Copper and Zinc from Antimicrobial Treatments
topic
Copper and zinc quantification by ICP-OES in acid digests and sweat extracts of antimicrobial-treated textiles measures both total metal content and bioaccessible fraction released under simulated wear conditions; wash-off rates are monitored across multiple laundering cycles to assess environmental loading from treated textile washing wastewater.
Role
Characterises the human exposure and aquatic environmental release potential of copper and zinc-based antimicrobial textile treatments, informing regulatory assessment of biocidal product authorisation requirements and environmental risk of metal ion release into wastewater treatment systems from domestic laundering.