Does the environment suffer for human vanity? Ecotoxicological aspects of cosmetic products Anna Sobek Department of Applied Environmental Science (ITM) Stockholm University
Chemicals in cosmetic products - a problem to the environment? not just one kind of chemical.. Dyes Preservatives Perfumes or fragrances Antibacterial agents UV-filters Thickeners
Chemicals in cosmetic products - a problem to the environment? not just one kind of chemical.. Not possible to give a generalised answer
Problem: regulation concerning environmental risk unclear The product is regulated by the the Cosmetic Products Regulation (CPR) - Focus on human health and NOT environment The chemical (contained in a cosmetic product) should be regulated by REACH - Risks for the environment should be assessed - Complicated and not clear how/if this will work
Chemicals in cosmetic products Is this an issue for the environment do we need to worry?
Yes this is an issue! Chemicals in cosmetic products can be an environmental concern Persistence BCF Toxicity Endocrine disrupting T 1/2 freshwater L/kg Acute LC 50 mg/l Benzophenone Preservative 100 12 0.28 yes Butylated hydroxyanisole Preservative 28 269 7 yes Butylated hydroxy toluene Preservative 7 2500 3 no data Diethyl phtalate Fragrance 28 117 52 yes Octyl methoxycinnamate UV-filter 21 5900 0.13 yes Butyl paraben Preservative 43 110 4 yes Siloxane Emolient 70 2000 0.14 yes Titanium dioxide UV-filter no data 56563 5.5 no data Triclosan Anti-microbial 730 5000 0.42 yes Nano zincoxide UV-filter no data no data 0.62 no data Dhanirama, Gronow and Voulvoulis, 2012
Siloxanes cvms cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (D4, D5, D6) High-volume chemicals Used in personal care products (deodorants, creams etc), biomedical products, consumer products (car polish and waxes)
Emissions of siloxane D5 from use of Personal Care Products 10% to wastewater 90% to air
D5 concentrations measured in air at a rural site in Sweden Kierkegaard, McLachlan. 2013
D5 fate in air D5 is found in background air is subject to long-range atmospheric transport has little interaction with the other environmental compartments (i.e. a flyer) is removed relatively rapidly from the atmosphere No big problem from an ecotoxicology perspective McLachlan et al., Environ. Sci. Technol. 44, 5365-5370
Fate of D5 from Personal Care Products 10% to wastewater 1% to recipient 90% to air
Sediment and perch from Swedish lakes
D5 in sediment increases with STP load Kierkegaard, Bignert, McLachlan. 2013
D5 in perch correlates to D5 in sediment Kierkegaard, Bignert, McLachlan. 2013.
D5 also in Baltic Sea herring Kierkegaard, Bignert, McLachlan. 2013.
D5 biomagnify in aquatic food webs Borgå, K., Fjeld, E., Kierkegaard, A. and McLachlan, M.S. 2013. TMF = trophic magnification factor TMF > 1 = biomagnification Lake Mjösa in Norway
Conclusions D5 in water Contamination of aquatic environment via atmosphere is low Contamination of aquatic environment related to STP effluent D5 emissions to water lead to contamination of biota throughout the Baltic Biomagnification occurs No evidence on toxicity of D5
UV-filters Used in cosmetic products to protect the human skin from UV radiation The Chemical Products Regulation contains a list of 28 UV-filters that are approved for use in sunscreen products on the EU market
UV-filters are found in the environment UV-filters are detected in surface waters, sediment and biota STPs and sunscreens used at beaches are the main pathways to the aquatic environment
UV-filters approved for use in the EU Not toxic 7% Very toxic to aquatic life 29% May cause longlasting effects to aquatic life 43% Sobek, Bejgarn, Rudén, Molander and Breitholtz, 2013 Toxic to aquatic life with long-lasting effects 21%
UV-filters -illustrate inconsistencies in EU legislation UV-filters have environmentally hazardous properties Sunscreens containing UV-filters are regulated by CPR Risk to human health is considered! Uncertain how/if risk to the environment is considered! NO hazardous classification or labelling (CLP)
UV-filters -illustrate inconsistencies in EU legislation UV-filters in a paint are regulated by REACH Risk to the environment is considered! If classified as hazardous it is labelled
Fragrances Organic compounds widely used in personal-care products Primary route to the environment is through down-the-drain disposal of the product Obvious that fragrances are important to us!
Fragrances are found in wastewater, in Europe and the USA. found in aquatic biota (mussels, clams, fish, seals, otters, dolphins )
Essential oils used in fragrance materials Essential oils are complex mixtures that include both volatile and labile chemicals Mixtures of substances derived from plants Under REACH: essential oils are registered as natural complex substances (NCS) REACH requires P, B, T assessments
Risk assessment of essential oils Difficult! - Not possible to maintain a stable concentration in water during an experiment Volatilise Degrade Sorb/bind to surfaces
Processes in the STP VOLATILIZATION IN SEDIMENTATION DEGRADATION OUT SLUDGE These processes also occur in the environment, where also bioaccumulation can take place
Use the STP concept as a way to assess persistence P of essential oils A mass balance: what comes in and what goes out Elimination rates, persistence Lab-based STP Macleod, Radke, McLachlan et al. ongoing work @ ITM
Bioaccumulation experiments: spike the feed with essential oils Monitor the elimination of the substances over time Bioaccumulation can be calculated Macleod, Radke, McLachlan et al. ongoing work @ ITM
A tiered method for P and B assessment of essential oils PERSISTENCE BIOACCUMULATION Macleod, Radke, McLachlan et al. ongoing work @ ITM
Summary Chemicals in cosmetic products are diverse and cannot be generalised as a group BUT many of them do pose a risk to the environment - Are hazardous to aquatic life - Are persistent - Are bioaccumulating
For the future Legislation and implementation of current legislation is the way to move forward
Thank you for your attention! anna.sobek@itm.su.se