Exploring long-term global environmental impacts of chlorinated paraffins (CPs) in waste: Implications for the Stockholm and Basel Conventions and the global plastic treaty.

Chlorinated paraffins (CPs), mainly short-chain CPs (SCCPs) and medium-chain CPs (MCCPs), are currently the most produced and used industrial chemicals related to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) globally. These chemicals are widely detected in the environment and in the human body. As the release of SCCPs and MCCPs from products represents only a small fraction of their stock in products, the potential long-term release of CPs from a large variety of products at the waste stage has become an issue of great concern. The results of this study showed that, by 2050, SCCPs and MCCPs used between 2000 and 2021 will cumulatively generate 226.49 Mt of CP-containing wastes, comprising 8610.13 kt of SCCPs and MCCPs. Approximately 79.72 Mt of CP-containing wastes is predicted to be generated abroad through the international trade of products using SCCPs and MCCPs. The magnitude, distribution, and growth of CP-containing wastes subject to environmentally sound disposal will depend largely on the relevant provisions of the Stockholm and Basel Conventions and the forthcoming global plastic treaty. According to multiple scenarios synthesizing the provisions of the three conventions, 26.6-101.1 Mt of CP-containing wastes will be subject to environmentally sound disposal as POP wastes, which would pose a great challenge to the waste disposal capacity of China, as well as for countries importing CP-containing products. The additional 5-year exemption period for MCCPs is expected to see an additional 10 Mt of CP-containing wastes subject to environmentally sound disposal. Thus, there is an urgent need to strengthen the Stockholm and Basel Conventions and the global plastic treaty.

Short and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins in indoor dust from a multistory residential building in Beijing, China: Vertical distribution and potential health risks.

In this study, we conducted a preliminary investigation of the vertical distribution and potential health risks of short and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs) in indoor dust from a multistory residential building in Beijing, China. Forty-eight SCCP and MCCP congener groups in dust from different floors of the multistory residential building were determined by two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with electron capture negative ionization mass spectrometry. The concentration ranges for SCCPs and MCCPs in the dust samples were 0.0239-207 µg/g and 0.135-2903 µg/g, respectively. MCCPs were the dominant group, on average accounting for 76.8 % of ∑CPs. Generally, the concentrations of both SCCPs and MCCPs greatly decreased as the floor level increased, which indicated that the CP contamination was attributed to exogenous atmospheric transport and deposition. C13Cl7-8 and C14Cl7-8 were the dominant SCCP and MCCP congener groups, possibly indicating the use of industrial CP-52 products was the main source of CPs. In the worst-case scenario using the maximum concentrations of CPs, the daily intake of SCCPs for toddlers was of the same order of magnitude as the reference dose. It should be noted that CPs exposure may be more serious when indoor decorations, furniture, and various plastic products are taken into consideration. Overall, more attention should be paid to CPs exposure and control measures in high-rise buildings.

Resolving mass fractions and congener group patterns of C8-C17 chlorinated paraffins in commercial products: Associations with source characterization.

Commercial chlorinated paraffins (CPs) are a source of CPs in the environment, and clarification of the different CP groups present in commercial products is important for source characterization. Resolving CP congener groups is hindered by the complex CP compositions of commercial products. We used comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography coupled with electron capture negative ionization high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry to profile 57 C8 - C17 CP congener groups in 18 CP-42, CP-52, and CP-70 commercial products. Very short-chain CPs (vSCCPs), including C8Cl5-8 and C9Cl5-9 CPs, and other chlorinated aromatic compounds were identified in the commercial products. The mass fractions of total vSCCPs, short-chain CPs (SCCPs) and medium-chain CPs (MCCPs) in the commercial products ranged from 0.02% to 3.61%, 0.75% to 51.4%, and 0.39% to 69.1%, respectively. Two-dimensional hierarchical cluster analysis with a heat map plot highlighted variations in the C8 - C17 CP congener group patterns among different commercial CP formulations. The principal component analysis results indicated that commercial CPs products might be important contributors to vSCCPs, SCCPs, and MCCPs in various environmental matrices. This study provides comprehensive and well-resolved compositional data for CPs in commercial products, which will be helpful for CP source characterization.