Abstract: A method for the simultaneous determination of the forbidden and restricted elements lead (Pb),arsenic (As),mercury (Hg) and boron (B) in talcum powder by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was established.After being pretreated with microwave digestion,the four forbidden and restricted elements in talcum powder were detected by ICP-OES.Results indicated that the relationship between the responds and the mass concentration of the four elements shows good linearity within the range of 0.5-6,0.05-0.5,0.02-0.2 and 2-20 mg·L^-1,respectively.All the correlation coefficients are higher than 0.999.Spiked recoveries of the four elements are between 88.0% and 108.8%.This method has been applied for quick screening of forbidden and restricted elements in cosmetics,with satisfactory results.

Key words: talcum powder, ICP-OES, element