Abstract: A method for determining the migration of Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn from plastic drinking straws was established by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The method presented good linearity with correlation coefficients of 0.999 9, and the recoveries were in the range of 88.7% to 98.3% with relative standard deviations (RSD) of 1.2% to 9.4%. Thus this method met the analytical requirements. The results for 71 samples of commercially available straws showed the migration amounts of Ba, Cu, Mn and Zn all conformed to the national standard Hygiene Standards of Uses of Additives in Food Containers and Packaging Materials (GB 9685-2008), while the migration amounts of Al, Ni and Pb exceeded the national standard limit according to Drinking Water Health Standards (GB 5749-2006) by 23.9%, 60.6% and 39.4%, respectively. In only a few samples the migration of Pb exceeded by 37.6 times. These results indicated that since metals could migrate from plastic drinking straws to the drink, regular use of plastic drinking straws poses potential safety risks.

Key words: plastic drinking straws, element migration, migration amount, determination, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)