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Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)

Germany

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) according to EPA test method especially in rubber and plastic components. In 2005 Stiftung Warentest, the leading consumer safety group in Germany, published in their monthly magazine many findings of elevated concentrations in consumer goods mainly in self-made tools and others. Later an unofficial working team of German test houses and retail chains were founded, which gave recommendation regarding applicable limits depending on touching times for skin contact. However this agreement refers to GS-certification, but several German retail chains have implemented stricter limits in their in-house requirements.

Introduction

Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are discovered in many consumer products such as powertools, paint and plastics that it is assumed to be contaminants during manufacturing.

The substance is imported and exported on a large scale, whether as feedstocks or as processed (semi-finished and final) products. Like most environmental chemicals with endocrine effects, the substance is aromatic compound.

Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) is benzene derivatives.

Its presence and toxicity highly arouse the public concern and Germany Authority has imposed stringent measures to control their exposure.

The reputable German magazine Stiftung Warentest drew national attention by the publication of certain health effects associated with a number of consumer products. In 2005, black plastic handles in hammerset were complained for unpleasant smell and the cause was related to high content of organics while approximately 2000 milligrams of PAHs were determined. In the same year, it reported the presence of high levels of phthalates and nonylphenols (NPs) in Halloween party masks. The subsequent year revealed an article on pushchair buggies to contain significant amounts of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), plasticisers and organotin compounds. These aforementioned chemicals were mainly phenolic or aromatic substances and scientifically known to cause health effects. Nonylphenols, in particular, affect endocrine systems required to control growth and maturation.

What are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)?

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of over 100 different chemicals that are formed during the incomplete burning of coal, oil and gas, garbage, or other organic substances like tobacco or charbroiled meat. PAHs are usually found as a mixture containing two or more of these compounds, such as soot.

Some PAHs are manufactured. These pure PAHs usually exist as colorless, white, or pale yellow-green solids. PAHs are found in coal tar, crude oil, creosote, and roofing tar, but a few are used in medicines or to make dyes, plastics, and pesticides.

What happens to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) when they enter the environment?

PAHs enter the air mostly as releases from volcanoes, forest fires, burning coal, and automobile exhaust.
PAHs can occur in air attached to dust particles.
Some PAH particles can readily evaporate into the air from soil or surface waters.
PAHs can break down by reacting with sunlight and other chemicals in the air, over a period of days to weeks.
PAHs enter water through discharges from industrial and wastewater treatment plants.
Most PAHs do not dissolve easily in water. They stick to solid particles and settle to the bottoms of lakes or rivers.
Microorganisms can break down PAHs in soil or water after a period of weeks to months.
In soils, PAHs are most likely to stick tightly to particles; certain PAHs move through soil to contaminate underground water.
PAH contents of plants and animals may be much higher than PAH contents of soil or water in which they live.

How might I be exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)?

Breathing air containing PAHs in the workplace of coking, coal-tar, and asphalt production plants; smokehouses; and municipal trash incineration facilities.
Breathing air containing PAHs from cigarette smoke, wood smoke, vehicle exhausts, asphalt roads, or agricultural burn smoke.
Coming in contact with air, water, or soil near hazardous waste sites.
Eating grilled or charred meats; contaminated cereals, flour, bread, vegetables, fruits, meats; and processed or pickled foods.
Drinking contaminated water or cow's milk.
Nursing infants of mothers living near hazardous waste sites may be exposed to PAHs through their mother's milk.

How can polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) affect my health?

Mice that were fed high levels of one PAH during pregnancy had difficulty reproducing and so did their offspring. These offspring also had higher rates of birth defects and lower body weights. It is not known whether these effects occur in people.

Animal studies have also shown that PAHs can cause harmful effects on the skin, body fluids, and ability to fight disease after both short- and long-term exposure. But these effects have not been seen in people.

How likely are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to cause cancer?

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has determined that some PAHs may reasonably be expected to be carcinogens.

Some people who have breathed or touched mixtures of PAHs and other chemicals for long periods of time have developed cancer. Some PAHs have caused cancer in laboratory animals when they breathed air containing them (lung cancer), ingested them in food (stomach cancer), or had them applied to their skin (skin cancer).