Behaviour of I/Br/Cl-THMs and their projected toxicities under simulated cooking conditions: Effects of heating, table salt and residual chlorine

Abstract

This study examined the effects of heating, residual chlorine and concentration of table salt on the generation of iodine-, bromine- and chlorine-containing trihalomethanes (THMs) under simulated cooking conditions. In the case of addition of either KI- or KIO3-fortified salt, total I-THM concentrations increased with increasing iodine concentration, while total Cl/Br-THM concentrations decreased. CHCl2I, CHBrClI, CHBrI2, CHBr2I and CHI3 were formed in the presence of KI salt, while only CHCl2I was formed in the presence of KIO3 salt. CHCl2I was unstable under cooking conditions, and >90% of this DBP was removed during heating, which in some cases increased the concentrations of the other I-THMs.The calculated cytotoxicity increased with addition of KI- or KIO3-fortified salt due to the generation of I-THMs, whose impact on the cytotoxicity at room temperature was equal to or five times higher, respectively, than the cytotoxicity of the simultaneously formed Cl/Br-THMs for the cases of salts. Heating decreased the cytotoxicity, except for the case of addition of KI salt, in which the calculated cytotoxicity of I-THMs increased above 150% as the temperature was increased up to 100°C. The reported results may have important implications for epidemiologic exposure assessments and, ultimately, for public health protection.