Nanocomposite microbeads made of recycled polylactic acid for the magnetic solid phase extraction of xenobiotics from human urine.

Nanocomposite microbeads (average diameter = 10-100 µm) were prepared by a microemulsion-solidification method and applied to the magnetic solid-phase extraction (m-SPE) of fourteen analytes, among pesticides, drugs, and hormones, from human urine samples. The microbeads, perfectly spherical in shape to maximize the surface contact with the analytes, were composed of magnetic nanoparticles dispersed in a polylactic acid (PLA) solid bulk, decorated with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (mPLA@MWCNTs). In particular, PLA was recovered from filters of smoked electronic cigarettes after an adequate cleaning protocol. A complete morphological characterization of the microbeads was performed via Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and differential scanning calorimetry analysis (TGA and DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The recovery study of the m-SPE procedure showed yields ≥ 64%, with the exception of 4-chloro-2-methylphenol (57%) at the lowest spike level (3 µg L-1). The method was validated according to the main FDA guidelines for the validation of bioanalytical methods. Using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, precision and accuracy were below 11% and 15%, respectively, and detection limits of 0.1-1.8 µg L-1. Linearity was studied in the range of interest 1-15 µg L-1 with determination coefficients greater than 0.99. In light of the obtained results, the nanocomposite microbeads have proved to be a valid and sustainable alternative to traditional sorbents, offering good analytical standards and being synthetized from recycled plastic material. One of the main objectives of the current work is to provide an innovative and optimized procedure for the recycling of a plastic waste, to obtain a regular and reliable microstructure, whose application is here presented in the field of analytical chemistry. The simplicity and greenness of the method endows the procedure with a versatile applicability in different research and industrial fields.

The Effect of Coupling Agents and Graphene on the Mechanical Properties of Film-Based Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic.

This study aims to improve the mechanical properties of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic composed primarily of polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), which generally exhibit poor miscibility, by applying coupling agents and graphene. Here, we compare a commercially available coupling agent with a directly synthesized maleic anhydride (MA) coupling agent. When applied to a 5:5 blend of recycled PP and PE, an optimum tensile strength was achieved at a 3 wt% coupling agent concentration, with the MA coupling agent outperforming the commercial one. Characterization through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) revealed a PP:PE ratio of approximately 3:7 in the PCR plastics, with 4.86% heterogeneous materials present. Applying 3 wt% of the commercial and MA coupling agents to the PCR plastics resulted in a significant 53.9% increase in the tensile strength, reaching 11.25 MPa, and a remarkable 421.54% increase in the melt flow index (MFI), reaching 25.66 g/10 min. Furthermore, incorporating 5 wt% graphene led to a notable 64.84% increase in the tensile strength. In addition, the application of MA coupling agents and graphene improved the thermal stability of the PCR plastics. These findings show significant promise for addressing environmental concerns associated with plastic waste by facilitating the recycling of PCR plastics into new products. The utilization of coupling agents and graphene offers a viable approach to enhance the mechanical properties of PCR plastics, paving the way for sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions.

Chemometrics-based Discrimination of Virgin and Recycled Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Plastics Toys via Non-targeted Screening of Volatile Substances.

Owing to the growing emphasis on child safety, it is greatly urgent to identify and assess the unknown compounds and discriminate the recycled materials for plastic toys. In this study, gas chromatography mass spectrometry coupled with static headspace has been optimized by response surface methodology for non-targeted screening of unknown volatiles in acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) plastic toys. Optimum conditions for static headspace were 120 °C for extraction temperature and 48 min for extraction time. A total of 83 volatiles in 11 categories were qualitatively identified by matching the NIST database library, retention index and standard materials. Considering high positive rate and potential toxicity, high-risk volatiles in ABS plastic toys were listed and traced for safety pre-warning. Moreover, the differential volatiles between virgin and recycled ABS plastics were screened out by orthogonal partial least-squares discrimination analysis. Principal component analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and linear discrimination analysis were employed to successfully discriminate recycled ABS plastic toys based on the differential volatiles. The proposed strategy represents an effective and promising analytical method for non-targeted screening and risk assessment of unknown volatiles and discrimination of recycled materials combining with various chemometric techniques for children's plastic products to safeguard children's health.

Performance of Bituminous Binder Modified with Recycled Plastic Pellets.

