HEALTH NEWS

Study Title:

Organotin compounds, including butyltins and octyltins, in house dust from Albany, New York, USA.

Study Abstract

Organotin compounds (OTs) have been used in a wide variety of consumer products. Despite this, very few studies have reported the occurrence of OTs in house dust or exposure of humans to OTs through the ingestion of house dust. In the present study, concentrations of monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT), tributyltin (TBT), monooctyltin (MOT), dioctyltin (DOT), trioctyltin (TOT), diphenyltin (DPT), and triphenyltin (TPT) were measured in dust collected from 24 houses in Albany, New York, USA. In addition, a few household products, such as wallpaper, floor tile, vinyl window blinds, and handbags were analyzed for the presence of OTs. Organotins were found in all of the house dust samples analyzed, and total OT concentrations varied from 390 to 28,000 ng/g (mean +/- SD: 6700 +/- 6200; median: 5000). Relative abundances of OTs in house dust were in the order MBT >MOT >DBT >DOT >TBT. TOT, DPT, and TPT were not found in any of the samples at concentrations above their corresponding detection limits. MBT accounted for, on average, 51% of the total OT concentrations. Mean concentrations of total OTs found in house dust samples from our study were two to five times higher than concentrations that have been reported for dust samples from several European countries. Calculations indicate that dust ingestion by children account for, on average, 15-18% of the tolerable daily intake proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). The estimated rates of OT intake by children via dust ingestion were, on average, eightfold higher than the intake rates calculated for adults. Household products, such as wallpaper, contained total OT concentrations as high as 780,000 ng/g.