Are Melamine and Its Derivatives the Alternatives for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Fabric Treatments in Infant Clothes?

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and melamine (MEL)-based compounds are used in textile finishing as grease, stain, and water repellents. Here, we investigated the occurrence of a large suite of PFAS and MEL compounds in 86 infant clothing items. The ∑MEL concentrations ranged from below the method detection limit to 250,000 ng/g with a median concentration of 78.2 ng/g, significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the ∑PFAS levels (1.22–203 ng/g; median 3.62 ng/g). MEL and its derivatives were most abundant in nylon clothes (median 32,800 ng/g), followed by organic cotton (median 6120 ng/g). In a simulated laundering experiment, the ∑MEL concentrations in clothing decreased on an average by ∼60 and 90% when washed in cool (20 °C) and warm (50 °C) water, respectively. This removal rate increased to 97% when the samples were washed with a detergent. The estimated daily intakes of MEL and PFAS through dermal absorption from nylon clothes were three orders of magnitude higher than those from the non-nylon clothes and decreased by more than half for washed clothes. Our findings demonstrate that MEL-based compounds are abundant in infant clothing and suggest that this group of compounds could be used as potential PFAS replacements in textile finishing.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in North American School Uniforms

“…63 Values for F mig and F pen are estimates for reasonable maximum exposure (RME) scenario since measurements are unavailable. 21 , 22 , 64 The number of events in a day was set to 1 since uniforms are worn continuously, as opposed to outdoor wear that is often removed several times in a day. The dermal absorption calculated by eq 2 is a RME scenario as 50% extractable PFAS are assumed to penetrate the skin.…”

“…Several other studies, primarily focused on adult products available in the European market, have focused on PFAS in outdoor wear clothing. 12 − 20 Several studies have examined children’s clothing, with most focused on outdoor wear items (ND–10791 μg/m 2 ); 12 , 15 , 19 − 23 five studies have measured PFAS concentrations in clothing that comes into direct contact with the skin, including infant apparel (ND–203 ng/g) like bibs (ND–16 ng/g) 17 , 21 , 22 and uniforms (ND–976 ng/g). 24 − 26 PFAS have also been analyzed in daycare carpets (32.2–8500 ng/g), dust (8.1–6470 ng/g) and nap-mats (1.6–600 ng/g), 27 , 28 and children’s car seats (ND–268 ng/g).…”

“… 43 For example, Nikiforov reported that the FTOH content increased by up to 500–1300 times after hydrolysis of textile samples. 43 The presence of large amounts of PFAS that usually go undetected with targeted analyses carries the potential for release during use, including releases to wastewater during laundering, 9 , 14 , 17 , 22 , 44 , 45 and the end-of-life stage and hence for exposure.…”

Adsorption of perfluorooctanoic acid from water by pH-modulated Brönsted acid and base sites in mesoporous hafnium oxide ceramics

“…Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a group of over 4,000 industrial chemicals that have been widely synthesized for applications in water-proof clothing, carpets, cookware, and food packaging ( Seltenrich, 2020 ; Sini et al., 2018 ; Sunderland et al., 2019 ; Zabaleta et al., 2017 ; Zheng and Salamova, 2020 ). They are used in food packaging and waterproof gear as they are thermally resistant, hydrophobic, and oleophobic ( Glenn et al., 2021 ; Hill et al., 2017 ).…”

Developing Unique Nontarget High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Signatures to Track Contaminant Sources in Urban Waters

“…For example, 1,3-diphenylguanidine (DPG, S1), HMMM (S1), , and dicyclohexylamine (S2a) co-occurred in the roadway runoff signature and in 20%, 40%, and 80% of wastewater samples, respectively, although at lower relative abundance (Figure S2). Although these chemicals are primarily tire rubber derived, their occurrence in wastewater may reflect their use in other products (e.g., HMMM in plastic coatings or fabrics) or contributions of “roadway-like” sources (e.g., garages, industrial floors) to wastewater. These overlapping detections again indicated that advance selection of source indicator compounds can introduce false positives or source bias when tracking source contributions to receiving waters.…”