Finding beneficial uses for waste plastics has been an environmental challenge for municipalities. A limited number of studies have investigated the performance of asphalt mixtures containing plastic waste in cold regions that experience freeze-thaw cycling. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of adding two types of recycled plastic pellets on the high- and low-temperature performance of bituminous binders. Nylon-based (NP) and polyester-based (PP) recycled plastic pellets were used in this study. A PG 58-28 bituminous binder was modified by different dosages of NP and PP plastic pellets. The impact of adding Elvaloy copolymer and polyphosphoric acid on the modified binders was also investigated. Results showed that using recycled plastic pellets as a modifier for bituminous binders improved their elastic response and rutting resistance without affecting their low-temperature performance. The PP modifier showed better elastic behavior and rutting resistance than the NP modifier.

Towards Less Plastic in Food Contact Materials: An In-Depth Overview of the Belgian Market.

The food contact materials (FCMs) industry is forced to develop substitute materials due to constant pressure from consumers and authorities to reduce fossil-based plastic. Several alternatives are available on the market. However, market share, trends, and consumer preferences are still unclear. Therefore, this study aims to provide an overview of the Belgian FCMs market, the available substitute materials, and their uses. The market analysis was performed with an integrated web-based approach. Fifty-two sources were investigated, covering e-shops selling materials intended to replace disposable plastic materials or being advertised as environmentally friendly and websites describing homemade FCMs. The first screening identified 10,523 articles. The following data cleaning process resulted in a homogeneous dataset containing 2688 unique entries, systematically categorised into fifteen material categories and seven utilisation classes. Paper and board was the most popular material category (i.e., 37% of the entries), followed by bagasse, accounting for 9% of the entries. Takeaway and food serving (44.4% and 22.8% of the entries) were the most common usage categories. The study pursued to provide insights into current trends and consumer preferences, highlighting priorities for safety assessment and future policy making.

Engineering properties, microplastics and emissions assessment of recycled plastic modified asphalt mixtures.

The use of recycled plastic in asphalt is raising interest since contributing to increase the sustainability of roads pavements. The engineering performance of such roads are commonly assessed but scarcely correlated to the environmental impacts of incorporating recycled plastic in asphalt. This research encompasses an evaluation of the mechanical behaviour and environmental impact of introducing low melting point recycled plastics, low density polyethylene and commingled polyethylene/polypropylene, to conventional hot mix asphalt. While this investigation reveals a reduction in moisture resistance between 5 and 22 % contingent on the plastic content, the benefits include a significant 150 % enhancement in fatigue resistance and 85 % improvement in rutting resistance when compared with conventional hot mix asphalt (HMA). From an environmental perspective, high-temperature asphalt production with higher plastic content resulted in decreased gaseous emissions for both types of recycled plastics up to 21 %. Further comparison studies indicate that microplastic generation from recycled plastic-modified asphalt is comparable to that from commercial polymer-modified asphalt products, long employed by the industry. Overall, the use of low melting point recycled plastics as an asphalt modifier is promising since offering both engineering and environmental benefits when compared to conventional asphalt.

Microplastics in road dust: A practical guide for identification and characterisation.

The contamination of the environment by microplastics (MPs) in road dust poses a serious ecological and health concern. MPs have been detected in road dust worldwide and their presence has been mainly attributed to plastic litter fragmentation and vehicle tyre abrasion. Although current technologies such as Raman and Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy as well as Scanning Electron Microscopy are capable of detecting MPs in road dust, the analysis of MPs shape and MPs smaller than 20 µm is limited and often labour demanding. More accurate, cost-effective and rapid techniques have now become necessary to analyse MPs in road dust, particularly since the development of large infrastructure projects that incorporate recycled plastic into road assets and roadside furniture. Nile red (NR) staining is a promising technique to identify MPs in environmental samples; however, it has not yet been applied to road dust. This study investigates the use of NR fluorescence microscopy to detect MPs in road dust and provides information about MP amount, shape and size distribution. The staining duration and temperature, solvent selection and NR concentration were optimised considering 33 different road dust materials, including 13 types of plastic. The NR staining procedure developed in this work is capable of successfully differentiating between MPs down to 1 µm and other non-plastic road dust materials. Future applications include assessing the contribution of plastic-modified roads to MP pollution, comparing the level of MP pollution in urban and rural areas and providing a rapid, simple, inexpensive and reliable monitoring approach for further studies to compare MP using a singular optimised methodology.

