Organophosphate ester (OPE) exposure among waste recycling and administrative workers in Denmark using silicone wristbands

Stephanie C. Hammel; Karoline K. Hansen; Anne Mette Madsen; Henrik A. Kolstad; Vivi Schlünssen; Marie Frederiksen

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140449

Organophosphate ester (OPE) exposure among waste recycling and administrative workers in Denmark using silicone wristbands

Stephanie C. Hammel^*, Karoline K. Hansen, Anne Mette Madsen, Henrik A. Kolstad, Vivi Schlünssen, Marie Frederiksen

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In a recent estimate, 96 million tons of hazardous waste were produced in the European Union, most of which were handled among the member states. Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are applied as flame retardants and plasticizers and are present in many products, e.g., electronics, which end up in the hazardous waste stream upon disposal. Given the growing body of information suggesting potential adverse health effects of OPEs, waste recycling workers who handle hazardous waste could potentially be at risk of elevated exposure to these chemicals. Using silicone wristbands, we evaluated OPE exposure among waste recycling workers who handled hazardous waste and compared their exposure to that of administrative workers from the same waste companies. Wristbands were extracted and analyzed for six OPEs, which were all detected in >75% of wristbands. Overall, the sum of tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (∑TCIPP) isomers was the most abundant OPE across all wristbands collected within the study. In general, the sum of tri(methyl phenyl) phosphate isomers (∑TMPP) was elevated for all waste workers (10^β = 7.9), whereas tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCIPP), and ∑TMPP were 3–12 times higher among those specifically handling electronic and hazardous waste compared to the administrative workers (p < 0.05). Repeated wristband measurements from the same worker had fair to good consistency in OPE concentrations (intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.54–0.77), except for the two most volatile chlorinated OPEs. Taken together, our results suggest that waste recycling workers who handle electronic and hazardous waste have significantly elevated exposure to OPEs, and efforts to reduce these exposures should be considered.

Original language	English
Article number	140449
Journal	Chemosphere
Volume	345
Number of pages	8
ISSN	0045-6535
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140449
Publication status	Published - Dec 2023

Keywords

e-waste
Flame retardants
Hazardous waste
Occupational exposure
Personal passive sampling
Plasticizers

Access to Document

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140449Licence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{29863ea7c2f44f798183139c7305fed4,

title = "Organophosphate ester (OPE) exposure among waste recycling and administrative workers in Denmark using silicone wristbands",

abstract = "In a recent estimate, 96 million tons of hazardous waste were produced in the European Union, most of which were handled among the member states. Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are applied as flame retardants and plasticizers and are present in many products, e.g., electronics, which end up in the hazardous waste stream upon disposal. Given the growing body of information suggesting potential adverse health effects of OPEs, waste recycling workers who handle hazardous waste could potentially be at risk of elevated exposure to these chemicals. Using silicone wristbands, we evaluated OPE exposure among waste recycling workers who handled hazardous waste and compared their exposure to that of administrative workers from the same waste companies. Wristbands were extracted and analyzed for six OPEs, which were all detected in >75% of wristbands. Overall, the sum of tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (∑TCIPP) isomers was the most abundant OPE across all wristbands collected within the study. In general, the sum of tri(methyl phenyl) phosphate isomers (∑TMPP) was elevated for all waste workers (10β = 7.9), whereas tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCIPP), and ∑TMPP were 3–12 times higher among those specifically handling electronic and hazardous waste compared to the administrative workers (p < 0.05). Repeated wristband measurements from the same worker had fair to good consistency in OPE concentrations (intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.54–0.77), except for the two most volatile chlorinated OPEs. Taken together, our results suggest that waste recycling workers who handle electronic and hazardous waste have significantly elevated exposure to OPEs, and efforts to reduce these exposures should be considered.",

keywords = "e-waste, Flame retardants, Hazardous waste, Occupational exposure, Personal passive sampling, Plasticizers",

author = "Hammel, {Stephanie C.} and Hansen, {Karoline K.} and Madsen, {Anne Mette} and Kolstad, {Henrik A.} and Vivi Schl{\"u}nssen and Marie Frederiksen",

year = "2023",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140449",

language = "English",

volume = "345",

journal = "Chemosphere",

issn = "0045-6535",

publisher = "Elsevier Ltd",

}

Organophosphate ester (OPE) exposure among waste recycling and administrative workers in Denmark using silicone wristbands. / Hammel, Stephanie C.; Hansen, Karoline K.; Madsen, Anne Mette et al.
In: Chemosphere, Vol. 345, 140449, 12.2023.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Organophosphate ester (OPE) exposure among waste recycling and administrative workers in Denmark using silicone wristbands

