Study on the chemistry of water pollution by aryl halides originated from personal care products and their risk reduction

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H03094
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Green/Environmental chemistry
• Research Institution: Iwate University
• Principal Investigator: Terasaki Masanori 岩手大学, 人文社会科学部, 教授 (10363904)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 防腐剤 / 水質汚染 / 生態毒性 / 受容体結合活性 / ハロゲン化副生成物

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Parabens are used as preservatives in pharmaceuticals and personal care products. Parabens react with aqueous chlorine, which is used in disinfection processes, leading to the formation of halogenated parabens. This study investigated measuring brominated paraben concentrations in the river and whether brominated parabens have a hazard in the aquatic environment.
The concentration and toxicities (acute toxicities of an aquatic organism and AhR activity) of parabens increased with the length of the hydrocarbonated chain
and the number of bromine substituents. These compounds had the highest contributions to the observed toxicities in water samples.

Free Research Field

環境毒性化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

日常的に使われている防腐剤が消毒工程で水に含まれる微量の臭素と反応して臭素化体となり、水環境を汚染していることを世界で初めて明らかにした。特に分子量の大きい防腐剤は臭素化されると、汚染濃度や毒性が相乗的に高くなり、水生生物に対して高リスクであることが判明した。これら高リスクの物質について重点的に環境モニタリングをする必要性を示した。