Evaluation of the Effect of Recycled Polypropylene as Fine Aggregate Replacement on the Strength Performance and Chloride Penetration of Mortars.

Nowadays, the re-use and recycling of industrial wastes to reduce the environmental impact and landfill problems are the main concerns of researchers. Plastics are one of the main waste materials worldwide, with considerable impacts on health and environmental conditions. Recycling plastic wastes in the concrete industry is one of the adopted ways to reduce such impact and increase the economic recyclability of plastics. In this study, the utilization of recycled polypropylene (rPP) as a fine aggregate in the preparation of cement mortars was evaluated. The river sand was replaced with 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50%, volumes of rPP. The results showed that the inclusion of rPP reduced the mortar's workability and fresh density. Fresh density dropped from 11% to 35% as the rPP content increased. Furthermore, the compressive strength at early and late age was significantly influenced by the rPP content. At 28 days of curing age, the results showed that the inclusion of 50% of rPP in the mortar matrix led to a drop in the compression strength from 40 MPa to 10 MPa. A similar trend of results was obtained for the flexural (from 8.3 MPa to 2.9 MPa) and tensile strengths (from 3.4 MPa to 1.21 MPa). The chloride ion penetration went through a maximum of 5000 Coulombs between 10% and 50 % of rPP. Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of 10% of rPP as a river sand replacement can achieve acceptable strength (25 MPa) for several applications in the construction industry.

Paving roads with recycled plastics: Microplastic pollution or eco-friendly solution?

Although plastic-modified roads are a promising approach to reducing the amount of landfilled and incinerated plastic and improving asphalt pavement performance, the contribution of plastic-modified roads to microplastic pollution is unknown. This study aimed to develop a new abrasion procedure to quantify the release of microplastics from recycled plastic-modified asphalt depending on environmental factors, the type and content of plastic used, and the incorporation method in bitumen/asphalt. A Wet Track Abrasion machine was used to simulate road traffic abrasion on a plastic-modified asphalt sample, and a novel microplastic extraction procedure was designed to extract the generated microplastics. Incorporating recycled plastic as a polymer modifier in the bitumen matrix resulted in an early release of microplastics compared to its addition as a synthetic aggregate substitute in the asphalt mix. Cold temperatures and low pH values favoured the generation of microplastics from plastic-modified asphalt. Due to the lack of universal thresholds for the release of microplastics into the environment, environmental agencies and local authorities could benefit from this novel laboratory-based microplastic assessment procedure to foster the sustainable use of recycled plastic in roads.

Plastic/Natural Fiber Composite Based on Recycled Expanded Polystyrene Foam Waste.

A novel reinforced recycled expanded polystyrene (r-EPS) foam/natural fiber composite was successfully developed. EPS was recycled by means of the dissolution method using an accessible commercial mixed organic solvent, while natural fibers, i.e., coconut husk fiber (coir) and banana stem fiber (BSF) were used as reinforcement materials. The treatment of natural fibers with 5% (w/v) sodium hydroxide solution reduces the number of -OH groups and non-cellulose components in the fibers, more so with longer treatments. The natural fibers treated for 6 h showed rough surfaces that provided good adhesion and interlocking with the polymer matrix for mechanical reinforcement. The tensile strength and impact strength of r-EPS foam composites with treated fibers were higher than for non-filled r-EPS foam, whereas their flexural strengths were lower. Thus, this study has demonstrated an alternative way to produce recycled polymer/natural fiber composites via the dissolution method, with promising enhanced mechanical properties.

Soft computing techniques to predict the compressive strength of green self-compacting concrete incorporating recycled plastic aggregates and industrial waste ashes.