AU - Hammel, Stephanie C.

AU - Hansen, Karoline K.

AU - Madsen, Anne Mette

AU - Kolstad, Henrik A.

AU - Schlünssen, Vivi

AU - Frederiksen, Marie

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - In a recent estimate, 96 million tons of hazardous waste were produced in the European Union, most of which were handled among the member states. Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are applied as flame retardants and plasticizers and are present in many products, e.g., electronics, which end up in the hazardous waste stream upon disposal. Given the growing body of information suggesting potential adverse health effects of OPEs, waste recycling workers who handle hazardous waste could potentially be at risk of elevated exposure to these chemicals. Using silicone wristbands, we evaluated OPE exposure among waste recycling workers who handled hazardous waste and compared their exposure to that of administrative workers from the same waste companies. Wristbands were extracted and analyzed for six OPEs, which were all detected in >75% of wristbands. Overall, the sum of tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (∑TCIPP) isomers was the most abundant OPE across all wristbands collected within the study. In general, the sum of tri(methyl phenyl) phosphate isomers (∑TMPP) was elevated for all waste workers (10β = 7.9), whereas tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCIPP), and ∑TMPP were 3–12 times higher among those specifically handling electronic and hazardous waste compared to the administrative workers (p < 0.05). Repeated wristband measurements from the same worker had fair to good consistency in OPE concentrations (intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.54–0.77), except for the two most volatile chlorinated OPEs. Taken together, our results suggest that waste recycling workers who handle electronic and hazardous waste have significantly elevated exposure to OPEs, and efforts to reduce these exposures should be considered.

AB - In a recent estimate, 96 million tons of hazardous waste were produced in the European Union, most of which were handled among the member states. Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are applied as flame retardants and plasticizers and are present in many products, e.g., electronics, which end up in the hazardous waste stream upon disposal. Given the growing body of information suggesting potential adverse health effects of OPEs, waste recycling workers who handle hazardous waste could potentially be at risk of elevated exposure to these chemicals. Using silicone wristbands, we evaluated OPE exposure among waste recycling workers who handled hazardous waste and compared their exposure to that of administrative workers from the same waste companies. Wristbands were extracted and analyzed for six OPEs, which were all detected in >75% of wristbands. Overall, the sum of tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (∑TCIPP) isomers was the most abundant OPE across all wristbands collected within the study. In general, the sum of tri(methyl phenyl) phosphate isomers (∑TMPP) was elevated for all waste workers (10β = 7.9), whereas tri-n-butyl phosphate (TnBP), tris(1,3-dichloroisopropyl) phosphate (TDCIPP), and ∑TMPP were 3–12 times higher among those specifically handling electronic and hazardous waste compared to the administrative workers (p < 0.05). Repeated wristband measurements from the same worker had fair to good consistency in OPE concentrations (intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.54–0.77), except for the two most volatile chlorinated OPEs. Taken together, our results suggest that waste recycling workers who handle electronic and hazardous waste have significantly elevated exposure to OPEs, and efforts to reduce these exposures should be considered.

KW - e-waste

KW - Flame retardants

KW - Hazardous waste

KW - Occupational exposure

KW - Personal passive sampling

KW - Plasticizers

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174467124&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140449

DO - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140449

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37839747

AN - SCOPUS:85174467124

SN - 0045-6535

VL - 345

JO - Chemosphere

JF - Chemosphere

M1 - 140449

ER -

Organophosphate ester (OPE) exposure among waste recycling and administrative workers in Denmark using silicone wristbands

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this