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Occurrence of tin in disposable baby diapers
Abstract
Concentrations of tin were measured in six different brands of disposable baby diapers by using radioisotope (americium) excited energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. Top sheet and adhesive tape system were measured separately. The concentrations found in top sheet and tape system were <1.5 to 23.1 mg/kg and <1.5 to 22.4 mg/kg, respectively. Almost all diapers contained tin in the adhesive tape system (four of five), and two of six samples contained tin in top sheet. Tin found in diapers may be an organotin substance: tributyltin (TBT), dibutyltin (DBT), monobutyltin (MBT) and/or dioctyltin (DOT), which are widely used in industrial processes as catalysts or as PVC heat stabilizers. Organotin substances have toxic effects which include neurotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity and endocrine disruption. The measured concentrations were less than EU regulatory levels of 0.1% by weight of tin prescribed by REACH Annex XVII No 20. However, the same regulation completely bans the use of organotin substances as biocides in antifouling paints. While effects of TBT on marine organisms from antifouling paints are well known, the effects of organotin compounds in childcare products and other commercial articles receive much less attention. Children who use disposable diapers every day are particularly sensitive. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... Among absorbent pads, much risk assessment has been done dominantly for baby diapers [2][3][4][5]18,24,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40], while similar potential risks for feminine hygiene pads and other absorbent products exists. This paper aims to review the risk assessment methodologies that have been applied to disposable absorbent products including baby/adult diapers and feminine hygiene pads. ...
... Table 1 shows the user and usage profiles for different absorbent products. Among the product types, baby diapers have been studied rather thoroughly in the perspective of safety and risk assessment [1][2][3][4][5]18,21,24,30,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Baby diapers are generally used for 0-36 month-old babies to absorb urine and feces [3]. ...
... Organic derivatives of tin such as dibuyltin (DBT), monobutyltin (MBT), tributyltin (TBT) and dioctyltin (DOT) are identified as potential hazard that can be present in diapers and pads as tin is used as a catalyst in manufacturing processes [89]. With the known harmful effect such as neurotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity and endocrine disruption [89], organotin compounds were quantified from baby diapers by the energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence with 241 Am radioactive source [39]. Assuming the daily use of five diapers, daily organotin exposure was estimated to be 0.021 μg tin/kg weight•day. ...
Disposable absorbent hygiene products have evolved for superior performance, enhancing the convenience of daily lives. However, the use of disposable hygiene pads has brought safety concerns on chemical exposure, and significant efforts have been made to assess the potential risks associated with use of hygiene pads. This article intends to overview the safety assessment framework of diapers and feminine pads, which includes hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, risk characterization, and post-market risk management. Risk assessment of various constituents are reviewed for quantification methods and conservative estimation of exposure parameters. By reviewing the up-to-date considerations in risk assessment, we aim to provide insightful discussion on safety evaluation of current versions of disposable absorbent products. More clinical testing and post-market surveillance are needed for continuous monitoring of potential health impacts of advanced products and constituents.
... Among the absorbent pads, many risk assessment was done dominantly for baby diapers [2][3][4][5]18,24,[30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40], while there would exist similar potential risks for feminine hygiene pads and other absorbent products. This paper aims to review the risk assessment methodology that had been applied to disposable absorbent products including baby/adult diapers and feminine hygiene pads. ...
... Table 1 shows the user and usage profiles for different absorbent products. Among the product types, baby diapers have been studied rather thoroughly in the perspective of safety and risk assessment [1][2][3][4][5]18,21,24,30,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. Baby diapers are generally used for babies in 0-36 months old to absorb urine and feces [3]. ...
... Organic derivatives of tin such as dibuyltin (DBT), monobutyltin (MBT), tributyltin (TBT) and dioctyltin (DOT) are identified as potential hazard that can be present in diapers and pads as tin is used as a catalyst in manufacturing processes [89]. With the known harmful effect such as neurotoxicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, immunotoxicity and endocrine disruption [89], organotin compounds were quantified from baby diapers by the energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence with 241 Am radioactive source [39]. Assuming the daily use of 5 diapers, daily organotin exposure was estimated to be 0.021 g tin/kg weight•day. ...
