TY - JOUR A1 - Bandow, N. A1 - Aitken, M. D. A1 - Geburtig, Anja A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Piechotta, Christian A1 - Schoknecht, Ute A1 - Simon, Franz-Georg A1 - Stephan, Ina T1 - Using Environmental Simulations to Test the Release of Hazardous Substances from Polymer-Based Products: Are Realism and Pragmatism Mutually Exclusive Objectives? JF - Materials N2 - The potential release of hazardous substances from polymer-based products is currently in the focus of environmental policy. Environmental simulations are applied to expose such products to selected aging conditions and to investigate release processes. Commonly applied aging exposure types such as solar and UV radiation in combination with water contact, corrosive gases, and soil contact as well as expected general effects on polymers and additional ingredients of polymer-based products are described. The release of substances is based on mass-transfer processes to the material surfaces. Experimental approaches to investigate transport processes that are caused by water contact are presented. For tailoring the tests, relevant aging exposure types and release quantification methods must be combined appropriately. Several studies on the release of hazardous substances such as metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, flame retardants, antioxidants, and carbon nanotubes from polymers are summarized exemplarily. Differences between natural and artificial exposure tests are discussed and demonstrated for the release of flame retardants from several polymers and for biocides from paints. Requirements and limitations to apply results from short-term artificial environmental exposure tests to predict long-term environmental behavior of polymers are presented. KW - Environmental simulations KW - Polymer-based products KW - Artificial weathering KW - Degradation KW - Leaching KW - Soil contact PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-509310 DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13122709 SN - 1996-1944 VL - 13 IS - 12 SP - Paper 2709, 22 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Switzerland AN - OPUS4-50931 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schoknecht, Ute A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Heisterkamp, I. A1 - Kretzschmar, M. A1 - Gartiser, S. A1 - Happel, O. A1 - Ilvonen, O. T1 - Release of substances from joint grouts based on various binder types and their ecotoxic effects JF - Environmental Sciences Europe N2 - Background: The leaching of substances and the ecotoxic effects of eluates were studied for joint grouts that are based on various types of binders. Eight products, two of them containing either epoxy resin, polybutadiene or polyurethane binders, or modifed cement, were investigated using harmonized leaching tests for construction products in combination with ecotoxicity tests on algae, daphnia, luminescent bacteria, fish eggs and mutagenicity in accordance with CEN/TR 17105. In addition to basic parameters, such as pH, TOC, and inorganic components, organic substances in the eluates were analysed by gas and liquid chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry. Quantitative analyses in combination with ecotoxicity data on selected substances were used to deduce which substances cause the observed ecotoxic effects. Results: Different patterns of ecotoxic effects were observed in joint grouts with different binder types. The most ecotoxic effects were observed in epoxy resin-based products, followed by polybutadiene-based products. Fewer ecotoxic effects were observed in polyurethane-based products and modifed cements. Some of these showed no ecotoxicity. Some of the substances in the eluates were identified and related to ecotoxic effects. 4-Tert-butylphenol and amines probably contributed to the ecotoxic effects of at least one of the epoxy resin-based renders, whereas cobalt is assumed to contribute to the toxic effect on algae of one of the polybutadiene-based products. However, only some of the leached substances could be identifed, and only some of the ecotoxic effects can be explained by the available information on the composition of eluates and known ecotoxic profiles of the identified substances. Conclusions: Ecotoxicity tests on eluates from leaching tests indicate whether environmentally hazardous substances can be leached from construction products. Combined ecotoxicity tests and chemical analysis of eluates from EU-wide harmonized leaching tests for construction products can provide information on substances that cause these effects. This supports the identifcation and development of environmentally friendly construction products. This study confirmed that ecotoxicity tests in accordance with CEN/TR 17105 are a tool well-suited to support the implementation of the European Commission’s zero pollution vision for 2050 and to reduce pollution to levels no longer considered harmful to health and natural ecosystems. KW - Joint grouts KW - Leaching KW - Ecotoxixity PY - 2022 