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Rabat – Almost half of tattoo ink products on the market are likely to contain cancerous chemicals that are activated when the skin is exposed to sunlight, a new study argues.
Based on samples from 56 types of commercial tattoo inks popular in the UK, researchers found that the ink in almost half the brands contains elements that turn into cancer-inducing chemicals upon exposure to sunlight.
Pioneered by researchers from the State University of New York (SUNY), the study further concludes that much of the ink on the market contain chemical elements that could reach the cell’s nucleus, and transform healthy cells into cancerous ones.
The research also reveals that commercial brands of tattoo ink may include substances that are not listed on their packaging, including ethanol, a chemical that is harmful to blood.
Azo compounds, a chemical element that turns cancerous when exposed to sunlight, were found in 23 ink products out of the 56 studied. The study maintains that the chemical is more likely to occur in green or blue-colored ink.
Talking to British tabloid the Daily Mail, John Swierk, the study’s leading researcher said: “We don’t necessarily know what the pigments break down into and so that’s the real concern. It’s possible that you might have pigments that by themselves are safe, but that decompose into something of concern.”
Explaining the role of chemicals that penetrate cells, Swierk said that on the cellular level there are “concerns about nanoparticles penetrating cells, getting into the nucleus of cells, and doing damage and causing problems like cancer that way.”
The new findings come a few months after the European Union banned some tattoo ink colors, including blue and green, which the study found as more likely to cause cancer.
