Potential Health Risks of Chemicals in Car Colorant Products.

Daeyeop Lee,Joo-Hyon Kim,Moonyoung Hwang,Kwangseol Seok,Hyunwoo Lim

doi:10.3390/ijerph16060913

Abstract

Public concern regarding the use of products with chemicals has increased in Korea, following reports indicating that hazardous chemicals in products, such as disinfectants, can cause fatal lung disease. Despite the widespread use of car colorant products, little is known regarding their potential health risks. The purpose of this study was to determine the potential health risks of substances that exist in car colorant products. Thirteen car colorant products were purchased from the Korean market and 15 commonly used chemicals were analyzed. Exposure and risk assessments were conducted in two assessment stages (screening and refined). The analysis showed that all of the examined products contained toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. The maximum concentration of toluene was 52.5%, with a median concentration of 10.8%. Tier 1 (screening) assessment showed that four chemicals (toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and 2-butoxyethanol) may pose health risks, but tier 2 (refined) assessment showed that these chemicals do not pose any risk. However, these chemicals were present in all of the examined products, and government regulations did not control their concentrations in these products. Therefore, we suggest that levels of toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene in car colorant products should be regulated to protect public health.

Highlights

Consumer products contain thousands of chemicals, some of which have been associated with developmental, reproductive, and other adverse health effects [1,2,3,4,5]
In 2011, an unidentified case of fatal lung disease was reported in Korea, which was probably caused by hazardous chemicals that are contained in disinfectant products [6]
The products were assumed to be commonly consumed by Korean people for general use only and not for occupational use, because the composition of chemicals in occupational use products might be different from that of the chemicals that are present in consumer products; the exposure factors are significantly different

Summary

Introduction

Consumer products contain thousands of chemicals, some of which have been associated with developmental, reproductive, and other adverse health effects [1,2,3,4,5]. In 2011, an unidentified case of fatal lung disease was reported in Korea, which was probably caused by hazardous chemicals that are contained in disinfectant products [6]. As of 13 January 2017, hundreds of cases, resulting from this type of exposure, have been reported [7]. The Act on the registration and evaluation of chemicals in Korea (K-REACH) was passed on 30 April 2013 and enforced on 1 January 2015 for the control and screening of hazardous chemicals, in order to protect the environment and public health. Substances and Disease Registry, ECHA: European Chemical Agency, GC: gas chromatography, HQ: hazard quotient, KME: Ministry of Environment in Korea, KNIER: National Institute of Environmental.

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