RESUMO
We examined the need for new in vivo avian toxicity testing for three common industrial chemicals (1,2 dichloropropane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane and triphenyl phosphate) based on estimated avian exposures using fugacity and multimedia fate models for current conditions of use compared to hazard information including existing in vivo test data for the chemicals and analogs, interspecies correlation estimates and results from hundreds of acute avian dietary toxicity studies. The data indicated that acute avian toxicity is not likely to be observed below 10 ppm in the diet for any chemical with the exception of those with a specific mode of toxic action. Modeling indicated low exposure potential for terrestrial birds to any of the three chemicals, with estimated dietary concentration of less than 0.001 ppm. Despite uncertainty associated with the underlying data sources, the four order of magnitude gap between potential exposure and a minimum hazard threshold suggests that additional avian in vivo testing would not generate valuable data. However, a weight of evidence approach for integrating data is necessary to engender greater confidence among government decision-makers in cases where data from a particular in vivo study is not expected to improve risk decision-making and an existing data gap can remain unfilled.
Assuntos
Aves , Medição de Risco , Animais , Estados Unidos , Tomada de Decisões , Testes de Toxicidade/métodos , HumanosRESUMO
The Quantitative Structure Use Relationship (QSUR) Summit, held on November 2-4, 2022, focused on advancing the development, refinement, and use of QSURs to support chemical substance prioritization and risk assessment and mitigation. QSURs utilize chemical structures to predict the function of a chemical within a formulated product or an industrial process. This presumed function can then be used to develop chemical use categories or other information necessary to refine exposure assessments. The invited expert meeting was attended by 38 scientists from Canada, Finland, France, the UK, and the USA, representing government, business, and academia, with expertise in exposure science, chemical engineering, risk assessment, formulation chemistry, and machine learning. Workshop discussions emphasized the importance of collection and sharing of data and quantification of relative chemical quantities to progress QSUR development. Participants proposed collaborative approaches to address key challenges, including mechanisms for aggregating information while still protecting proprietary product composition and other confidential business information. Discussions also led to proposals for applications beyond exposure and risk modeling, including sustainable formulation discovery. In addition, discussions continue to construct, conduct, and circulate case studies tied to various specific problem formulations in which QSURs supply or derive information on chemical functions, concentrations, and exposures.
Assuntos
Medição de Risco , Humanos , França , CanadáRESUMO
Workers involved in crushing, milling, screening, and bagging of mica scrap are at increased risk to develop pneumoconiosis, a progressive material overloading of the lung that can lead to fibrosis and, in the later stages, to dyspnea. Pneumoconiosis is only seen after 10-20 years of respiratory mica exposure, and it can have a latency period of up to 40 years-today's cases date back to exposures during the second half of the 20th century. An occupational lifetime exposure level of 3 mg/m3 respirable mica dust has been considered to present no risk of pneumoconiosis since 1951 when the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) established a 20 million particles per cubic foot (mppcf) (3.5 mg/m3 respirable particles) exposure limit. As a result, numbers of unspecified and other pneumoconioses in the United States have steadily declined since the early 1970s. Data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health documents a 91% decrease between 1972 and 2014 (i.e., the peak of documented cases and the latest reported data) for combined cases of aluminosis, berylliosis, stannosis, siderosis, and fibrosis from production and use of bauxite, graphite fibers, wollastonite, cadmium, Portland cement, emery, kaolin, antimony, and mica. Ample evidence indicates that the 70-year-old occupational lifetime exposure level of 3 mg/m3 respirable mica dust is protective of workers' health.
