Literature Review of Organic Chemicals of Emerging Environmental Concern in Use in Auckland December TR 2008/028 Auckland Regional Council Technical Report No.028 December 2008 ISSN 1179-0504 (Print) ISSN 1179-0512 (Online) ISBN 978-1-877483-69-1 Technical Report, first edition Reviewed by: Approved for ARC publication by: Name: Position: Name: Position: Judy-Ann Ansen Team Leader Stormwater Action Team Organisation: Auckland Regional Council Paul Metcalf Group Manager Environmental Programmes Organisation: Auckland Regional Council Date: Date: November 2008 October 2009 Recommended Citation: AHERNS, M., 2008 Review of Organic Chemicals of Potential Environmental Concern in Use in Auckland Prepared by NIWA for Auckland Regional Council Auckland Regional Council Technical Report 2008/028 © 2008 Auckland Regional Council This publication is provided strictly subject to Auckland Regional Council's (ARC) copyright and other intellectual property rights (if any) in the publication Users of the publication may only access, reproduce and use the publication, in a secure digital medium or hard copy, for responsible genuine non-commercial purposes relating to personal, public service or educational purposes, provided that the publication is only ever accurately reproduced and proper attribution of its source, publication date and authorship is attached to any use or reproduction This publication must not be used in any way for any commercial purpose without the prior written consent of ARC ARC does not give any warranty whatsoever, including without limitation, as to the availability, accuracy, completeness, currency or reliability of the information or data (including third party data) made available via the publication and expressly disclaim (to the maximum extent permitted in law) all liability for any damage or loss resulting from your use of, or reliance on the publication or the information and data provided via the publication The publication and information and data contained within it are provided on an "as is" basis i Literature Review of Organic Chemicals of Emerging Environmental Concern in Use in Auckland M Ahrens Prepared for Auckland Regional Council © All rights reserved This publication may not be reproduced or copied in any form without the permission of the client Such permission is to be given only in accordance with the terms of the client's contract with NIWA This copyright extends to all forms of copying and any storage of material in any kind of information retrieval system NIWA Client Report: HAM2007-141 June 2008 NIWA Project: ARC07209 National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd Gate 10, Silverdale Road, Hamilton P O Box 11115, Hamilton, New Zealand Phone 07 856 7026, Fax 07 856 0151 www.niwa.co.nz ii Contents Summary mmary Executive Summary Review of Chemicals of Potential Environmental Concern 2.1 General introduction 2.1.1 Chemicals in use 2.1.2 Highly persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) substances 2.1.3 Scope of work 2.1.4 Methodological approach 2.2 Criteria for assessing potential environmental concern 2.2.1 Rating environmental hazard – using the PBT classification 2.2.2 Persistence 2.2.3 Bioaccumulation potential 13 2.2.4 Toxicity and adverse biological effects 14 Use Common Organic Compounds and Materials in Use 21 3.1 Plastics 21 3.1.1 Polyester 3.1.2 Polyethylene terephthalate 25 3.1.3 High- and low-density polyethylene 26 3.1.4 PVC 27 3.1.5 Polypropylene 28 3.1.6 Polystyrene 28 3.1.7 Polycarbonate 30 3.1.8 Polyvinylidene chloride 31 3.1.9 Polyamide 3.1.10 Polylactic acid 12 25 31 31 3.1.11 Polytetrafluoroethylene 31 3.1.12 Polysulphones 32 3.2 Synthetic resins 32 3.2.1 Epoxy resin 32 3.2.2 Polyurethane 34 3.2.3 Acrylate polymers 34 iii 3.2.4 Polyacrylamide 35 3.2.5 Phenolic resins 36 3.2.6 Melamine resin 36 3.3 Paints and coatings 36 3.3.1 Oil-based (alkyd) paints 37 3.3.2 Acrylic paint 38 3.3.3 Paint strippers 38 3.3.4 Other coatings 38 3.4 Silicone sealants, oils and polymers 39 3.4.1 Siloxanes and polysiloxanes (silicones) 39 3.4.2 Silanes 40 3.4.3 Silanols 40 3.5 Plasticisers and other plastic additives 41 3.5.1 Plasticisers 42 3.5.2 Heat stabilisers 48 3.6 Flame retardants 48 3.6.1 Chlorinated flame retardants 49 3.6.2 Brominated flame retardants 51 3.6.3 Other flame retardants 57 3.7 Organic peroxides 58 3.8 Organic solvents 59 3.8.1 Common solvents 3.8.2 Halogenated solvents 61 3.9 Petrol, diesel, and fuel additives 62 3.9.1 Petrol 62 3.9.2 Diesel and fuel oil 62 3.9.3 BTEX 63 3.9.4 Fuel additives 64 59 3.10 Tyres and automobile products 67 3.10.1 Rubber and rubber additives 68 3.10.2 Engine oil, lubricants and automotive fluids 72 3.10.3 Brake pads 74 3.11 Roading materials 75 3.11.1 Asphalt (bitumen) 75 3.11.2 Coal tar 76 3.11.3 Soil stabilisers and dust-suppressing agents 77 iv 3.11.4 Asphalt additives 78 3.12 Building materials 79 3.12.1 Soils 79 3.12.2 Treated timber 79 3.12.3 Resin composites and engineered wood products 79 3.12.4 Concrete 81 3.12.5 Panels and flooring 81 3.12.6 Plastics 82 3.12.7 Paints, varnishes and wood-preservatives 82 3.12.8 Metals 82 3.12.9 Paving materials 83 3.13 Surfactants and other detergent additives 83 3.13.1 Detergents 83 3.13.2 Surfactants 84 3.13.3 Anionic surfactants 85 3.13.4 Cationic surfactants 89 3.13.5 Amphoteric (zwitterionic) surfactants 