Despite stricter regulations, Europe has issues with tattoo ink ingredients

Recently, chemists at Binghamton University learned that many tattoo inks in the US contain different pigments than those listed, or unlisted additives. One might expect the European Union, with its stricter regulations, to have fewer issues on that score, but according to a new paper published in the journal Analyst, that's not the case, particularly for green and blue tattoo inks. Most had components that were not listed on the label, and some included banned ingredients.

"Our work cannot say anything about the safety of tattoos...