Disposable absorbent hygiene products have evolved for superior performance, enhancing the convenience of daily lives. Yet the use of disposable hygiene pads has brought safety concerns on chemical exposure, and significant efforts have been made to assess the potential risks associated with use of hygiene pads. This article intends to overview the safety assessment framework of diapers and feminine pads, which includes hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, risk characterization, and postmarket risk management. Risk assessment of various constituents are reviewed for quantification methods and conservative estimation of exposure parameters. By reviewing the up-to-date considerations in risk assessment, we aim to provide insightful discussion on safety evaluation of current versions of disposable absorbent products. More clinical testing and postmarket surveillance are needed for continuous monitoring of potential health impacts of advanced products and constituents.
... Another chemical of concern present in diapers is the Tributyltin (TBT; ~100 μg/kg) used for the dye of diapers (Šmajgl and Obhodaš, 2015). TBT is also considered a highly toxic endocrine disruptor that can be absorbed through the skin barrier leads to immune and endocrine system impairment (Sundukov, 2006). ...
Single-use baby diapers belongs to an important group of products used in the parenting journey because of their high performance and convenience. Single-use baby diapers are normally thrown away after one-time use, resulting in a waste management problem. The goal of this paper was to better understand main environmental concerns of different types of diapers and address how to reduce them, with a special consideration of waste management strategies and user behaviour practices. Furthermore, health and environmental hazards potentially associated with materials included in diapers, or substances formed from diapers during the waste treatment stage, are also analysed (e.g., phthalates, pesticides, dioxins, pesticides). Three main types of baby diapers have been analysed: single-use baby diapers, reusable baby diapers, and biodegradable single-use diapers. Each type of diaper comes with technical characteristics and environmental concerns and challenges, which are discussed in this paper to support the development of measures for the safe(r) and sustainable design, use and end of life management of baby diapers.
... In other similar procedures [31,32], the top sheet layer DBT and TBT were identified at concentrations of 177 mg/kg and 98 mg/kg, respectively. A completely different procedure based on radioisotope (americium) excited energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) was proposed by Smajgl and ObhoCa s [33]. In comparison with conventional chromatographic methods, the application of ED-XRF has some advantages i.e. is non-destructive, requires less sample preparation step and time, the total content of organotin in baby diapers can be analyzed in a larger sample volume, nonhomogenous sample can be analyzed and derivatization procedure is not required. ...
Due to the widespread use of disposable diapers in healthy babies as well as children prone to allergies and premature babies with reduced immunity, disposable diapers should only be made of non-toxic and natural ingredients. Unfortunately, disposable diaper manufacturers are reluctant to present their exact chemical composition, claiming that their trade secrets apply. However, several reports show that disposable diapers of well-known brands, "store" brands and "bio" brands may contain a number of toxic compounds. There is very little study focused on the chemical composition of disposable baby diapers. Commonly, diapers may contain different pollutants including polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), organically active compounds of ethylene benzene, xylene and toluene, polyacrylates or phthalates. Some of them may be risky for children’s health. Only few methodologies are reported for the determination of some groups of compounds that could have a negative impact on the baby’s skin condition. These procedures are mainly based on chromatographic separation. Another issue connected with disposable baby diapers is its enormous impact on the environment, starting from the production step, finishing at disposal procedure. Thus, the aim of this review is to present problems connected with disposable baby diapers and its impact on the baby's health and on the environment. One of the important issues in this range is the limited knowledge in society and this aspect is also described. Another topic discussed here is related to the occurrence of toxic compounds in disposable baby diapers. Moreover, the importance of analysis and monitoring of these xenobiotics is reviewed in the article.
