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WITHDRAWN
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This withdrawn paper investigated rubber-derived chemicals (RDCs) in climbing shoe soles as a source of indoor human exposure to benzothiazoles, p-phenylenediamines, and PPD-quinones, finding high and variable RDC concentrations in shoe soles and elevated levels in abrasion particles from indoor climbing halls.
There is increasing research focused on rubber-derived chemicals (RDCs), predominantly originating from tire and road wear particles. Other consumer products also contain RDCs, but the overall human exposure to these compounds is unknown. This study investigated climbing shoes as a potential contributor to human indoor exposure to RDCs, including potentially harmful substances such as benzothiazoles, p-phenylenediamines (PPDs), and PPD-quinones. The soles of climbing shoes contain high but variable concentrations of RDCs (mean 711 μg/g). In indoor climbing halls, abrasion particles from these shoes can be suspended in the air. Dust and air samples were collected in two climbing halls and particulate matter in the inhalable and respirable fractions were analyzed for 15 RDCs. Concentrations in dust (16 to 43 µg/g) and particulate matter (23 to 35 ng/m3) exceed those reported from other environments. For most RDCs, estimated daily intake via inhalation (EDIinh) for adults visiting or working in these facilities exceeds the EDI from other sources. This highlights the potential concerns with using large amounts of rubber additives in consumer products. RDCs profiles in shoe samples differed from those in dust and particulate matter, indicating that RDCs are chemically transformed in airborne rubber particles. This finding has broader implications as similar transformations are likely to occur in airborne tire wear particles.
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Analysis of over 200 dust and abrasion samples from 41 climbing halls across 10 countries found rubber-derived compounds (RDCs) from shoe abrasion ubiquitous in all samples, with hall design and operation having only minor influence on contamination levels. This is significant for microplastic research because climbing shoe rubber particles represent an underappreciated indoor source of synthetic polymer particulate matter, and the findings indicate that material reformulation—not facility management—is the necessary intervention.
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Researchers analyzed over 200 dust samples from 41 indoor climbing halls across 10 countries, finding rubber-derived compounds in every sample at levels comparable to high-traffic roads, and determining that hall design and operational factors had only minor influence on contamination levels, indicating that safer rubber sole materials are needed at the manufacturing level.
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Researchers quantified 39 tire-related chemicals in urban and rural aerosol samples from two German cities, finding that tire and road wear particles contribute a diverse mixture of organic chemicals — including toxic benzothiazoles and p-phenylenediamines — to urban air. The study establishes that tire particles are a significant source of chemical contamination in city air, with implications for human inhalation exposure.
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