1 Introduction

Survey and Health Assessment of Products for Interior Car Care

1.1 Background
1.2 Objective
1.3 Structure of the report

1.1 Background

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency has previously focused on products for exterior car care. This project focuses on products for interior car care.

Car detailing is not only carried out to prolong the durability of the individual material components of the car, but also to make the car look clean and ”new”. A wide range of car care products are available for that purpose and they can clean and maintain the surfaces in the cabin or create a pleasant smell.

Interior car care will usually be carried out by the car owner but can also be performed by e.g. car care centres, typically before resale.

More and more Danes daily spend shorter or longer periods of time in their cars commuting between home and work. Therefore, exposure to chemical substances through the indoor car climate is expected to be of substantial importance.

Car care products are products that either have purifying properties, protecting properties, cosmetic properties or a combination of all these properties.

Many car care products contain organic solvents, preservatives and fragrances that from other types of products are known as potential health hazardous substances.

Many cleaning agents are based on different mixtures of alcohol-based solvents and tensides, perhaps with ammonia, preservatives and fragrances. Solvents can be hazardous to health and as the solvent concentrations in the products are rather high they can be inhaled during application of the car care product or during subsequent use of the vehicle as the substances are easily evaporative. When emitted to the environment, tensides can be poisonous for aquatic organisms but they are not very problematic in relation to health.

Preservatives in cleaning products can be based on isothiazolinon compounds that are potential allergy-causing agents. In addition, allergy-causing fragrances might have been added to the products.

Protectants are supposed to give the material in the cabin a well-kept surface, e.g. shiny, ductile or dirt repellent. The product range i.a. comprises agents to care for plastics (so-called vinyl make-up), leather care and waterproofing spray for fabric surfaces.

To remove bad smell in the cabin, e.g. from cigarettes, agents can be used to freshen the air. Contrary to the traditional air fresheners the unpleasant smell is not drowned in perfume but it is removed by means of constituents that fixate bad odour.

Recently, new products have entered the market and they are based on nano technology. The products can e.g. be aimed at fabric waterproofing or windows. The agents are applied in a thin layer so a dirt-repellent surface or a surface that counteracts the creation of mist is created.

1.2 Objective

The objective of this project has been to outline and assess selected compounds in products for interior car care and to assess possible health related effects for consumers.

1.3 Structure of the report

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. Then a health assessment of selected compounds was carried out.

Chapter 2 shows the results of the survey, including an outline of the 41 purchased products and information about compounds from the packaging and safety data sheet of the products, respectively. In addition, the criteria for the selection of 26 products for the screening analysis are shown.

In chapter 3, relevant legislation for the product group in question is discussed.

Chapter 4 shows relevant exposure scenarios for the purchased car care products. The exposure scenarios have formed the basis of the preparation of the emission analyses.

Chapter 5 demonstrates the results of a screening investigation for content of volatile and semi-volatile organic substances in the 26 selected products.

In the light of the results of the screening analysis in chapter 5, the quantitative analyses carried out on 15 selected products are described in chapter 6. In addition, the results of the emission tests on four selected products are shown.

Chapter 7 shows the results of the investigation for nano particles in four products that are marketed as being based on nano technology.

A health assessment of the selected compounds in the products analysed in chapter 6 appears in chapter 8.

Chapter 9 shows the exposure calculations of the four products, on which emission measurements were carried out (as described in chapter 6).