Many thousands of diapers are worn by young children and the elderly, who have thin and sensitive skin that is highly vulnerable to chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that may be ingredients of these products or present as inadvertent or residual components. The levels and potential health risks of VOCs in diapers have not been reported previously. In this study, we collected 31 disposable hygiene products in the US market based on market share and analyzed 98 target VOCs using purge and trap sampling and thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometer analysis. Exposures and risks were modeled using reasonable upper level exposure scenarios. Adult diapers contained the highest total target VOC concentration (median level of 23.5 μg/g), and the predominant VOCs were alkanes. In some diapers, the estimated noncancer risk from these VOCs was sometimes very large (hazard quotient of 1609) due to n-heptane. Baby diapers contained several known or suspected carcinogens, including benzene and 1,4-dioxane, and the lifetime cancer risk from some diapers approached 1 per million under a worst-case scenario. Store-brand products had higher levels of VOCs than generic brands, and products labeled "organic" or "for sensitive skin" did not necessarily have lower levels. Our results show that toxic VOCs were found in all tested disposable diapers and wipes at trace levels, and risks from using some diapers in high use exposure scenarios are high enough to warrant additional attention and possibly corrective measures. We recommend eliminating and monitoring toxic ingredients and disclosing all chemicals that may be in these products.
In this paper we demonstrate the development of the extraction procedure of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from baby diapers along with their quantification by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Apart from covering plastic foil, disposable baby diapers contain sorbents intended to absorb urine and feces. A hygroscopic, adsorptive, and tough-to-homogenize fibrous sorbent, represents an analytical challenge to analytical chemists. To address this issue we optimized and validated a novel extraction protocol including cryogenic homogenization, liquid-liquid extraction and further preconcentration by evaporation. By using deuterated internal standards in conjunction with matrix-matched calibration, high precision and accuracy were achieved. The limit of detection is estimated in the range of 0.041-0.221 ng/g (for fluorene and fluoranthene, respectively), which is far below the concentration currently assumed to be dangerous for children. The method was successfully applied to real samples available on the Polish market, and it was found that the amount of PAH compounds varies between manufacturers. Most diapers do not have all 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in their composition, but there is no diaper that is free of these compounds. The most abundant in diapers was acenaphthalene, where the concentration ranged from 1.6 ng/g diaper up to 362.4 ng/g. The lowest concentration in diapers is chrysene, which is not detected in most diapers. The article is a response to the lack of a harmonized analytical method for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in disposable sanitary products for children.
Inúmeros objetos e utensílios de diferentes matérias primas são desenvolvidos, utilizados e descartados pela sociedade atual, porém, alguns itens, como as fraldas descartáveis e absorventes, carecem de métodos ou processos que viabilizem a sua reciclagem. Dessa forma, relatar os principais aspectos ambientais quanto à destinação correta de fraldas descartáveis, considerando-se a avaliação do ciclo de vida e as opções de tratamento, compreendendo o período entre 1990 a 2019 em escala internacional são objetivos deste artigo. O tema é de relevante importância, haja vista que a maioria dos componentes das fraldas descartáveis poderiam ser reciclados, reduzindo-se assim, o volume final de material destinado à disposição final. Assim, esta revisão apresenta levantamento do panorama mundial de tratamento destes resíduos, revelando que, embora os avanços tecnológicos de tratamento existam e permitam reciclar parte dos materiais que compõem as fraldas descartáveis, os desafios permanecem em relação à problemática ambiental, seja do ponto de vista quantitativo, qualitativo e econômico.
This review describes advances in the XRF group of techniques published approximately between April 2015 and March 2016. Fundamental contributions in the instrumentation sections include the development of synchrotron radiation sources, semiconductor design technology and evaluating the quality of in situ hand-held XRF results. A bench top TXRF spectrometer for the measurement of the elements from carbon to uranium is described that offers achievable detection limits that range from ng g⁻¹ to μg g⁻¹. The applications sections aim to give a representative overview of the range of applications that use XRF techniques with an emphasis on papers that describe technical or application innovation. Sample size investigated ranged from the planet Mercury down to nano-gram quantities of cement secreted by settlement stage barnacle larvae. The archaeological and cultural heritage section this year includes an authentic report on the use of cannabis as a filler in ancient lime plaster and heartening news that the construction of an underground parking garage in the centre of Zurich (Switzerland) unearthed the remains of seven Neolithic settlements from the 4th and 3rd millennium BC. The X-ray excitation of iron present in ancient iron-gall inks was presented as a step toward the non-invasive reading of fragile and/or unopenable documents. Feedback from readers of this review is most welcome and the review coordinator may be contacted using the email address provided.
