title: Occurrence of organophosphorus flame retardants on skin wipes: Insight into human exposure from dermal absorption.
abstract: This study surveyed occurrences and influencing factors of organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) on skin surface. Skin wipe samples from palms, back-of-hands and forearms of 30 adults were collected by using gauze pads soaked in isopropyl alcohol in Beijing, China. Tris(chloropropyl) phosphate isomers (∑TCPP), tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) were the most abundant compounds with detection frequencies higher than 97%. ∑TCPP showed the highest mean level (4.6μg/m2), followed by TPHP (2.4μg/m2) and TCEP (1.6μg/m2). Levels on palms were slightly higher than on back-of-hands, and both were substantially higher than those on forearms. TCEP and ∑TCPP levels were strong reliable in three repeated measurements from 4 participants over a three month period (intraclass correlation of coefficient of 0.91 and 0.95, respectively), while TPHP levels were not. Washing with soap and water removed a large fraction of PFRs on hands with median reduction of 76, 72 and 67% for TCEP, ∑TCPP and TPHP, respectively. Paired dust samples, table surface wipe and hand wipe samples were collected from 17 offices (13 surface wipes and 22 hand wipes) in Beijing. Hand wipe TCEP, ∑TCPP and TPHP were neither correlated with dust samples nor with table surface wipe samples. Two methods were used for dermal exposure assessments. The estimated lower median total exposure from palms, back-of-hands and forearms by the relative absorption method were 0.6, 1.0, 0.3ng/kg BW-d for TCEP, ∑TCPP and TPHP, respectively. These estimates were in the same range as those via dust ingestion for adults in Beijing, suggesting dermal absorption is likely a significant pathway of human PFR exposure.
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Xiaotu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: yg-den@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Henan Normal University, Key Laboratory for Yellow River and Huai River Water Environment and Pollution Control, Ministry of Education, Henan Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Control, Xinxiang 453007, China.
authors.forename: Zhiguo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Shubo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: School of Environment, Beijing Key Laboratory for Emerging Organic Contaminants Control, State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (SKLESPC), Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
authors.forename: Yujue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000068476:Beijing; D002681:China; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010755:Organophosphates / Q000032:analysis; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D012867:Skin / Q000737:chemistry*; D012869:Skin Absorption
chemical_list: D004391:Dust; D005411:Flame Retardants; D010755:Organophosphates; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; C005445:triphenyl phosphate
keywords: Dermal absorption; Human exposure; Organophosphorus flame retardants; Skin wipes