Assuntos
Exposição Ocupacional , Pneumoconiose , Idoso , Silicatos de Alumínio , Poeira , Humanos , Exposição Ocupacional/efeitos adversos , Exposição Ocupacional/análise , Pneumoconiose/etiologiaRESUMO
Health risks resulting from dermal or inhalational exposures are frequently assessed based on rodent oral toxicity information due to a lack of species- or route-specific toxicity data. Default uncertainty factors (UFs; e.g., 10-fold) are also applied during risk assessments to account for variability such as inter-species, intra-species, exposure duration, dose-response, and route-to-route extrapolations. However, whether rodent oral data and a default UF approach can provide adequate protection for other mammalian species under dermal or inhalational exposure scenarios remains understudied, particularly for cleaning product ingredients. Therefore, we collated and examined publicly available median lethal dose (LD50), no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) and lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) values from different types of standard mammalian toxicity studies for rats (dermal and inhalational), mice, rabbits, guinea pigs, and dogs (oral, dermal and inhalational) using the Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative (CPISI) database. Probabilistic hazard assessments using chemical toxicity distributions (CTDs) were subsequently conducted, and threshold concentrations (TCs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were derived to identify thresholds of toxicological concern (TTCs). Relative sensitivities among or between mammalian species, exposure routes, and chemical classes were also compared based on calculated TC5s and 95% CIs to support future toxicology studies and hazard and risk assessments. We then identified uncertainty factors (UFs) using both CTD comparisons and individual UF probability distributional approaches. Based on available rodent inhalational data, chemical category-specific UFs were derived for ethers. Additionally, we also determined whether default UFs of 10 or 100 would be protective for various distributions of cleaning product ingredients. Our novel observations among these routes of exposure and common mammalian model organisms appear particularly useful for read across and screening-level health hazard and risk assessments when limited data exists for specific chemicals.
Assuntos
Nível de Efeito Adverso não Observado , Animais , Cães , Cobaias , Dose Letal Mediana , Camundongos , Probabilidade , Coelhos , Ratos , Medição de Risco , IncertezaRESUMO
An in vivo pharmacokinetic study was conducted using consumer antiseptic wash containing 0.13% benzalkonium chloride (BAC) to assess the effect of dermal absorption on long-term systemic exposure to BAC. The objective of the study was to determine blood levels of BAC under maximal use conditions. Subjects were enlisted to wash their hands 60 s with soap containing 0.13% BAC 30 times per day over an 8-9 h time period for 5 consecutive days. The test product with the highest absorption potential was selected based on market share and results from in vitro permeation testing. Blood plasma was collected from subjects on 32 occasions over the 6-day study period. Plasma samples were analyzed for the C12 and C14 homologs of BAC using LC-MS/MS with a lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) of 106.9 and 32.6 ng/L, respectively. For the 32 subjects, C12 homolog was detected above the LLOQ in only four of 1,024 plasma samples at 117.8-191.7 ng/L, and C14 homolog was detected in only one sample at 59.5 ng/L. Consequently, systemic exposure to BAC in antimicrobial soap is very low and below the level of concern identified by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (500 ng/L) even under maximal use conditions.
Assuntos
Compostos de Benzalcônio/farmacocinética , Desinfecção das Mãos/métodos , Sabões/farmacocinética , Administração Cutânea , Adulto , Compostos de Benzalcônio/administração & dosagem , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Projetos Piloto , Absorção Cutânea , Sabões/administração & dosagem , Sabões/química , Adulto JovemRESUMO
Boron is an essential mineral for plants, and as such, is a normal dietary constituent for humans. Humans may be naturally exposed to boron through food and drinking water, or via anthropogenic sources such as consumer products. The World Health Organisation established an acceptable safe range of population mean intakes for boron of 1-13 mg/day. Most studies of dietary boron intake show a range of 1-2 mg/day. Consumer products have been estimated to contribute a geometric mean daily intake of 0.1 mg to total boron exposure; however, there are few published surveys of consumer exposure to boron from use of cleaning products. The Government of Canada published a draft screening assessment report of boric acid, its salts and precursors that included estimates of consumer exposure to boron found as ingredients in consumer products. The manufacturers of consumer cleaning products conducted a survey of boron content of current products and estimated exposure using the publicly available exposure tool ConsExpo Web. Dermal exposures to boron during cleaning product use were estimated to result in annual internal exposures ranging from âª0.001 to 0.36 µg/kg bw/day based on dermal absorption of 0.5%. Using a conservative point of departure for hazard assessment (2,900 µg boron/kg bw/day), estimated margins of exposure for dermal exposures to boron from cleaning product use range from 8,056 to >1,000,000. This work demonstrates that exposure to boron from cleaning product use is very low and essentially insignificant when compared to other (e.g. dietary) sources of boron intake by Canadian consumers.