Abstract: Rapid urbanization and industrialization with corresponding economic growth have increased concrete production, leading to resource depletion and environmental pollution. The mentioned problems can be resolved by using recycled aggregates and industrial waste ashes as natural aggregate and cement replacement in concrete production. Incorporating different by-product ashes and recycled plastic (RP) aggregates are viable options to produce sustainable self-compacting concrete (SCC). On the other hand, compressive strength is an essential characteristic among other evaluated properties. As a result, establishing trustworthy models to forecast the compressive strength of SCC is critical to saving cost, time, and energy. Furthermore, it provides valuable instruction for planning building projects and determining the best time to remove the formwork. In this study, four alternative models were suggested to predict the compressive strength of SCC mixes produced by RP aggregates: the artificial neural network (ANN), nonlinear model, linear relationship model, and multi-logistic model. To do so, an extensive set of data consisting of 400 mixtures were extracted and analyzed to develop the models, various mixture proportions and curing times were considered as input variables. To test the effectiveness of the suggested models, several statistical evaluations, including coefficient of determination (R 2), scatter index, root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and Objective (OBJ) value were utilized. Compared to other models, the ANN model performed better to forecast the compressive strength of SCC mixes incorporating RP aggregates. The RMSE, MAE, OBJ, and R 2 values for this model were 5.46 MPa, 2.31 MPa, 4.26 MPa, and 0.973, respectively.

Knowledge and perception of different plastic bags and packages: A case study in Brazil.

The growing demand for plastics, for packaging and consumption, is a current environmental issue. Although there are many scientific developments concerning material science, knowledge about the public's perception is low, which can delay society's efforts to face this challenge. This study aimed to understand if Brazilians who practice different sustainable actions perceive differently biodegradable, recycled, and common plastics and have different purchase intentions for each specific type of packaging. A total of 1080 Brazilian adults were first classified by their day-to-day attitudes regarding sustainability efforts. Then, their purchase intention and perception about different plastics were assessed. Regardless of sustainability practices, people associate common plastic bags with negative attributes and biodegradable plastic bags with positive attributes. This shows that there is a well-established concept about these types of bags, even if there are some misconceptions (e.g. recyclable) or controversies (e.g. non-polluting). On the other hand, results showed that consumers who adopted more sustainable practices were 3.5 times more willing to pay for biodegradable packages, even though no differences were observed in the accepted price for biodegradable bags between consumer's groups. Finally, the purchase intention comparisons for products packaged in recycled and biodegradable plastics showed the consumers were more interested in those biodegradable plastics and the purchase intention was lower for perishable food (e.g. products that can have higher safety risks). The results are important for understanding environmental policy management in Brazil, highlighting the importance to improve the population's knowledge about different types of plastic, leading to more conscious choices.

Engineering Performance of Concrete Incorporated with Recycled High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)-A Systematic Review.

Incorporating recycled plastic waste in concrete manufacturing is one of the most ecologically and economically sustainable solutions for the rapid trends of annual plastic disposal and natural resource depletion worldwide. This paper comprehensively reviews the literature on engineering performance of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) incorporated in concrete in the forms of aggregates or fiber or cementitious material. Optimum 28-days' compressive and flexural strength of HDPE fine aggregate concrete is observed at HDPE-10 and splitting tensile strength at HDPE-5 whereas for HDPE coarse aggregate concrete, within the range of 10% to 15% of HDPE incorporation and at HDPE-15, respectively. Similarly, 28-days' flexural and splitting tensile strength of HDPE fiber reinforced concrete is increased to an optimum of 4.9 MPa at HDPE-3 and 4.4 MPa at HDPE-3.5, respectively, and higher than the standard/plain concrete matrix (HDPE-0) in all HDPE inclusion levels. Hydrophobicity, smooth surface texture and non-reactivity of HDPE has resulted in weaker bonds between concrete matrix and HDPE and thereby reducing both mechanical and durability performances of HDPE concrete with the increase of HDPE. Overall, this is the first ever review to present and analyze the current state of the mechanical and durability performance of recycled HDPE as a sustainable construction material, hence, advancing the research into better performance and successful applications of HDPE concrete.

Worker health risk of heavy metals in pellets of recycled plastic: a skin exposure model.

