CASE STUDY | Material Analysis: Are Your Lawn & Garden Products Safe?

Concern: Confirming Product Safety

Everyone likes a green, weed-free lawn. To help achieve this look, lawn and garden (L & G) products are purchased and used every day. To ensure continued consumer safety, a leading manufacturer of L & G products turned to MAS scientists to evaluate their products to determine what level of chemical exposure the public might encounter during handling.

MAS Solution: Assess Consumer Exposure

MAS scientists met with the client and determined that the most common routes of possible exposure such as dermal (skin) contact with the residue on the exterior surface of product packaging, and from inhalation of product vapors when opening the package.

To eliminate potential biases stemming from products supplied directly by the manufacturer, MAS went to local retail outlets and independently purchased 16 L & G products representing a broad range of regional processing plants and product batches.

Test Process: Data Collection

MAS conducted the study in three phases consisting of surface wipes, static headspace and dynamic vapor emission samples.

The two phases of the vapor emission testing looked at different situations. The static headspace scenario evaluated emissions when containers were initially opened by the consumer. The dynamic vapor scenario looked at emissions release into the environment from unopened packages in a home, distribution or retail setting.

Over 100 tests were conducted on the samples obtained. To bolster a high degree of statistical accuracy, MAS performed preliminary method detection (MDL) and desorption efficiency (DE) studies. The emissions were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography using UV Detection (HPLC/UV).

Study findings were compared to applicable regulatory standards including OSHA PELs, NIOSH RELs, ACGIH TLVs and WHO limits.

Results: Minimal Exposure to Consumers

Based on the data, significant surface contamination was found on most L & G product packaging. However, inhalation exposure potential was found to be minimal in nature, with vapor emissions of off-gassed chemical compounds at concentrations below laboratory, as well as regulatory, detection limits.

MAS concluded that consumers, distributors and retail store employees were not exposed to vapor emissions from the seasonal storage of the tested products and that incidental (non-contact) exposure to the tested products while in the vicinity of the lawn and garden products was also negligible. Based on the surface contamination, MAS recommended that the manufacturer provide instructions to vendors and consumers regarding handling of their L & G products and the potential for contact exposure.

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