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A citizen science approach estimating titanium dioxide released from personal care products.

ABSTRACT: Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a common component in personal care products (PCP), which through use enters the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and ultimately the environment. A citizen science approach is utilized here to inform the prevalence and usage of TiO2 containing PCP on a household scale, which generates information as to the quantity of TiO2 entering the WWTP, and the portion ultimately discharged to the environment. Meanwhile, citizen science sourced inventories were generated to estimate the quantity of TiO2, and potentially nanoscale TiO2 entering the WWTP from consumer products and to determine which products had the greatest contribution. The estimated values were compared with water samples from the WWTP which quantified the amount of total titanium present using ICP-AES. These values were at a similar level with other top-down estimation approaches and suggest that a citizen science approach is valid to estimate the loading of TiO2, and potentially other emerging contaminants, while at the same time engaging with community stakeholders.

SUBMITTER: Wu F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7390335 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A citizen science approach estimating titanium dioxide released from personal care products.

Wu Fan F Seib Matt M Mauel Samantha S Klinzing Sydney S Hicks Andrea L AL

PloS one 20200729 7

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a common component in personal care products (PCP), which through use enters the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and ultimately the environment. A citizen science approach is utilized here to inform the prevalence and usage of TiO2 containing PCP on a household scale, which generates information as to the quantity of TiO2 entering the WWTP, and the portion ultimately discharged to the environment. Meanwhile, citizen science sourced inventories were generated to estim ...[more]

PMID: 32726346

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Project description:Titanium dioxide is a common additive in many food, personal care, and other consumer products used by people, which after use can enter the sewage system and, subsequently, enter the environment as treated effluent discharged to surface waters or biosolids applied to agricultural land, incinerated wastes, or landfill solids. This study quantifies the amount of titanium in common food products, derives estimates of human exposure to dietary (nano-) TiO(2), and discusses the impact of the nanoscale fraction of TiO(2) entering the environment. The foods with the highest content of TiO(2) included candies, sweets, and chewing gums. Among personal care products, toothpastes and select sunscreens contained 1% to >10% titanium by weight. While some other crèmes contained titanium, despite being colored white, most shampoos, deodorants, and shaving creams contained the lowest levels of titanium (<0.01 ?g/mg). For several high-consumption pharmaceuticals, the titanium content ranged from below the instrument detection limit (0.0001 ?g Ti/mg) to a high of 0.014 ?g Ti/mg. Electron microscopy and stability testing of food-grade TiO(2) (E171) suggests that approximately 36% of the particles are less than 100 nm in at least one dimension and that it readily disperses in water as fairly stable colloids. However, filtration of water solubilized consumer products and personal care products indicated that less than 5% of the titanium was able to pass through 0.45 or 0.7 ?m pores. Two white paints contained 110 ?g Ti/mg while three sealants (i.e., prime coat paint) contained less titanium (25 to 40 ?g Ti/mg). This research showed that, while many white-colored products contained titanium, it was not a prerequisite. Although several of these product classes contained low amounts of titanium, their widespread use and disposal down the drain and eventually to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) deserves attention. A Monte Carlo human exposure analysis to TiO(2) through foods identified children as having the highest exposures because TiO(2) content of sweets is higher than other food products and that a typical exposure for a US adult may be on the order of 1 mg Ti per kilogram body weight per day. Thus, because of the millions of tons of titanium-based white pigment used annually, testing should focus on food-grade TiO(2) (E171) rather than that adopted in many environmental health and safety tests (i.e., P25), which is used in much lower amounts in products less likely to enter the environment (e.g., catalyst supports, photocatalytic coatings).

Dataset Information

A citizen science approach estimating titanium dioxide released from personal care products.

Publications

A citizen science approach estimating titanium dioxide released from personal care products.

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