OBJECTIVE: According to epidemiological studies, heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead are "known" carcinogenic substances. After recycling, these metals remain in processed plastics. The purpose of this study was to assess the health risks of heavy metal skin exposure to workers in facilities that recycle plastics. METHODS: We used inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry to measure the dissolution concentrations of heavy metals in artificial sweat. Twenty-five samples of pellets of recycled plastic were examined, which were composed variously of polypropylene, high-density polyethylene, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer, high impact polystyrene, and polyamide. In addition, we used a "two-step assessment model," divided into exposure and risk characterization, to evaluate the health risks of heavy metal exposure in a simulated exposure environment of pellets of a recycled plastic processing workshop. RESULTS: Except for chromium (92%), the detection of lead, cadmium and arsenic was 100% in 25 samples of pellets of recycled plastic. The possible carcinogenic risk levels of As and Cr were, respectively, 2 and 38 times greater than the unacceptable risk level of 10-4 proposed by the US EPA. In addition, arsenic had the highest noncarcinogenic risk of 1.381 × 10-6, which was in the potential risk range of 10-6-10-4 proposed by the US EPA. CONCLUSION: We found clear exposure-risk associations between heavy metals (lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic) and worker health. Particularly, we found workers exposed to As and Cr were more likely to incur cancer.

Plastic wastes: environmental hazard and instrument for wealth creation in Nigeria.

Combating the menace of plastic waste pollution has become a global environmental challenge. Plastic pollution is capable of affecting land, waterways and oceans as a large percentage of marine and land creatures have died due to the fact that plastic is non-biodegradable and it causes hazards to soil. It also emits toxic gasses when exposed or heated up. It blocks drainage lines and fill up land space causing floods and erosion thereby causing deterioration of the Nigerian roads. Plastics wastes are also harmful to human health; they may contain harmful acids which may lead to death. Nigeria, which is the biggest oil exporting country in Africa, relies mainly on the proceeds of the oil trade for its GDP and based strategy in growing her economy. However, with the declination of oil prices and increase in plastic wastes, the world is tending towards energy and sustainable development. Therefore, an urgent need for recycling plastic wastes into a solution for wealth creation is fundamental in Nigeria. This paper therefore seeks to identify favorable methods for recycling plastic wastes in Nigeria as a tool for solution to diversification and implementation. Evidence based examples are illustrated in the article with viable solution recommended for implementation.

Analysis of volatile compounds causing undesirable odors in a polypropylene - high-density polyethylene recycled plastic resin with solid-phase microextraction.

Although recycled plastics provide a low-cost and environmentally friendly alternative for many applications, their desirability is significantly limited by the presence of unpleasant odors from volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this work, a headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method was optimized to analyze volatile compounds from an odorous recycled plastic resin which was roughly composed of 85-90% polypropylene (PP) and 15-10% high-density polyethylene (HDPE). A large variety of aliphatic hydrocarbons and 13 additive residues were detected. Statistical tools were employed to screen the VOCs and successfully identified three components, i.e., 2,4-dimethyl-heptane, 4-methyl-octane and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D4), which were significantly related to the odor intensity of the recycled plastic resin (p-values < 0.05). 2,4-Dimethyl-heptane has a strong, pungent plastic smell, which is very similar to the odor of the recycled resin. It is identified as a major source of the odor. Past relevant research has not been able to establish a direct link between an odorous compound and the undesirable odor of recycled plastic until now. 4-Methyl-octane was highly corelated to 2,4-dimethyl-heptane and somewhat contributed to the odor. D4 does not have an odor, but it may serve as an indicator of some odorous residues from personal care products.

Fabrication of Morphologically Controlled Composites with High Thermal Conductivity and Dielectric Performance from Aluminum Nanoflake and Recycled Plastic Package.

Polymer composites with high thermal conductivity are highly desirable for modern electronic and electrical industry because of their wide range of applications. However, conventional polymer composites with high thermal conductivity usually suffer from the deterioration of electrical insulation and high dielectric loss, whereas polymer composite materials with excellent electrical insulation and dielectric properties usually possess low thermal conductivity. In this study, combining surface-oxidized aluminum (Al) nanoflake and multilayer plastic package waste (MPW) by powder mixing technique, we report a novel strategy for polymer composites with high thermal conduction, high electrical insulation, and low dielectric loss. The resultant MPW/Al, MPW/Al400, and MPW/Al500 composites exhibited the maximum thermal conductivity of 4.8, 3.5, and 1.4 W/mK, respectively, which exceeds those of most of the corresponding composites reported previously. In addition, all the composites still have high insulation (<10-13 S/cm) and maintain dielectric loss at a relatively low level (<0.025). Such a result is ascribed to the formation of an insulating Al2O3 shell and the continuous three-dimensional filler network, which is revealed by Agari model fitting coefficient. The model of effective medium theory qualitatively demonstrates that the lower interfacial thermal resistances of the MPW/Al composite can also benefit the high thermal conduction. This interfacial engineering strategy provides an effectively method for the fabrication of polymer materials with high-performance thermal management.

