Survey of Chemical Substances in Consumer Products, No. 82 2007 – Survey and health assessment of selected respiratory sensitizers in consumer products

Survey and health assessment of selected respiratory sensitizers in consumer products

Introduction

In 2004, the Danish EPA issued a revised list of unwanted substances (Orientering fra Miljøstyrelsen, nr. 8, 2004). The criteria for inclusion in this list were among others the classification of the substances. One of the criteria was classification R42: “May cause sensitization by inhalation”. Five substances are on the list exclusively because of this classification:

Cyclohexan-1,2-dicarboxylic anhydride (unspec.), CAS 85-42-7

Hexahydro-4-methylphthalic anhydride, CAS 19438-60-9

Phthalic anhydride, Methyltetrahydro- (unspec.), CAS 11070-44-3

Methylendiphenyldiisocyanate (MDI), CAS 26447-40-5, 5873-54-1 and 101-68-8

Glutaraldehyde, CAS 111-30-8

Exposure to these five substances through consumer products is virtually unknown, and the Danish EPA needs more knowledge of the use of these substances in consumer products, and the emission of the five substances from products containing the substances.

The purpose of the present project was to

Make an inventory of what kind of consumer products may contain any of the five R42-substances.
Examine, if consumers are actually exposed to the substances when using such products.
Assess, if the exposure is large enough to cause health effects in the consumers

Products, which are exclusively used in the occupational setting and lead only to occupational exposure, are outside the scope of this project.

The final goal of the project is to present an assessment of the health risk of the consumers from the five R42 substances.

The project was divided into two phases:

Inventory of the kind of consumer products, which may contain any of the five R42 substances

Exposure assessment and assessment of health risks