Assuntos
Boro/toxicidade , Exposição Ambiental , Produtos Domésticos , Ácidos Bóricos , Canadá , Materiais de Construção , Água Potável , Humanos , Medição de RiscoRESUMO
Disinfectant quaternary ammonium compounds (Quats) have diverse uses in a variety of consumer and commercial products, particularly cleaning products. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, they have become a primary tool to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces. Disinfectant Quats have very low vapor pressure, and following the use phase of the products in which they are found, disposal is typically "down-the-drain" to wastewater treatment systems. Consequently, the potential for the greatest environmental effect is to the aquatic environment, from treated effluent, and potentially to soils, which might be amended with wastewater biosolids. Among the earliest used and still common disinfectant Quats are the alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (ADBAC) compounds and the dialkyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC) compounds. They are cationic surfactants often found in consumer and commercial surface cleaners. Because of their biocidal properties, disinfectant Quats are heavily regulated for human and environmental safety around the world. Consequently, there is a robust database of information regarding the ecological hazards and environmental fate of ADBAC and DDAC; however, some of the data presented are from unpublished studies that have been submitted to and reviewed by regulatory agencies (i.e., EPA and European Chemicals Agency) to support antimicrobial product registration. We summarize the available environmental fate data and the acute and chronic aquatic ecotoxicity data for freshwater species, including algae, invertebrates, fish, and plants using peer-reviewed literature and unpublished data submitted to and summarized by regulatory agencies. The lower limit of the range of the ecotoxicity data for disinfectant Quats tends to be lower than that for other surface active agents, such as nonionic or anionic surfactants. However, ecotoxicity is mitigated by environmental fate characteristics, the data for which we also summarize, including high biodegradability and a strong tendency to sorb to wastewater biosolids, sediment, and soil. As a result, disinfectant Quats are largely removed during wastewater treatment, and those residues discharged in treated effluent are likely to rapidly bind to suspended solids or sediments, thus mitigating their toxicity.
Assuntos
Desinfetantes/toxicidade , Compostos de Amônio Quaternário/toxicidade , Poluentes Químicos da Água/toxicidade , Animais , Organismos Aquáticos/efeitos dos fármacos , Biodegradação Ambiental , COVID-19/epidemiologia , COVID-19/prevenção & controle , Desinfetantes/química , Desinfetantes/farmacologia , Ecotoxicologia , Humanos , Pandemias/prevenção & controle , Compostos de Amônio Quaternário/química , Compostos de Amônio Quaternário/farmacologia , Medição de Risco , SARS-CoV-2/efeitos dos fármacos , Águas Residuárias/química , Poluentes Químicos da Água/química , Poluentes Químicos da Água/farmacologia , Purificação da Água/métodosRESUMO
Quaternary ammonium compounds (Quats) are a large class of permanently charged cationic chemicals that are used in a variety of consumer and industrial products for their antimicrobial properties. Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (DDAC) and alkyl (C12, C14, C16) dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (C12-C16 ADBAC) are frequently used as active ingredients in antimicrobials and are the focus of the current hazard assessment. Robust toxicology databases exist for both DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC; however, the majority of available studies for DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC are unpublished, but have been submitted to and reviewed by regulatory agencies (i.e., EPA and European Chemicals Agency) to support antimicrobial product registration. With the objective of contributing to public understanding of the robust and complete toxicology database available for DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC, a comprehensive review was conducted using available peer-reviewed literature and unpublished data submitted to and summarized by regulatory agencies. A review of available literature indicates that DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC have similar hazard profiles. Both DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC are poorly absorbed via the oral and dermal exposure routes (≤10%), are not systemically distributed, and are primarily excreted in feces. DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC are not dermal sensitizers, are not specific developmental or reproductive toxicants, are not carcinogenic or genotoxic, and do not cause systemic toxicity. DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC are irritating/corrosive to skin at high concentrations, and are acutely toxic via the oral, dermal (C12-C16 ADBAC only), and inhalation exposure routes; however, both DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC are considered non-volatile and are not readily aerosolized. Both DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC can cause toxicity in repeated dose oral toxicity studies with no-observed-adverse-effect levels ranging from 10 to 93.1 mg/kg-day for DDAC and 3.7-188 mg/kg-day for C12-C16 ADBAC in subchronic and chronic studies conducted with beagles, mice, and rats. The toxicological effects associated with reported lowest-observed-adverse-effect levels for both DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC are consistently characterized by reduced food consumption, reduced mean body weight, reduced body weight gain, and local irritation. These effects are consistent with the mode of action of an irritating/corrosive chemical. Based upon currently available data, the main concern associated with exposure to DDAC and C12-C16 ADBAC is local effects through irritation.