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-562392 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-022-00686-0 SN - 2190-4707 VL - 34 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 16 PB - Springer Nature CY - Berlin AN - OPUS4-56239 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heisterkamp, I. A1 - Gartiser, S. A1 - Schoknecht, Ute A1 - Happel, O. A1 - Kalbe, Ute A1 - Kretzschmar, M. A1 - Ilvonen, O. T1 - Investigating the ecotoxicity of construction product eluates as multicomponent mixtures JF - Environmental Sciences Europe N2 - The release of hazardous compounds from construction products can harm human health and the environment. To improve the sustainability of construction materials, the leaching of substances from construction products and their potential environmental impact should be assessed. Twenty-seven construction products from different product groups were examined with a combination of standardized leaching tests (dynamic surface leaching test and percolation test) and biotests (algae, daphnia, fish egg, luminescent bacteria, umu and Ames fluctuation tests). To identify the released substances, extensive qualitative and quantitative chemical analyses were performed, including gas chromatographic and liquid chromatographic screening techniques. Results: Many of the tested eluates caused signifcant ecotoxic efects. Particularly high ecotoxicities were observed for grouts (lowest ineffective dilution (LID) up to 16384) and cork granules (LID up to 24578). The results of ecotoxicity tests allow the prioritization of the eluates that should be subjected to detailed chemical analyses. Organic screening by different methods and ranking the identifed substances based on recorded hazard classification is a suitable approach to identify the relevant toxic substances. Conclusions: Determining the ecotoxicity of eluates from construction products records the summary effect of all leachable substances. This instrument is especially useful for construction products of complex and largely unknown composition. The ecotoxicological and the chemical–analytical approach complement each other in an ideal way to characterize the potential hazard of eluates from construction products and to identify the environmentally hazardous components in these eluates. Our results confirm that the proposed harmonized methods for testing eluate toxicity are an adequate and applicable procedure to move toward a more sustainable way of building and to reduce toxic effects of construction products in their use phase in the environment. KW - Construction products KW - Building materials KW - Ecotoxicity KW - Biotests KW - Leaching KW - Eluates KW - Chemical analysis KW - Analytical screening techniques KW - Mixture toxicity PY - 2023 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-568864 DO - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-023-00711-w VL - 35 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 20 PB - Springer AN - OPUS4-56886 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Uhlig, S. A1 - Colson, B. A1 - Schoknecht, Ute T1 - A mathematical approach for the analysis of data obtained from the monitoring of biocides leached from treated materials exposed to outdoor conditions JF - Chemosphere N2 - Leaching processes are responsible for the release of biocides from treated materials into the environment. Adequate modeling of emission processes is required in order to predict emission values in the framework of the risk assessment of biocidal products intended for long-term service life. Regression approaches have been applied to data obtained from the long-term monitoring of biocide emissions in experiments involving semi-field conditions. Due to the complex interaction of different underlying mechanisms such as water and biocide diffusion and desorption, however, these attempts have proven to be of limited usefulness e at least, for the available biocide emission data. It seems that the behavior of the biocide emission curve depends to a considerable extent on whichever underlying mechanism is slowest at a given point in time, thus limiting the amount of biocide available for release. Building on results obtained in the past few years, the authors propose a criterion for determining which mechanism controls the leaching process at a given point in time based on the slope of the log-log emission curve. In addition, a first-order approximation of this slope value is presented which displays advantages both in terms of computability and interpretability. Finally, an algorithm for the determination of breakpoints in the slope of the log-log emission curve is presented for the demarcation of phases within which one mechanism acts as a limiting factor. KW - Biocides KW - Leaching KW - Weathering KW - Mathematical analysis PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.04.102 SN - 0045-6535 SN - 1879-1298 VL - 228 SP - 271 EP - 277 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-47886 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -