Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are carcinogenic and persistent will be restricted in consumer products from December 27, 2015 by EU REACH regulation. Pretreatment using Soxhlet extraction and quantitative analysis by GC-MS were studied to develop the method for analyzing 18 PAHs in consumer products as well as to detect the amounts and the kinds of PAHs in consumer products such as grips of a bag and a hammer, a cable and a plastic sandal. Linearity and precisions were evaluated by analyses of the standard PAH solutions ranging from 0.3125 mg/L to 5.00 mg of each of 18 PAHs. Linearity of resulting standard curves for all 18 PAHs were obtained with R 2 above 0.999. Precisions of the retention times and the peak areas were found to be 0.00%~0.05% and 1.16%~3.69% of relative standard deviations, respectively. The recoveries for spiked samples were all around 95%~105% after Soxhlet extration using three different solvents such as dichloromethane, hexane and toluene. The limits of quantitation for 18 PAHs in solutions and polymer samples by GC-MS were evaluated to be 0.327 mg/L (Benzo[ghi]perylene)~0.464 mg/L (Acenaphthylene) and 1.635 mg/kg (Benzo[ghi]perylene)~2.32 mg/kg (Acenaphthylene) based upon dilution factor of 5, respectively.Under the developed analytical method, only trace amounts of phenanthrene were detected in three samples while 15 kinds of PAHs including phenanthrene were detected in a grip of hammer with concentrations of maximum 83.4 mg/kg of Phenanthrene and minimum 8.5 mg/kg of Acenaphthylene. Further studies are needed to decrease the quantitation limit and to check the feasibility of decreasing Soxhlet time as well as to demonstrate cases that the clean up is required.
Background:The European Centre for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals' Targeted Risk Assessment (ECETOC TRA) tool has been recognized by EU REACH as a preferred approach for calculating worker health risks from chemicals. Objectives:The applicability of the ECETOC TRA to occupational exposure estimation from industrial uses of methanol was studied by inputting surveyed and varied parameters for TRA estimation as well as through comparison with measured data.Methods: Information on uses of methanol was collected from seven working environment monitoring reports along with the measured exposure data. Input parameters for TRA estimation such as operating conditions (OCs), risk management measures (RMMs) and process categories (PROCs) were surveyed. To compare with measured exposures, parameters from the surveyed conditions of ventilation but no use of respiratory protection were applied.Results: PROCs 4, 5, 8a, 10, and 15 were assigned to ten uses of methanol. The uses include as a solvent for manufacturing sun cream, surfactants, dyestuffs, films and adhesives. Methanol was also used as a component in a release agent, hardening media and mold wash for cast products as well as a component of hard-coating solution and a viscosity-controlling agent for manufacturing glass lenses. PROC 8a and PROC 10 of a cast product manufacturer without LEV (local exhaust ventilation) and general ventilation as well as no respiratory protection resulted in the highest exposure to methanol. Assuming the identical worst OCs and RMMs for all uses, exposures from PROC 5, 8a, and 10 were the same and the highest followed by PROC 4 and 15. The estimation resulted in higher exposures in nine uses except one use where measured exposure approximated exposures without RMMs. Conclusions:The role of ECETOC TRA as a conservative exposure assessment tool was confirmed by comparison with measured data. Moreover, it can guide which RMMs should be applied for the safe use of methanol.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.