Against this background the competent governmental authorities in The Netherlands and
Germany have started a Dutch-German Exchange on Dredged Material (DGE) in the year
1999. This DGE was started as an informal bilateral platform for exchanging knowledge,
information and experiences in the field of sediment management. Since its start, several
meetings were organized, in which subjects such as legislation, risk assessment, sediment
treatment, hazardous substances, ecotoxicological and ecological assessment were discussed.
The results of these discussions have been put down in thematic reports. The DGE has thus
achieved an increased understanding of management of dredged material both on policy level
(national) and practical (project) level.
This study investigated whether reduced glutathione (GSH) was able to alter the negative effects of tributyltin (TBT) or dibutyltin (DBT) on the lytic function of human natural killer (NK) cells. NK cells are an initial immune defense against the development of tumors or viral infections. TBT and DBT are widespread environmental contaminants, due to their various industrial applications. Both TBT and DBT have been shown to decrease the ability of NK cells to lyse tumor cells (lytic function). The results indicated that the presence of GSH during the exposure of NK cells to TBT or DBT diminished the negative effect of the butyltin on the lytic function of NK cells. This suggests that the interaction of TBT and DBT with functionally relevant sulfhydryl groups in NK cells may be part of the mechanism by which they decrease NK lytic function.
Ninety-five commercially available items were analyzed for a small-scale survey of organotin compounds (OTCs) in household commodities such as textile products, shoe polish, adhesives, paint, and wax. Neither tributyltin nor triphenyltin species were found in any items; however, di- and trioctyltin and/or dibutyltin species (DOT, TOT, and DBT, respectively) were detected in 15 items; DOT was found in 14 items, TOT in 5 items, and DBT in 4 items. DOT was found in 2 diaper covers at about 0.1 %. Detection frequencies of OTC were 6/10 for diaper covers, 3/10 for bibs, 2/10 for sanitary panties, 1/5 for outergarments, 1/5 for stockings, 1/5 for socks, and 1/10 for shoe polish.
The determination of organotin compounds in bottom sediments is a complex process that requires a number of analytical steps, i.e. sample collection, transport and storage; extraction of analytes from sediment; derivatization; extract purification; enrichment; and the final chromatographic measurement. The whole process is time and labour consuming, and subject to securing sample representativeness. In this review the most frequently encountered problems and the examples of possible analytical solutions are presented, which encompass the specific steps of speciation analysis of these toxic compounds.
Residues of butyltin compounds, including mono- (MBT), di- (DBT) and tributyltins (TBT), were measured in human blood collected from central Michigan, U.S.A. MBT, DBT, and TBT were detected in 53, 81, and 70% of the 32 blood samples examined. Concentrations of butyltins were in the order of MBT > DBT ≥ TBT, with total butyltin concentrations ranging from less than the limit of detection to 101 ng/mL. Exposure of humans to butyltin compounds used as stabilizers or as biocides in household articles has been regarded as a source in addition to the ingestion of contaminated foodstuffs. There was no significant difference in concentrations of butyltin compounds between sexes. Concentrations of butyltin compounds did not exhibit pronounced age-dependency, which is different from those observed for persistent pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In general, concentrations of butyltins measured in blood were less than that affected human natural killer lymphocytes (a primary immune defense against tumor and virally infected cells). The toxicological significance of the concentrations of butyltins observed in this study is unknown. However, the potential for sporadic incidences of great exposure and possible synergistic effect on immune function when exposed in mixtures suggest a need for further investigations to evaluate sources and effects of butyltins in humans.
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