Children's exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) through mouthing toys

Abstract

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have previously been detected in children toys, yet the risk of child exposure to these chemicals through the mouthing of toys or other items is still unknown. We aimed to expand on the current knowledge by investigating the impact of infants' mouthing activities on exposure to PBDEs present in toys. This was established by a leaching model for determining the amount PBDEs that can leach from toys into saliva in simulated conditions. The PBDE migration rate was at its highest for the 15 min low-exposure scenario incubations (198 pg/cm(2) × min) with the ERM EC-591 certified reference material (CRM) (0.17% w/w PBDEs). The leaching process was congener-dependent, since the percentage of lower brominated PBDE congeners that leached out was up to 4.5 times higher than for the heavier PBDEs. To study the scenario in which a child would mouth on a toy flame retarded with BDE 209 alone, a plastic item containing 7% BDE 209 (w/w) was also tested. The BDE 209 amounts leached out in only 15 min were higher than the amounts leached from the CRM after the 16 h incubation. For the Belgian population, the exposure scenario from mouthing on toys containing PBDEs in amounts similar to the REACH threshold was found to be lower than the exposure from mother's milk, but higher than the exposure through diet or even dust.

Ensuring sustainability in plastics use in Africa: consumption, waste generation, and projections

“…Inappropriate use and disposal of waste plastics may result in the release of toxic substances, which is facilitated by open burning of e-waste plastics from vehicles and cables [15][16][17][18]. Hazardous chemicals can also migrate from the plastic matrix leading to exposure via direct contact, for example from toys or kitchen tools that are partly produced from recycled plastic [15] or soft PVC used in toys or medical devices [19,20]. On the other hand, additives in food packaging plastics or water bottles are controlled and regulated in industrialised countries.…”

Bromine in plastic consumer products – Evidence for the widespread recycling of electronic waste

“…Despite attempts to 'close the loop' on harmful BFRs, they have recently been detected in a variety of consumer products that do not require flame retardancy or at concentrations insufficient to provide fire protection, including children's toys (Ionas et al, 2015), kitchen utensils (Samsonek and Puype, 2013), beaded garlands (Miller et al, 2016) and flooring products (Vojta et al, 2017). Thus, in many cases, recycled plastics from WEEE appear to have been used, in whole or in part, to manufacture contemporary electrical and non-electrical products that may not themselves be compliant.…”

Assessment of toxic and endocrine potential of substances migrating from selected toys and baby products

“…directive 2009/48/EC (Directive EU 2009/48/EC) on the safety of toys and items intended for children (Ionas et al 2016). The decreased effectiveness of the detoxification processes (related to lower activity of cytochrome P450) and the lower body weight (which influences an increase in the ratio of toxic substances per kilogramme of the child’s body) made it necessary to use higher safety requirements to take into consideration the assessment of the qualitative properties of materials intended for children (Faa et al 2012; Mercan et al 2015).…”

“…Small-molecule ingredients of polymer materials may enter the child’s body through the respiratory, alimentary tract or transdermally. The alimentary route is undoubtedly the main source of a child’s exposure to xenoestrogens in relation to the children’s natural propensity to become familiar with the world using their mouth (Ionas et al 2016; Guney and Zagury 2014). Atypical conditions to which polymeric materials are exposed made it necessary to modify the standard methodologies used for extracting small-molecule ingredients from them.…”

“…The currently adopted system for controlling the qualitative properties of objects intended for children is mostly based on results of tests obtained using instrumental methods (Ionas et al 2016). This approach raises many concerns because hormone-imitating compounds (released from the materials tested) are present at very low concentration levels; thus, the identification and quantitative determination of all of the analytes is a large challenge for analytical chemists, and the results of instrumental analysis are often laden with errors.…”