1 Introduction

Survey and Health Assessment of Possible Health Hazardous Compounds in Proofing Sprays

1.1 Background
1.2 Objective

1.1 Background

A wide range of different proofing agents exist and they are sold directly to the consumers as agents for restorative treatment of different types of textiles most often to obtain water and stain repellency. Frequently, cases of toxification in connection with the use of these products have been reported. In a case from 2005, 10 people for instance became ill within two months as a result of using a certain product.

The main part of the products is sold as sprays. During use, consumers will therefore be exposed to aerosols from the chemical substances. That is why, it is relevant to assess if there might be a health hazard involved when inhaling the substances.

The chemical composition of the proofing agents differs. The products can e.g. be based on emulsions of wax or paraffin, on polysiloxanes or fluorine compounds. In addition, the products contain various solvents and aerosol propellants that in themselves can be problematic. In recent years, more so-called nanotechnological proofing agents have entered the market. Neither the chemical composition nor the nanotechnical characters of the products have been stated.

A possible health hazard from using the products is expected to depend on the chemical substances as well as on the size of the aerosols that are created in the spray products. Products using a pump mechanism typically result in aerosols with a size of approx. 100 µm whereas propellant sprays also result in aerosols below 10 µm. Ultra fine aerosols (< 100 nm) potentially pose a particular health hazard due to their extremely small size. In scientific literature, examples exist of ultra fine particles that are not hazardous in the same way as larger units, but they have toxic effects merely because of their size. However, it is unclear if that goes for all types of ultra fine particles. At the same time, ultra fine particles have a large capacity with regard to sorption of other substances due to the rather large specific area of surface (area of surface per volume or mass unit). In addition, the size of the particles might influence the exposure/bio accessibility as very small particles hypothetically can penetrate further into the finely branched alveolars.

As the number of aerosols and perhaps the specific area of surface of the aerosols can be of importance to the health effect it is important to know the size distribution and the aerosol concentration (amount per volume) rather than merely the mass per volume concentration when the potential health effect is to be assessed.

In general, it should be emphasized that there still is some uncertainty as to which extent ultra fine particles always pose health hazards or if the toxicity presupposes certain physical and/or chemical properties including the ability to sorb toxic substances.

In the light of the above, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency implemented the project Survey and Health Assessment of Possible Health Hazardous Compounds in Proofing Sprays.

1.2 Objective

Objectives of the project:

1. On the basis of existing knowledge (i.a. scientific literature) as far as possible to investigate if health hazards exist either due to the chemical substances of the products or due to the size of the aerosols created during use.

2. To identify possible problematic substances in such products.

3. To investigate the size distribution of the aerosols the consumer is exposed to when using spray products for textile proofing.

4. To determine which textile proofing sprays exist on the Danish market, to investigate them and determine if they have a content of problematic substances and to investigate the type of aerosol creating mechanism.