Dangerous chemicals in Chinese pens

[Eusorph]

Hello everybody. I saw a video online of a study that found many harmful chemicals in Temu, Shein and Aliexpress products.

I was wondering if chinese fountain pens in general are affected. Whether they are safe or some brands do cut on safety measures.

Is there any way we can check? Are there any chemists or people who have access to laboratory equipment that can test various fountain pens?

I personally would like to know because I handle my fountain pens for hours on end every day.

[Junebe]

Personally, and not being an expert in any way, I wouldn't be too worried about it. The use of dangerous chemicals doesn't mean that the final product is dangerous.

For example, some paints may contain some dangerous pigments, but those pigments are dangerous mainly when they are in the form of dust, so producing the paint is dangerous because you deal with the pigment in dust form but the final product is not so dangerous.

Anyway, I still wouldn't buy toys for children or pets, but for pens I feel safe. Again, I am no expert.

 

This video by Doodlebud shows some surprising results regarding lead content in some brass pens.

 

 

And this one by The Spin Doctor is about watercolors toxicity

 

 

[Dan Carmell]

It seems that toxins would come either from the metal, metal plating, or plastic components of a pen, those being the major materials involved. And that would happen via out-gassing or toxins transferred by touch, neither of which seem likely to happen in one pen in sufficient amounts to be unsafe. 

[A Smug Dill]

15 hours ago, Eusorph said:

Are there any chemists or people who have access to laboratory equipment that can test various fountain pens?

I personally would like to know because I handle my fountain pens for hours on end every day.

 

Surely there are professional laboratories in a city local to you that can take on that sort of task, for clients who really want to get their pens tested and know one way or the other for their own peace of mind and decision-making?

[mke]

On 2/5/2025 at 5:13 AM, Eusorph said:

Are there any chemists or people who have access to laboratory equipment that can test various fountain pens?

 

Such a project is not that easy if you want to do it correctly.

 

The test with these swaps doesn't say how much lead he found and how much lead the swaps actually can detect.

Can the test really detect all lead in all samples (no false negatives?).

Are there other chemicals which will give a positive test result (no false positives?).

 

Are these kits actually validated? Some seem to be independently tested but those are not named - the producer of these swaps should have done it and should offer an analysis report.

Most probably these kits are showing correctly if there is abundant lead. But how much? And where starts the imminent danger?

Tests without explanation of the results are problematic.

 

It seems that the kits are quite good with paint. See below: "interior and exterior paint are major sources of lead hazards" 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8941199/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31735346/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38695667/

 

And don't forget that lead is now everywhere from the time of the leaded gasoline - if you are living near a highway or near an airport, you might have been especially exposed.