Uncovering global-scale risks from commercial chemicals in air

Qifan Liu, Li Li, Xianming Zhang, Amandeep Saini, Wenlong Li, Hayley Hung, Chunyan Hao, Kun Li, Patrick Lee, Jeremy J. B. Wentzell, Chunyan Huo, Shao-Meng Li, Tom Harner () and John Liggio ()
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Qifan Liu: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Li Li: University of Nevada Reno
Xianming Zhang: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Amandeep Saini: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Wenlong Li: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Hayley Hung: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Chunyan Hao: Conservation and Parks
Kun Li: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Patrick Lee: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Jeremy J. B. Wentzell: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Chunyan Huo: Environment and Climate Change Canada
Shao-Meng Li: Peking University
Tom Harner: Environment and Climate Change Canada
John Liggio: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Nature, 2021, vol. 600, issue 7889, 456-461

Abstract: Abstract Commercial chemicals are used extensively across urban centres worldwide1, posing a potential exposure risk to 4.2 billion people2. Harmful chemicals are often assessed on the basis of their environmental persistence, accumulation in biological organisms and toxic properties, under international and national initiatives such as the Stockholm Convention3. However, existing regulatory frameworks rely largely upon knowledge of the properties of the parent chemicals, with minimal consideration given to the products of their transformation in the atmosphere. This is mainly due to a dearth of experimental data, as identifying transformation products in complex mixtures of airborne chemicals is an immense analytical challenge4. Here we develop a new framework—combining laboratory and field experiments, advanced techniques for screening suspect chemicals, and in silico modelling—to assess the risks of airborne chemicals, while accounting for atmospheric chemical reactions. By applying this framework to organophosphate flame retardants, as representative chemicals of emerging concern5, we find that their transformation products are globally distributed across 18 megacities, representing a previously unrecognized exposure risk for the world’s urban populations. More importantly, individual transformation products can be more toxic and up to an order-of-magnitude more persistent than the parent chemicals, such that the overall risks associated with the mixture of transformation products are also higher than those of the parent flame retardants. Together our results highlight the need to consider atmospheric transformations when assessing the risks of commercial chemicals.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04134-6

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