Assuntos
Anti-Infecciosos/toxicidade , Compostos de Amônio Quaternário/toxicidade , Animais , Humanos , Medição de RiscoRESUMO
Polycarboxylate polymers have been common components of consumer and institutional cleaning products for decades. With interest heightened in the potential environmental impact of polymers, the American Cleaning Institute, the industry trade association of the cleaning products industry in the United States, is reassessing the state of the science regarding the environmental safety of polymers in cleaning products. In this case study, acrylic acid homopolymers and acrylic acid-maleic acid copolymers are evaluated using historical ecotoxicity data that have been reported over the past three decades. The evaluation includes an environmental exposure assessment that is based on recent information regarding the occurrence of those ingredients in cleaning products and market sales data for cleaning products sold in the United States. The ecotoxicity of polycarboxylate polymers is generally low. Consequently, the potential environmental risks associated with their use in cleaning products in the United States are low even when applying very conservative assumptions to the environmental exposure assessment. In addition, there are recent supporting conclusions from assessments by the governments of Australia and Canada that polycarboxylate polymers are polymers of low concern, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has included a number of polycarboxylate polymers among the ingredients on its Safer Chemical Ingredients List based on their low hazard profile.
Assuntos
Acrilatos/análise , Exposição Ambiental/análise , Monitoramento Ambiental/métodos , Poluentes Ambientais/análise , Produtos Domésticos/análise , Polímeros/análise , Acrilatos/química , Poluentes Ambientais/química , Humanos , Estrutura Molecular , Polímeros/química , Medição de Risco , Estados Unidos , United States Environmental Protection AgencyRESUMO
Though numerous chemical ingredients are used in cleaning products, empirical mammalian toxicology information is often limited for many substances. Such limited data inherently presents challenges to environmental health practitioners performing hazard and risk assessments. Probabilistic hazard assessment using chemical toxicity distributions (CTDs) is an alternative approach for assessments of chemicals when toxicity information is lacking. The CTD concept allows for derivation of thresholds of toxicological concern (TTCs) to predict adverse effect thresholds for mammalian species. Unfortunately, comparative health hazard assessment of cleaning product ingredients in common use categories such as all-purpose cleaners (APC), dish care products (DCP) and laundry care products (LCP) has not been well studied. However, APC, DCP, and LCP are used routinely for household and industrial applications, resulting in residential and industrial occupational exposures. Therefore, we reviewed and then examined hazard information (median lethal dose (LD50), lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL), and no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL)) from different types of standard mammalian toxicity studies for oral toxicity in the rat model from the unique Cleaning Product Ingredient Safety Initiative mammalian toxicology database. Probabilistic distributions (CTDs) were subsequently constructed using LD50, NOAEL and LOAEL data from a specific toxicity study type for all available ingredients in these three use categories. Based on data availability, product type-specific and chemical category-specific CTDs were also generated and compared. For each CTD, threshold concentrations (TCs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) at 1st, 5th, 10th, 50th, 90th, 95th and 99th percentiles were calculated using the log-normal model. To test whether the common default uncertainty factor (UF) approach (e.g., 3, 10) in mammalian health risk assessment provides sufficient protection, UFs were also derived for LOAEL-to-NOAEL and exposure duration (e.g., subchronic-to-chronic) extrapolations. Relationships between CTDs of acute LD50s and sublethal LOAELs/NOAELs were also examined for acute-to-chronic ratio calculations, which may be useful in extreme circumstances. Results from our critical review and meta-analysis appear particularly useful for hazard and risk practitioners when identifying TTCs for ingredients in product use categories, and other chemical classes. This approach can also support development of regulatory data dossiers through read across, chemical substitutions and screening-level health risk assessments when limited or no empirical toxicity information exists for industrial chemicals.
