounts and are consequently being emitted from various sources and showing high accumulation rates in soils when sewage sludge is applied on arable land. This study aimed to analyze the amounts of Bi and Ag in three cosmetic products (foundation, powder, and eye shadow) in order to study the flows in urban wastewater in Stockholm, Sweden. Analyses showed that Bi was present in very high concentrations (7,000 to 360,000 milligrams per kilogram) in one third of the analyzed foundation and powder samples, whereas Ag concentrations all were below the detection limit. These cosmetic products explained approximately 24% of the measured total Bi amounts per year reaching the WWTP (wastewater treatment plant), making cosmetics a major Bi source, whereas for Ag the corresponding contribution was <0.1% of the measured annual Ag amounts. The results were roughly adapted for Europe and the United States, estimating the Bi flows from cosmetics to WWTPs. On a global scale, these flows correspond to a non‐negligible part of the world Bi production that, every year, ends up in sewage sludge, limiting the reuse of a valuable metal resource. From an environmental and resource perspective, foundations and powder products should be considered as significant sources of measured Bi amounts in sludge. This large Bi flow must be considered as unsustainable. For Ag, however, the three analyzed cosmetic products are not a significant source of the total Ag load to WWTPs.