Assessment of dermal exposures for synthetic musks from personal care products in Taiwan

Over the past decades, synthetic musks have been widely used as fragrances for enhancing scent and covering odor in many personal care products (PCPs). The presence of synthetic musk is of potential concern since health effects, such as photo-allergic reactions and neurotoxicity due to the exposures have been observed. To assess the associate health risks from possible exposures of synthetic musks in Taiwan, headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometers (GC/MS/MS) in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used to determine 10 synthetic musks in total 109 PCPs samples. The results showed that the higher levels of synthetic musks were found in perfume, body lotion and hair care products. Galaxolide (HHCB) and Tonalide (AHTN) were found in every category of the PCPs samples. The median concentrations in 109 samples measured were 958.19 μg g−1 and 674.03 μg g−1 for HHCB and AHTN, respectively. Cashmeran (DPMI) was also found in all the samples collected with a median concentration of 144.62 μg g−1, except for categories of facial essences. Musk ketone (MK) was found in several PCPs categories, including perfume, body lotion, hair care product, and shower bath products, with a median concentration of 693.27 μg g−1. In addition, dermal exposures of synthetic musks were also estimated for people in Taiwan. The daily exposure of total synthetic musks through applications of PCPs was estimated to be 22.54 μg kg−1 body weight day−1. The results indicate that the skin contact of perfume and body lotion were the major sources for human exposures to synthetic musks in Taiwan.