Assuntos
Detergentes/análise , Exposição Ambiental/análise , Animais , Humanos , Medição de Risco/métodosRESUMO
Uncertainty factors (UFs) are commonly used during hazard and risk assessments to address uncertainties, including extrapolations among mammals and experimental durations. In risk assessment, default values are routinely used for interspecies extrapolation and interindividual variability. Whether default UFs are sufficient for various chemical uses or specific chemical classes remains understudied, particularly for ingredients in cleaning products. Therefore, we examined publicly available acute median lethal dose (LD50), and reproductive and developmental no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) and lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) values for the rat model (oral). We employed probabilistic chemical toxicity distributions to identify likelihoods of encountering acute, subacute, subchronic and chronic toxicity thresholds for specific chemical categories and ingredients in cleaning products. We subsequently identified thresholds of toxicological concern (TTC) and then various UFs for: 1) acute (LD50s)-to-chronic (reproductive/developmental NOAELs) ratios (ACRs), 2) exposure duration extrapolations (e.g., subchronic-to-chronic; reproductive/developmental), and 3) LOAEL-to-NOAEL ratios considering subacute/acute developmental responses. These ratios (95% CIs) were calculated from pairwise threshold levels using Monte Carlo simulations to identify UFs for all ingredients in cleaning products. Based on data availability, chemical category-specific UFs were also identified for aliphatic acids and salts, aliphatic alcohols, inorganic acids and salts, and alkyl sulfates. In a number of cases, derived UFs were smaller than default values (e.g., 10) employed by regulatory agencies; however, larger UFs were occasionally identified. Such UFs could be used by assessors instead of relying on default values. These approaches for identifying mammalian TTCs and diverse UFs represent robust alternatives to application of default values for ingredients in cleaning products and other chemical classes. Findings can also support chemical substitutions during alternatives assessment, and data dossier development (e.g., read across), identification of TTCs, and screening-level hazard and risk assessment when toxicity data is unavailable for specific chemicals.
Assuntos
Produtos Domésticos/toxicidade , Medição de Risco , Incerteza , Animais , Humanos , Dose Letal Mediana , Nível de Efeito Adverso não Observado , Probabilidade , RatosRESUMO
A quantitative human risk assessment of chloroxylenol was conducted for liquid hand and dishwashing soap products used by consumers and health-care workers. The toxicological data for chloroxylenol indicate lack of genotoxicity, no evidence of carcinogenicity, and minimal systemic toxicity. No observed adverse effect levels (NOAEL) were established from chronic toxicity studies, specifically a carcinogenicity study that found no cancer excess (18 mg/kg-day) and studies of developmental and reproductive toxicity (100 mg/kg-day). Exposure to chloroxylenol for adults and children was estimated for two types of rinse-off cleaning products, one liquid hand soap, and two dishwashing products. The identified NOAELs were used together with exposure estimates to derive margin of exposure (MOE) estimates for chloroxylenol (i.e., estimates of exposure over NOAELs). These estimates were designed with conservative assumptions and likely overestimate exposure and risk (i.e., highest frequency, 100% dermal penetration). The resulting MOEs ranged from 178 to over 100, 000, 000 indicating negligibly small potential for harm related to consumer or health-care worker exposure to chloroxylenol in liquid soaps used in dish washing and hand washing.
