The global distribution characteristics, concentration correlations, and risk assessments for synthetic musks (SMs)

Abstract

As substitutes for natural musks in cosmetics and personal care products, synthetic musks (SMs) are widespread in various environmental media and accumulate in organisms that may pose threats to the ecological environment and human health, so it is crucial to assess the ecological and health risks of SMs. In this study, global SMs concentration and toxicity data were collected to understand the distribution, concentration correlation and the risk. Results showed that SMs were mainly distributed in industrially developed countries from Europe, North America and East Asia. There were certain ratios of SMs concentrations among different environmental media and organisms globally, for example, the ratio of galaxolide (HHCB)/tonalide (AHTN) was 6.76 in global surface waters, HHCB and HHCB-lac had similar concentrations in Chinese human milk, suggesting that the other SMs can be predicted by a known SM. Although SMs generally posed low risks (HQ_env < 0.1) to the environment and human health, some SMs may pose higher risks to the sensitive species (1 % and 5 % species) and to human in some areas (China, Belgium, the United States and Korea) through different exposure routes. This study provides global insights into the environmental fate, as well as the ecological and health risks associated with SMs.

Keywords: Concentration correlation; Ecological risk; Health risk; Sensitive species; Synthetic musks.