Occurrence and Concentration of Chemical Additives in Consumer Products in Korea

As the variety of chemicals used in consumer products (CPs) has increased, concerns about human health risk have grown accordingly. Even though restrictive guidelines and regulations have taken place to minimize the risks, human exposure to these chemicals and their eco-compatibility has remained a matter of greater scientific concern over the years. A major challenge in understanding the reality of the exposure is the lack of available information on the increasing number of ingredients and additives in the products. Even when ingredients of CPs formulations are identified on the product containers, the concentrations of the chemicals are rarely known to consumers. In the present study, an integrated target/suspect/non-target screening procedure using liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) with stepwise identification workflow was used for the identification of known, suspect, and unknown chemicals in CPs including cosmetics, personal care products, and washing agents. The target screening was applied to identify and quantify isothiazolinones and phthalates. Among analyzed CPs, isothiazolinones and phthalates were found in 47% and in 24% of the samples, respectively. The highest concentrations were 518 mg/kg for benzisothiazolone, 7.1 mg/kg for methylisothiazolinone, 2.0 mg/kg for diethyl phthalate, and 21 mg/kg for dimethyl phthalate. Suspect and non-target analyses yielded six tentatively identified chemicals across the products including benzophenone, ricinine, iodocarb (IPBC), galaxolidone, triethanolamine, and 2-(2H-Benzotriazol-2-yl)-4, 6-bis (1-methyl-1-phenylethyl) phenol. Our results revealed that selected CPs consistently contain chemicals from multiple classes. Excessive use of these chemicals in daily life can increase the risk for human health and the environment.