Assuntos
Anti-Infecciosos Locais/efeitos adversos , Qualidade de Produtos para o Consumidor , Desinfecção das Mãos/métodos , Pessoal de Saúde , Exposição Ocupacional/efeitos adversos , Saúde Ocupacional , Sabões/efeitos adversos , Xilenos/efeitos adversos , Animais , Anti-Infecciosos Locais/análise , Mineração de Dados , Bases de Dados Factuais , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Camundongos , Nível de Efeito Adverso não Observado , Ratos , Medição de Risco , Sabões/análise , Testes de Toxicidade/métodos , Xilenos/análiseRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Health care-associated infections (HAIs) pose a significant health care and cost burden. This study estimates annual HAI hospital costs in the US avoided through use of health care antiseptics (health care personnel hand washes and rubs; surgical hand scrubs and rubs; patient preoperative and preinjection skin preparations). METHODS: A spreadsheet model was developed with base case inputs derived from the published literature, supplemented with assumptions when data were insufficient. Five HAIs of interest were identified: catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated bloodstream infections, gastrointestinal infections caused by Clostridium difficile, hospital- or ventilator-associated pneumonia, and surgical site infections. A national estimate of the annual potential lost benefits from elimination of these products is calculated based on the number of HAIs, the proportion of HAIs that are preventable, the proportion of preventable HAIs associated with health care antiseptics, and HAI hospital costs. The model is designed to be user friendly and to allow assumptions about prevention across all infections to vary or stay the same. Sensitivity analyses provide low- and high-end estimates of costs avoided. RESULTS: Low- and high-end estimates of national, annual HAIs in hospitals avoided through use of health care antiseptics are 12,100 and 223,000, respectively, with associated hospital costs avoided of US$142 million and US$4.25 billion, respectively. CONCLUSION: The model presents a novel approach to estimating the economic impact of health care antiseptic use for HAI avoidance, with the ability to vary model parameters to reflect specific scenarios. While not all HAIs are avoidable, removing or limiting access to an effective preventive tool would have a substantial impact on patient well-being and infection costs. HAI avoidance through use of health care antiseptics has a demonstrable and substantial impact on health care expenditures; the costs here are exclusive of administrative penalties or long-term outcomes for patients and caregivers such as lost productivity or indirect costs.
RESUMO
The "in-stream exposure model" iSTREEM(®) , a Web-based model made freely available to the public by the American Cleaning Institute, provides a means to estimate concentrations of "down-the-drain" chemicals in effluent, receiving waters, and drinking water intakes across national and regional scales under mean annual and low-flow conditions. We provide an overview of the evolution and utility of the iSTREEM model as a screening-level risk assessment tool relevant for down-the-drain products. The spatial nature of the model, integrating point locations of facilities along a hydrologic network, provides a powerful framework to assess environmental exposure and risk in a spatial context. A case study compared national distributions of modeled concentrations of the fragrance 1,3,4,6,7,8-Hexahydro-4,6,6,7,8,8,-hexamethylcyclopenta-γ-2-benzopyran (HHCB) and the insect repellent N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) to available monitoring data at comparable flow conditions. The iSTREEM low-flow model results yielded a conservative distribution of values, whereas the mean-flow model results more closely resembled the concentration distribution of monitoring data. We demonstrate how model results can be used to construct a conservative estimation of the distribution of chemical concentrations for effluents and streams leading to the derivation of a predicted environmental concentration (PEC) using the high end of the concentration distribution (e.g., 90th percentile). Data requirements, assumptions, and applications of iSTREEM are discussed in the context of other down-the-drain modeling approaches to enhance understanding of comparative advantages and uncertainties for prospective users interested in exposure modeling for ecological risk assessment. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2016;12:782-792. © 2016 SETAC.
Assuntos
Exposição Ambiental/análise , Modelos Químicos , Poluentes Químicos da Água/análise , Poluição Química da Água/estatística & dados numéricos , DEET , Exposição Ambiental/estatística & dados numéricos , Monitoramento Ambiental , Estudos Prospectivos , Medição de Risco , Rios , Eliminação de Resíduos LíquidosRESUMO
Fatty alcohol-based surfactants are widely used in detergents and personal care products; they are typically disposed of down-the-drain and are degraded or removed during wastewater treatment. Analytical data had shown concentration and profile differences between regions of the United States. Market sales data were purchased relevant to the sampling dates. In combination with analysis of the fatty alcohol profiles in the top selling products, the influent profiles were reconstructed and compared to the whole U.S. sales data. The per capita usage rate for fatty alcohols through these 4000+ top selling products was 4.9 g per day, with 88% arising from liquid laundry detergents and hand dish detergents. This extrapolates to a national usage of 185,000 tonnes per year. There were significant differences in the purchasing habits of the inhabitants across the four regions sampled, although this had minimal impact on the fatty alcohol profile which was dominated by the C12 moiety. The U.S. market was also dominated by petrochemically-sourced chemicals. This market forensics approach using purchased sales data was able to extend our knowledge of the fate of these chemicals without a major (expensive) sampling and analytical campaign.
