Tattoo Ink Cancerous? What’s in your ink!

One in five tattoo inks in Australia contain carcinogenic chemicals, according to a report published this week.

The report comes from the government’s National Industrial Chemical’s Notification and Assessment Scheme.

83 per cent of the black inks tested showed signs of a group of chemicals – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – known to be carcinogens.

These numbers are a major concern for the tattoo industry, especially for those buying inks online and self inking.

Producers:

• Claudia Rhodes-White

Speakers:

• Education and Research Director at the Cancer Council Western Australia
• Terry Slevin