Determining the Residual Characteristics of Alkylphenols, Arsenic, and Lead as well as Assessing the Exposures of 1,4-Dioxane from Household Food Detergents.
Food detergents are commonly used in households. The main components of detergents include surfactants and water. It has been found that certain compounds, which may cause health concerns, appear in food detergents, such as alkylphenols, arsenic, and lead. After applying food detergents is when people may be exposed to various levels of these chemicals when there are residues. In this study, the Taguchi experimental design was performed to determine the possible factors that might affect the residual characteristics of food detergent on dishware, fruits, and vegetables. The results showed that the variety of detergent was found to be the most significant factor affecting the residue amounts of arsenic (62.9%) and lead (71.6%) on fruits and vegetables, whereas the concentration of detergent used affected the amount of lead residue only (10.5%). On the other hand, dishware material, the concentration of analytes, immersion time, and type of surfactant contributed to arsenic residues on dishware, whereas technical nonylphenol isomer residues on dishware increased as the concentration of spiked analyte increased. In addition, the occurrence of 1,4-dioxane, a possible human carcinogen, in household food detergents in Taiwan was also determined in this research by solid-phase microextraction and GC-MS. Among the 80 detergent samples, 71 contained different concentrations ranges of 1,4-dioxane, from 0.03 to ~3.73 µg/g. In the exposure assessment, it was estimated that the maximum amounts of 1,4-dioxane in contact with the skin from the use of household food detergent in Taiwan was 0.015 µg/kg/day.
National Taiwan University, College of Public Health, Institute of Environmental Health, No. 17, Xuzhou Rd, Taipei, Taiwan 100.
Wan-Ting
WT
Lin
National Taiwan University, College of Public Health, Institute of Environmental Health, No. 17, Xuzhou Rd, Taipei, Taiwan 100.
Wun-Ling
WL
Chen
Ministry of Health and Welfare, Food and Drug Administration, Food Safety Division, Taipei, Taiwan 115.
Wei-Chih
WC
Cheng
Ministry of Health and Welfare, Food and Drug Administration, Food Safety Division, Taipei, Taiwan 115.
Hui-Chuan
HC
Chang
National Taiwan University, College of Public Health, Institute of Environmental Health, No. 17, Xuzhou Rd, Taipei, Taiwan 100.
Shih-Wei
SW
Tsai
D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D003902:Detergents / Q000032:analysis*; D004146:Dioxanes / Q000032:analysis*; D006795:Household Products / Q000032:analysis*; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D013624:Taiwan
D003902:Detergents; D004146:Dioxanes; D007854:Lead; C025223:1,4-dioxane; D001151:Arsenic