Assuntos
Cosméticos/análise , Detergentes/análise , Álcoois Graxos/análise , Águas Residuárias/química , Poluentes Químicos da Água/análise , Monitoramento Ambiental , LavanderiaRESUMO
Samples of influent, effluent and sediments of the receiving waters of eight WWTPs were collected in each of three eco-regions of the USA, a total of 24 facilities. Six different treatment technologies were included to determine the fate of anthropogenic fatty alcohols. The lipids were analysed by compound-specific stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry. There were significant differences in the profiles of the influent among eco-regions, due to differences in the products used within the catchment, the diets of the inhabitants, or in-pipe processes. The sediments of all the receiving waters had similar fatty alcohol profiles, with terrestrial plant matter dominating and secondary contributions from algal and bacterial synthesis. Any contributions from the WWTP liquid effluents were small (<1%) and not from the original fatty alcohols suite in the influent. These compounds might have the same chain lengths, but they have different stable isotopic signatures. The type of secondary treatment did not affect the removal of fatty alcohols and the sediments of the receiving waters were dominated by terrestrial plant inputs; the eco-region may affect the profile of the influents but not the stable isotopes. The ecological risk from the use of these particular chemicals, which are disposed of down the drain, is minimal.
Assuntos
Monitoramento Ambiental , Álcoois Graxos/análise , Tensoativos/análise , Eliminação de Resíduos Líquidos/métodos , Poluentes Químicos da Água/análise , Álcoois Graxos/química , Tensoativos/químicaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Over the past 10-15 years, a substantial amount of work has been done by the scientific, regulatory, and business communities to elucidate the effects and risks of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the environment. OBJECTIVE: This review was undertaken to identify key outstanding issues regarding the effects of PPCPs on human and ecological health in order to ensure that future resources will be focused on the most important areas. DATA SOURCES: To better understand and manage the risks of PPCPs in the environment, we used the "key question" approach to identify the principle issues that need to be addressed. Initially, questions were solicited from academic, government, and business communities around the world. A list of 101 questions was then discussed at an international expert workshop, and a top-20 list was developed. Following the workshop, workshop attendees ranked the 20 questions by importance. DATA SYNTHESIS: The top 20 priority questions fell into seven categories: a) prioritization of substances for assessment, b) pathways of exposure, c) bioavailability and uptake, d) effects characterization, e) risk and relative risk, f ) antibiotic resistance, and g) risk management. CONCLUSIONS: A large body of information is now available on PPCPs in the environment. This exercise prioritized the most critical questions to aid in development of future research programs on the topic.
Assuntos
Efeitos Colaterais e Reações Adversas Relacionados a Medicamentos , Exposição Ambiental , Produtos Domésticos/análise , Produtos Domésticos/toxicidade , Preparações Farmacêuticas/metabolismo , Pesquisa/organização & administração , Resistência Microbiana a Medicamentos/efeitos dos fármacos , Monitoramento Ambiental , Humanos , Preparações Farmacêuticas/análise , Medição de RiscoRESUMO
Fatty alcohols are naturally produced hydrocarbons present in all living organisms. They are also used in detergent and cosmetic formulations, may be sourced from either petroleum or biological materials, and are typically disposed of down the drain. This study was conducted on the Luray catchment, Virginia, USA, where sales data indicate that approximately 2 kg of fatty alcohols from detergent enter the wastewater every day. Reconstructing fatty alcohols in the influent on the basis of sales data indicated a mix of odd and even chain compounds, with C(12) being dominant. This profile was influenced strongly by liquid laundry detergents (69%). Sediment and soil samples from the catchment were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and by stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry to determine the δ(13)C and δ(2)H signatures. The long-chain components in agricultural soils and river sediments were distinguishable clearly from the algal fatty alcohols produced within the river system. The wastewater was a mixture of fecal and detergent sources of fatty alcohols in a ratio of 75:25%. The fatty alcohols in the effluent had different stable isotopic signatures and chain-length profiles from the influent, indicating that these compounds are not the same as those that entered the treatment plant. The total quantity of fatty alcohols leaving the treatment plant through the effluent pipe was low compared with the input. Analysis of the contributions based on the stable isotopes and profiles suggests that of the fatty alcohols present in the river system downstream of the treatment plant, 84% were derived from terrestrial plant production, 15% came from in situ algal synthesis, and 1% were derived from the effluent.