Characterization of Chemical Additives in Daily Clothing Regarding Human Exposure and Environmental Emissions

Abstract

Despite the ubiquitous use of textiles, the chemical additives used in textile manufacturing, their human exposure, and their environmental release have been largely overlooked. Herein, we screened for numerous chemical additives, including synthetic antioxidants, organophosphate esters, and phthalate esters, detecting 93 of 98 chemicals in 78 items of clothing (sum concentration: 328 to 2.51 × 10⁵ ng/g, median: 2.77 × 10⁴ ng/g). Compared with organophosphate esters and phthalate esters, significantly high concentrations of synthetic antioxidants (median: 2.51 × 10⁴ ng/g) were found in clothes for both children and adults. Different chemical compositions were observed between cotton and artificial fabrics, with 3 times higher concentrations observed in clothing for children than for adults. Dermal contact via sweaty clothes may be a major exposure pathway for 2,4-di-tert-butyl-phenol (contributing 39.1% to total exposure); thus, it is recommended to avoid rewearing sweaty clothes to minimize human exposure. Additionally, environmental emissions of chemicals through laundry wastewater were estimated at 11.2 tons/year in China. The discharge of 2,6-di-tert-butyl-p-benzoquinone via laundry wastewater contributed 20.4% of the total input into wastewater treatment plants in China, indicating a non-negligible source of this chemical. This work provides comprehensive evidence of unwanted chemical additives in clothes and underscores the necessity for continuous monitoring of environmental and human risks associated with textile products.