Loading...
Aggregate exposure to isothiazolinones used as preservatives in consumer products. Is the simultaneous presence of CMI, MI and BIT in personal care products, household cleaning products, toys, paints and glues of concern?
Citations
Altmetric:
Series / Report no.
RIVM rapport 2022-0011
Open Access
Type
Report
Language
en
Date
2022-04-08
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Title
Aggregate exposure to isothiazolinones used as preservatives in consumer products. Is the simultaneous presence of CMI, MI and BIT in personal care products, household cleaning products, toys, paints and glues of concern?
Translated Title
Geaggregeerde blootstelling aan isothiazolinonen gebruikt als conserveermiddelen in consumentenproducten. Is de gelijktijdige aanwezigheid van CMI, MI en BIT in persoonlijke verzorgingsproducten, huishoudelijke schoonmaakmiddelen, speelgoed, verf en lijm reden tot zorg?
Published in
Abstract
Isothiazolinones are preservatives. They are frequently used in, for example, personal care products like sunscreen and shampoo, as well as cleaning products, paint and aqueous toys like clay and toy slime. They ensure that a product does not spoil and that its shelf life is prolonged. If people come into contact with isothiazolinones, this could lead to allergic reactions of the skin.
Currently, consumers are advised to be cautious with these substances (see http://www.waarzitwatin.nl). In order to assess the risk of allergic reactions, the extent to which people are exposed to these substances should be determined. RIVM has investigated this by calculating the exposure to isothiazolinones.
This investigation was carried out by estimating to which extent various product groups contributed to the total exposure, as people can be exposed to isothiazolines via various different products every day. The total exposure in both adults and children has been investigated for three widely-used substances: methylisothiazolinone, chloromethylisothiazolinone and benzisothiazolinone.
The results of this investigation indicated that, in some cases, the total exposure is higher than the safe amount. More research is needed to know whether this is really the case. For example, for many products the exact amount of isothiazolinones they contain is unknown. In addition, it is not always determined how many people use such products and how often. It should also be investigated whether other types of isothiazolines, such as dichlorooctylisothiazolinone and octylisothiazolinone, contribute to the total exposure to isothiazolinones.
The NVWA has measured the amount of isothiazolinones in hundreds of different products. RIVM used these measurements to calculate the exposure using the PACEM and ConsExpo computer models. ConsExpo can provide a first estimation of the exposure that occurs when a person uses a single product. With PACEM, exposure to multiple products can be calculated. Furthermore, PACEM gives a more realistic estimation of the exposure, because it uses concrete data about the frequency of use.
Description
Publisher
Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu RIVM