posted on 2023-12-26, 16:36authored byPaola Miramontes Gonzalez, Li Li
Liquid
crystal monomers (LCMs) exemplify a group of chemicals prevalent
in indoor environments. However, current frameworks for assessing
the environmental persistence of chemicals predominantly focus on
outdoor environments, often overlooking indoor environments. Here,
we model and compare the persistence of LCMs across indoor and outdoor
multimedia environments. Our findings reveal that, when assessed in
an outdoor context, <10% of the investigated LCMs exhibit overall
persistence comparable to those of persistent organic pollutants regulated
by the Stockholm Convention, and one-third to two-thirds of the investigated
LCMs meet the Stockholm Convention’s medium-specific half-life
thresholds for persistence. However, we found a notable disparity
between indoor and outdoor persistence: Approximately 90% of the investigated
LCMs demonstrate substantially prolonged persistence indoors, 10 times
longer on average, and up to ∼150 times longer in some cases,
compared to outdoors. This long indoor persistence is mainly attributed
to the low volatility of LCMs and their high affinity for indoor surface
compartments. Our work highlights the indoor environment’s
role as both a continuous source of human exposure to LCMs and a potential
reservoir for long-term regional contamination. Therefore, a tailored,
fit-for-purpose assessment of “indoor persistence”,
focusing on chemicals predominantly found in indoor environments,
carries profound implications for both human and ecological health.