LEAD AND CADMIUM RELEASE

This characteristic is required in the C marking of ceramic tiles intended for

claddings that are going to be in contact with food or in those applications where this is
required by national regulations.
Standard ISO 10545-15 establishes a method for the determination of the
quantity of lead and cadmium released by a ceramic tile glaze, through exposure of the
glazed surface to an acetic acid (vinegar) solution and measurement of the lead and
cadmium present in that solution.
This test method has been incorporated with a view to assuring that ceramic tiles
do not give off toxic and harmful substances to the environment, to people, and to other
materials that enter into contact with the tiles, in order to conform to European Directive
76/769/EEC.
The results of the test shall be specified in the C marking, in the form of mass
of lead and cadmium extracted per unit surface area (in milligrams per square
decimetre, mg/dm2) in tiles that will be in contact with food. It is assumed that the
national standards on food health will stipulate the maximum levels of lead and
cadmium release.
The determination of lead and cadmium release in ISO 10545-15
Principle
This part of standard ISO 10545 establishes a method for the determination of
the quantity of lead and cadmium given off by the glaze of a ceramic tile, through
exposure of the glazed surface to an acetic acid (vinegar) solution and measurement of
the dissolved lead and cadmium in that solution.
Procedure
Subject the glazed surface to
acetic acid attack in a solution at 4%
by volume for 24 hours and then
determine the quantity of lead and
cadmium present in the solution by
atomic
absorption
spectrometry
analysis. The result of the analysis is
put into the following formula, which
expresses the mass of lead (Pb) and
cadmium (Cd) given off per unit surface area (milligrams per square decimetre):

Physico-chemical characteristics
Lead and cadmium release

A (M) = (M)x

V
1
x
where
1000 A

M
is the extracted metal (Pb or Cd).
(M) is the concentration of metal M in the
solution after attack.
V
is the volume in millilitres (cm3) of the test
solution used.
A
is the area in square decimetres, of the
tested surface.

Comments
This test method has been incorporated with a view to assuring that ceramic tiles
do not give off toxic and harmful substances to the environment, to people, and to other
materials that enter into contact with these tiles, in order to conform to European
Directive 76/769/EEC.
Annex Q of EN 14411 establishes that this test method shall be taken into
account in ceramic tiles that are going to be in contact with food. This will be the case
for kitchen benchtops in domestic housing, and for ceramic tiles intended for the food
industry or for industrial kitchens; generally speaking, in applications where such
contact is expected.
On the one hand, the current formulation of glazes has eliminated or decreased
the presence of lead in glaze compositions. However, cadmium remains present in glaze
formulations and in colours ranging from orange to dark red for intermediate and low
temperatures. As a result, it is advisable to avoid that range of colours in the
applications mentioned above.

Physico-chemical characteristics
Lead and cadmium release