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Survey and Health Assessment of Products for Interior Car Care Summary and conclusionsThe number of cars on the roads in Denmark is increasing steadily and more and more Danes daily spend some or more time in their cars commuting between home and work. Therefore, exposure to chemical substances through the indoor car climate has become an important issue. According to Statistics Denmark, app. 2 million passenger cars were registered as at 1 January 2007 in Denmark. Of that amount, app. 1.970.000 cars were used for private driving. In addition, 459.000 vans and 35.000 trucks were registered. It must be expected that interior car care products - to some extent – are used for these vehicles. This project solely deals with products for interior maintenance and car care. Products for exterior car care were treated in a previous project. Products for interior car care can be organized in the following categories:
The project consisted of the following sub-elements: a survey and then an initial screening of which volatile and semi-volatile organic substances the products contain. With a starting point in the screening results products were subsequently selected for quantitative analyses. Likewise, 4 products were selected for emission tests on the basis of the screening investigation. Survey The survey comprised the following activities:
Consumption of products for interior car care It has not been possible to obtain information from all contacted importers about the extent of sales in the Danish market and therefore it has not been possible to outline the amount of products sold for interior car care. Selection of products for further investigation The survey resulted in the registration (purchase) of 41 products and 29 products were selected for chemical screening analyses, see Table 0.1Table 0.1.
Chemical analyses The declared information on the packaging and safety data sheets of the purchased products was analysed and it turned out that most likely the most critical substances were volatile organic compounds. Therefore, focus was on that group of substances, when the chemical screening and the following quantitative measurements were carried out. For that purpose, gas chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) as analysis principle was applied. Two different screening investigations were carried out by means of GC/MS. One method investigated the semi-volatile compounds in the products and a semi-quantitative determination of the content was carried out. According to the survey, several of the products contained propellants and very volatile solvents. Therefore, a qualitative analysis of these compounds was carried out by analyzing headspace by means of SPME-GC/MS. In connection with the initial screening, many of the declared substances of the products were found as well as a number of others, e.g. solvents, propellants, perfume and preservatives. In the following, the most substantial results of the initial screening of each product type are listed (number of investigated products stated in parenthesis):
The results of the initial screening investigations were used to carry out a screening of possible health hazardous substances. In consultation with the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (the Danish EPA), 15 products were selected for quantitative determination of selected compounds. The tables below show selected results of the quantitative analyses.
Click here to see: Table 0.3 Selected results of quantitative analyses, continued With a starting point in the results of the initial screenings and the danger classification of the compounds, 4 products were selected for evaporation tests. The 4 products for evaporation tests were selected to represent different product types (vinyl make-up, fabric waterproofing, vinyl cleaner and glass cleaner). The following list shows the most substantial substances that were demonstrated:
Nano products Four of the selected spray products are marketed as being based on nano technology. The concentration and particle size distribution of airborne particles (aerosols), created when the product is used, were measured in the four products. In connection with three of the products (no. 23, 24 and 41) the measured aerosol concentrations were low compared to other propellant based spray products for fabric waterproofing, and therefore special risks connected with aerosols from these products are not expected. In one product (no. 22), nano aerosols were measured (medium size 36 nm) at a level that exceeded the level of normal indoor air 100 times. It is well-known that inhaling ultra fine aerosols can have negative health effects[1], but it is not possible to comment on the health effects of the product in question as it had not been selected for closer health assessment as other products contained compounds that caused greater anxiety (according to the safety data sheet the product contains min. 60% water). In addition, it would not be possible to carry out a health assessment of the consequence of the product compounds appearing in nano form as currently very little knowledge is available about the effect of specific substances when they appear in nano form (see chapter 7). Health and risk assessment of products for interior car care In the light of the results of the quantitative analyses (15 products selected for quantitative analysis and 4 products selected for evaporation tests), a health assessment was carried out on a number of substances and a risk assessment was carried out of the health-related most problematic compounds in relation to inhalation and skin contact. The analyses of the 4 products in the evaporation tests showed that a number of chemical substances evaporate from the 4 analysed products. Chemical substances with a relevant classification concerning health (i.e. classification that deals with health risks or irritation in connection with inhalation and skin contact) and that simultaneously evaporate with the highest concentrations have been investigated closer in the exposure calculations. The substances were:
Benzyl chloride only appears in very small concentrations in two products (0.037% and 0.0077%), but was also selected as the substance is classified as carcinogenic. A number of the above substances were previously assessed in relation to their health properties in analysis projects carried out by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (DEPA). Therefore, the substances will not be assessed again in this report, but the NOEL values (No Observed Effect Level) or TDI values (tolerable daily intake) from the previous projects will be used in the risk assessment of the products for interior car care. Therefore, this project has carried out a health assessment on five substances (substance groups): hydrocarbons, butane, ethyl acetate, 1-methoxy-2-propanol and benzyl chloride. In addition, a risk assessment was carried out of all the above-mentioned substances in relation to health effects in connection with inhalation and skin contact. Conclusion The investigation shows that the potentially most health hazardous compounds in the investigated products for interior car care are hydrocarbons/petroleum distillates, limonene, ethyl acetate and butyl acetate. That assessment is based on the effects of the compounds compared with the typical concentration in the investigated products. Table 0.4Table 0.4 shows in which product types the mentioned compounds appear.
Benzyl chloride is classified as carcinogenic and was identified in two products, but the concentration was so small that it does not form a health risk if hands are washed after application or if the car care products are used max. once a week. The risk assessment was carried out in the light of the critical effect of benzyl chloride which is not cancer but acute and chronic infection in the gastritis. The exposure calculations for inhalation of the chemical substances that evaporate from the four analysed products show that irrespective of the car being used immediately after application of the car care products for a short drive (15 minutes) or a long drive (5 hours), then there is no health risk when using the analysed products for interior car care unless the products are used every day for a longer period of time. In that case, exposure may result in liver and blood changes (e.g. cell enlargement). However, the changes seen in the liver of experimental animals are reversible, meaning that the changes can return to normal. As long as the product only is used once a week – or a couple of times a year, which probably is the most realistic – then there is no health risk related to using the products that have been closer investigated in this project. The products must be used in double amounts and more frequent than every second week before a long term risk is possible. The exposure calculations for skin contact show that even though the products for interior car care are applied without using gloves (but with an application cloth), then there will be no health risk connected with using the analysed product as long as the user washes hands after use or only uses interior car care products every fortnight. That also goes for cleaning tissues when there is direct contact with the compounds. The inhaled amount and the amount absorbed via skin contact have to be added up for each compound in order to obtain total exposure. However, exposure during skin contact is much less than during inhalation of the same substances and therefore the conclusion remains the same: As long as the analysed products for interior car care during normal use only are used max. twice a week or less, then there is no health risk when using the products investigated in this project. No substances evaporate in concentrations that exceed the individual threshold limiting values (TLV) of the compounds. Calculations show that in worst-case situations more than one full can has to be used (in this case vinyl make-up) at once in order to exceed the limit value of the compounds. Even though no limit values are exceeded, some of the compounds may be liberated in concentrations where irritating effects can appear and therefore it is recommended to apply car care products with the car door open and to ensure proper ventilation in the car if going for a drive in the car immediately after application. It is also recommended to use gloves as the compounds may degrease the skin and result in dry skin. In general, the following is recommended when using interior car care products:
[1] Refer to e.g. ISO/TC 146/SC 2 N 399
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