Behnisch, Peter, Petrlik, Jindrich, Budin, Clemence, Besselink, Harrie, Felzel, Emiel, Strakova, Jitka, Bell, Lee, Kuepouo, Gilbert, Gharbi, Semia, Bejarano, Fernando, Jensen, Génon K., DiGangi, Joseph, Ismawati, Yuyun, Speranskaya, Olga, Da, Mao, Pulkrabova, Jana, Gramblicka, Tomas, Brabcova, Karolina, and Brouwer, Abraham
[Display omitted] • From 26 different countries, on four continents (Africa, America, Asia and Europe), >60% of the toys and consumer products analysed in this study by chemical (GC-HRMS) and effect-based analysis (DR CALUX) for polyhalogenated dioxins, showed higher levels than the proposed limit value for toxic waste (>1000 TEQ pg/g) (Basel Convention, 2019). • We measured high levels of PBDD/Fs in these black plastic parts by using DR CALUX (from 110 to 17,000 pg BEQ/g) and by GC-HRMS (levels up to 13,900 pg TEQ/g). • High TBBPA levels were measured by using TTR-TRβ CALUX (up to 410 µg/g) and by chemical analysis (up to 836 µg/g) indicating thyroid hormone disruption activities. • Effect-based CALUX bioassay for dioxin- and thyroid hormone-like activities picked-out all elevated toxic products showing that in vitro toxicity analysis of total PBDD/F and TBBPA is a promising and suitable strategy to cover complex mixtures of BFRs and to assess BFRs in consumer products in general. • This study add further evidence that current limits for both trace contamination and the definition of POPs waste set in the EU POPs Regulation (European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, 2019 and 2022) and for the total content of PBDEs are too weak (500 ppm) to protect human health. It will allow a large number of such contaminated products to enter the market. Children and consumers are exposed to increasingly complex mixtures of known and as-yet-unknown toxic chemicals from toys and products. However traditional chemical analysis methods only evaluate a small number of chemicals at a time thereby restricting consumer awareness of the full range of potentially harmful chemicals in products. We used high-throughput effect-based non-animal methods to investigate exposures to complex chemical mixtures of several kinds of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) for their dioxin- and thyroid hormone-like activities in various kinds of consumer products and toys from 26 different countries, on four continents (Africa, America, Asia and Europe) in combination with chemical analysis of various polybrominated flame retardants (BFRs) and their impurities (such as polyhalogenated PCDD/Fs and PBDD/Fs). We found high levels of polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs) in toys and now, for the first time, also in consumer products that are manufactured from black plastics containing certain brominated flame retardants (BFRs). The presence of PBDD/PBDFs as well as other BFRs in various black plastic materials from additional countries as well as additional kinds of consumer products as confirmed by effect-based in vitro reporter gene DR CALUX and TTR-TRβ CALUX assays as well as congener-specific chemical analysis. We compared total Toxicity Equivalent (TEQ) levels of PBDD/F-TEQs analysed by chemical analysis to by CALUX bioassay measured Biological equivalence (BEQ) concentrations (for further info see at ISO 23196, ISO, 2022). In the case of TBBPA, both chemical and TTR-TRβ CALUX analysis measure direct the amount of TBBPA. Finally, the daily ingestion of 2,3,7,8-TCDD equivalents from PBDD/Fs-contaminated plastic toys by child mouthing habits have been related to our earlier study (Budin et al., 2020). Interaction of children with such contaminated plastics may significantly contribute to the daily uptake of dioxin- and thyroid hormone transport disrupting-like compounds. Effect-based bioassays for dioxin- and thyroid hormone-like activities are relevant to pick-out such complex mixtures of known and yet unknown (and therefore not regulated) substances for safer and more sustainable plastics. Low POPs Content Levels and other mechanisms set under the Basel and Stockholm Conventions are set far too high to prevent a significant flow of BFRs and PBDD/Fs into consumer products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]