92 3.13.6 Nonionic surfactants 93 3.13.7 Water softeners 97 3.13.8 Bleaching agents and activators 97 3.14 Pesticides 98 3.14.1 Pesticide formulations 101 3.14.2 Likely pesticide sources in Auckland 101 3.14.3 Phenoxy hormone herbicides 104 3.14.4 Other synthetic auxin herbicides 105 3.14.5 Phosphonyl herbicides 106 3.14.6 Triazine herbicides 107 3.14.7 Chloroacetanilide herbicides 108 3.14.8 Urea derivative herbicides 108 3.14.9 Dinitroaniline herbicides 109 3.14.10 Other common herbicides 109 3.14.11 Dithiocarbamate fungicides 110 3.14.12 Other common fungicides 111 3.14.13 Organochlorine pesticides 112 3.14.14 Organophosphorus pesticides 113 3.14.15 Carbamate pesticides 114 v 3.14.16 Pyrethroid pesticides 115 3.14.17 Neonicotinoid pesticides 116 3.14.18 (Animal) growth regulators 116 3.14.19 Rodenticides 117 3.14.20 Molluscicides 118 3.14.21 Nitrification and urease inhibitors 118 3.15 Antifouling agents 119 3.16 Timber treatment chemicals 121 3.16.1 Pentachlorophenol 122 3.16.2 Coal tar creosote 123 3.16.3 Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) 123 3.16.4 Alkaline copper quaternary 124 3.16.5 Copper azole 124 3.16.6 Other copper compounds 124 3.16.7 Borates 124 3.16.8 Naphthenates 125 3.16.9 Other timber preservatives 125 3.17 Pharmaceuticals, hormones and personal care products 126 3.17.1 Disinfectants, antiseptics and antimicrobials 128 3.17.2 Mosquito repellents 134 3.17.3 Synthetic musk fragrances 135 3.17.4 Sunscreen compounds 136 3.17.5 Steroid hormones and xenoestrogens 137 3.17.6 Analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs 141 3.17.7 Antineoplastics 141 3.17.8 Cardiovascular drugs 142 3.17.9 Neuroactive substances 142 3.17.10 Other pharmaceuticals 144 3.18 Food additives and residues 144 3.18.1 Acids 145 3.18.2 Acidity (pH) regulators 145 3.18.3 Anticaking agents 145 3.18.4 Antifoaming agents 145 3.18.5 Antioxidants 145 3.18.6 Food colouring 145 3.18.7 Emulsifiers 146 vi 3.18.8 Flavours 146 3.18.9 Flavour enhancers 146 3.18.10 Flour treatment agents 146 3.18.11 Humectants 146 3.18.12 Nitrosamines 147 3.18.13 Preservatives 147 3.18.14 Stabilisers, thickeners and gelling agents 147 3.18.15 Sweeteners 147 3.19 Nanomaterials 147 3.20 Drinking water disinfection by-products (DBP) 148 3.21 Wastewater treatment residues 151 3.22 Landfill leachate 154 3.22.1 Landfill leachate composition 155 3.23 Incinerator waste 158 Synopsis 159 Abbrevia bbreviations Glossary of Common Terms and Abbreviations 163 References References 170 Reviewed by: Dr M Stewart Approved for release by: Dr R Wilcock vii Executive Summary This report reviews the environmental hazard of organic chemicals in products of dayto-day use that are manufactured or consumed in high-volume It covers, among others; plastics; resins and plastic additives (plasticisers, flame retardants); pharmaceuticals and personal care products (eg, disinfectants, antibiotics, fragrances, sunscreens, drugs, natural and synthetic hormones); detergents and other cleaning agents; various petroleum products, pesticides and biocides (eg, weed killers, fumigants, wood preservatives, antifouling agents); and compounds derived from wastewater and drinking water treatment, landfill or incineration The primary aim of the report is to identify chemicals of emerging environmental concern in Auckland and their primary uses A further objective is the comprehensive assessment of their relative environmental hazard For this purpose, a ranking system is presented that estimates an “environmental hazard profile” for a given chemical class based on its environmental fate characteristics, such as persistence, bioaccumulation and toxicity (PBT) Special attention is given to chemicals with unfavourable environmental characteristics, such as poor degradability (high persistence), elevated bioaccumulation potential and elevated toxicity (or otherwise adverse biological effects, such as neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, and carcinogenicity) These substances are accordingly termed “chemicals of potential environmental concern” (CPECs) In contrast to classic “priority organic pollutants” (POPs), which have consistently high environmental persistence, high bioaccumulation and high acute toxicity, many CPECs or so-called “emerging contaminants” have a somewhat lower environmental hazard profile Notably, many CPECs have lower acute toxicity than POPs Nevertheless, some CPECs have a potential to exert chronic adverse effects by being neuroactive or acting as hormone mimics (endocrine disrupting chemicals) The ongoing consumption of high production volume (HPV) chemicals, including some CPECs, increases the potential of accumulation of these substances in Auckland’s aquatic receiving environment, with currently unknown consequences The most likely routes of entry of CPECs into the aquatic environment are during use and upon disposal, such as from landfill leachates, agricultural run-off, and sewage treatment plant effluent and sludge Currently no, or few, specific guidelines regulate the discharge of CPECs in New Zealand, resulting in a situation of largely unrestricted discharge in the environment as long as basic water quality criteria are met Whereas acute toxic effects from individual CPECs are presumed to be unlikely at current environmental concentrations (generally assumed to be