Is arsenic found in sheepskin products?
Tests on New Zealand sheepskins (including new skins, used skins and skins on which babies had died of cot death) revealed that all samples tested contained significant amounts of arsenic. They also contained phosphorus and antimony and were the only bedding products of about 70 samples tested which contained all three elements. New Zealand sheepskins sold for baby mattresses contain from 50 to 200 milligrams of arsenic per kilogram of sheepskin. The weight of a sheepskin intended for use in a baby’s cot is about 1 kilogram, so that such a skin would contain 50 to 200 milligrams of arsenic.
