Occurrence, sources, and human exposure assessment of amine-based rubber additives in dust from various micro-environments in South China

Abstract

Despite the ubiquitous use and potential health effects of amine-based rubber additives, information regarding their occurrences in indoor environments remains scarce and is basically investigated in traffic-related environments. In this study, a total of 140 dust samples collected from eight indoor micro-environments were analyzed for twelve amine-based rubber additives. Overall, 1,3-diphenylguanidine (DPG), dicyclohexylamine (DCHA), N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-penylenediamine (6PPD), 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ), and hexa(methoxymethyl)melamine (HMMM) were frequently detected across all micro-environments with detection frequencies of 97 %, 51 %, 71 %, 99 %, and 77 %, respectively. The highest total concentration of amine-based rubber additives was found in parking lots (median 10,300 ng/g), indicating heavier emission sources of these compounds in vehicle-related indoor environments. Despite this, amine-based rubber additives were also frequently detected in various non-vehicle-related environments, such as markets, cinemas, and hotels, probably due to the widespread use of consumer products and more frequent air exchanges with outdoor environments. Further tracking of tire rubber products and paint particles from flooring materials in parking lots revealed that paint particles might be an overlooked contributor to amine-based rubber additives in indoor environments. Finally, the highest estimated daily intakes (EDIs) of all amine-based rubber additives via dust ingestion at home were observed for toddlers (3.48 ng/kg bw/d). This research provides a comprehensive overview of human exposure to a variety of amine-based rubber additives in various indoor environments. Environmental implicationThis study highlights the presence of high concentrations of amine-based additives in indoor dust from both traffic-related and non-traffic-related indoor environments. Additional efforts are needed to identify potential sources of amine-based rubber additives indoors, beyond just tire rubber. This is critical because the widespread presence of rubber products in indoor settings could pose a risk to human health.