Abstract

Three forms of chromium are used in industry: Cr(0), Cr(III) and Cr(VI). While chromium metal and Cr(III) ions are not considered toxic, hexavalent chromium is both toxic and carcinogenic.

In the leather sector, chromium (III) is used as a tanning agent; however, under specific conditions, chromium (VI) can be formed in the leather post-production.

Due to this reason, the objective of this work is to determine the possible hexavalent chromium content in four commercial basic chromium salts and the tendency of these salts to originate hexavalent chromium when applied to leather.

The chromium salts studied do not originate Cr(VI) when applied to hide under optimum working conditions. However, it is demonstrated that the appearance of chromium (VI) may be due to bad practices during the tanning and/or post-tanning processes.