Occurrence and Profiles of Organophosphate Esters in Infant Clothing and Raw Textiles Collected from the United States

Abstract

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are used as flame retardants in a variety of consumer products including certain textiles. Little is known with regard to the occurrence of and dermal exposure to OPEs present in textiles/fabrics. In this study, concentrations and profiles of 20 OPEs were measured in 160 textile samples collected from the United States. The sum concentrations of 20 OPEs (∑20OPE) in textiles ranged from 4.85 to 1.18 × 106 ng/g (median: 228 ng/g). Significantly higher concentrations of ∑20OPE were found in flame retardant-treated fabrics (n = 23; median: 8.18 × 104 ng/g), especially those manufactured in the United States. Trace levels of OPEs were also detected in infant clothing. Triphenyl phosphate was the predominant compound (40.2% of total concentrations) found in flame retardant-treated textiles, followed by cresyl diphenyl phosphate (34.5%) and tris­(1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (17.9%). The calculated dermal exposure doses in infants of major OPEs present in textiles were 5 orders of magnitude below the current reference doses. This study provides the first evidence of the occurrence of OPEs in textiles and clothing purchased in the United States.

Penetration of Organophosphate Triesters and Diesters across the Blood–Cerebrospinal Fluid Barrier: Efficiencies, Impact Factors, and Mechanisms

“…Tri-OPEs and di-OPEs in serum and CSF were extracted according to previously described methods with minor modifications. , Briefly, 0.5 mL of serum or CSF samples were spiked with deuterated internal standards and extracted with acetonitrile by ultrasonication. The extract of serum was purified with an Oasis HLB cartridge (6 mL, 200 mg; Waters) for tri-OPEs and di-OPEs.…”

Textile Washing Conveys SVOCs from Indoors to Outdoors: Application and Evaluation of a Residential Multimedia Model

“…Other potential sources of SVOCs to WWTPs can generally be differentiated based on whether they pertain to textiles. In no specific order, other sources pertaining to textiles may include (1) intentional chemical additives, (2) higher contributions to wastewater from laundering in commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors (e.g., where flammability standards are more stringent), and (3) laundered textiles that had been in direct contact with specific SVOC sources (e.g., flame-retardant-treated upholstery) . Other sources not directly related to textiles may include (4) stormwater runoff, , (5) direct industrial releases (e.g., flame-retardant applicators), (6) wet-cleaning (e.g., TBOEP is commonly used in floor polishes), and (7) human excretion of compounds that are not readily metabolized (e.g., BFRs) …”

An Overview of Chemical Additives on (Micro)Plastic Fibers: Occurrence, Release, and Health Risks

“…The content of flame retardants in synthetic fibers is often higher than that in cotton fabrics. The average concentration of ∑ 20 OPEs (1.52 × 10 3 ng/g) in synthetic fibers (polyester, nylon, vinyl) was higher than that in cotton fabrics (442 ng/g), triphenyl phosphate (TPhP), accounting for the highest percentage (40.2% of the total concentration) (Zhu et al 2020 ). It is noticed that although the presence of BFRs (e.g., PBDEs) has been detected in textiles, such as carpets, curtains, and seat leather (Abdallah et al 2017 ; Portet-Koltalo et al 2021 ; Shin and Baek 2012 ), there are no available reports about BFRs on clothing according to our best knowledge.…”

“…2 g). In addition, it has been found that the mean concentration of ∑ 20 OPEs in water-repellent fabrics made of nylon or polyester (1940 ng/g) was significantly higher than that in conventional fabrics made of cotton or polyester (313 ng/g) (Zhu et al 2020 ), suggesting that functional garments may contain more additives.…”