Mechanical properties and long-term durability of recycled polysulfone plastic.

In view of the recycling of PSU plastics has a good energy saving and environmental protection significance. This paper is concerned with the mechanical properties, and long-term durability of virgin and recycled polysulfone plastics (PSU) collected from wasted PSU nonwovens, the mechanical experiment of tensile test and Izod impact test are carried out to investigate the effect of cycle processing on the performance of PSU. The long-term durability of virgin and recycled PSU is studied base on time-temperature superposition by using a dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The thermal stability is evaluated by pyrolytic activation energy calculated by Iso-conversional kinetics method using a Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results show that the recycled PSU exhibits the similar tensile property while lower impact strength than virgin PSU. The long-term durability and thermal stability of virgin PSU are better than recycled PSU and decreased with increasing the times of cycle processing, which is attributed to the mixing of impurities and degradation of the molecular structure in the recycling process.

Brominated flame retardants in black plastic kitchen utensils: Concentrations and human exposure implications.

Concerns exist that restricted brominated flame retardants (BFRs) present in waste polymers may have, as a result of recycling, inadvertently contaminated items not required to meet flame retardancy regulations (e.g. plastic kitchen utensils). To investigate the extent to which kitchen utensils are contaminated with BFRs and the potential for resultant human exposure, we collected 96 plastic kitchen utensils and screened for Br content using a hand-held X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer. Only 3 out of 27 utensils purchased after 2011 contained detectable concentrations of Br (≥3µg/g). In contrast, Br was detected in 31 out of the 69 utensils purchased before 2011. Eighteen utensils with Br content higher than 100µg/g, and 12 new utensils were selected for GC-MS analysis of BFRs. BFRs targeted were polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) BDE-28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, 183 and 209, and novel BFRs (NBFRs) pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB), 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EH-TBB), 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (BTBPE), bis(2-ethylhexyl)-3,4,5,6-tetrabromo-phthalate (BEH-TEBP) and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE). The ability of XRF to act as a surrogate metric of BFR concentration was indicated by a significant (Spearman coefficient=0.493; p=0.006) positive relationship between Br and ΣBFR concentration. Measurements of ΣBFRs were always exceeded by those of Br. This may be due partly to the presence of BFRs not targeted in our study and also to reduced extraction efficiency of BFRs from utensils. Of our target BFRs, BDE-209 was the most abundant one in most samples, but an extremely high concentration (1000µg/g) of BTBPE was found in one utensil. Simulated cooking experiments were conducted to investigate BFR transfer from selected utensils (n=10) to hot cooking oil, with considerable transfer (20% on average) observed. Estimated median exposure via cooking with BFR contaminated utensils was 60ng/day for total BFRs. In contrast, estimated exposure via dermal contact with BFR-containing kitchen utensils was minimal.

Screening for halogenated flame retardants in European consumer products, building materials and wastes.

To fulfill national and international fire safety standards, flame retardants (FRs) are being added to a wide range of consumer products and building materials consisting of flammable materials like plastic, wood and textiles. While the FR composition of some products and materials has been identified in recent years, the limited global coverage of the data and the large diversity in consumer products necessitates more information for an overall picture of the FR composition in common products/materials. To address this issue, 137 individual samples of various consumer products, building materials and wastes were collected. To identify and characterize potential sources of FRs in indoor environment, all samples were analyzed for content of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) and novel flame retardants (NFRs). The most frequently detected were HBCDDs (85%), with the highest median concentration of Σ4HBCDDs of 300 mg kg-1 in polystyrenes. The highest median concentration of Σ10PBDEs was found in recycled plastic materials, reaching 4 mg kg-1. The lowest concentrations were observed for NFRs, where the median of Σ12NFRs reached 0.4 mg kg-1 in the group of electrical & electronic equipment wastes. This suggests that for consumer products and building materials that are currently in-use, legacy compounds still contribute to the overall burden of FRs. Additionally, contrasting patterns of FR composition in recycled and virgin plastics, revealed using principle component analysis (PCA), suggest that legacy flame retardants are reentering the market through recycled products, perpetuating the potential for emissions to indoor environments and thus for human exposure.