Sipe Joana Marie, Amos Jaleesia D, Swarthout Robert F, Turner Amalia, Wiesner Mark R, Hendren Christine Ogilvie
Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Duke University, Durham, NC USA.
A.R. Smith Department of Chemistry and Fermentation Sciences, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC USA.
Microplast nanoplast. 2023;3(1):6. doi: 10.1186/s43591-023-00054-6. Epub 2023 Mar 23.
A majority of American adults report having used sex toys, which, by design, interact with intimate and permeable body parts yet have not been subject to sufficient risk assessment or management. Physical and chemical data are presented examining potential risks associated with four types of currently available sex toys: anal toy, beads, dual vibrator, and external vibrator. A standardized abrasion machine made real-time breakdown of products into microplastics and nanoplastics. The microplastics from the sex toys were then solvent extracted and analyzed using GC-MS. Rates of microplastics and nanoplastics released during abrasion testing from most microplastic release to least was the anal toy, beads, dual vibrator, external vibrator. Both micro- and nanoplastics particles were generated following the abrasion test, with the 50 percentile diameters (D50) ranging from the anal beads at 658.5 μm, dual vibrator at 887.83 μm, anal toy at 950 μm, and external vibrator at 1673.33 μm. The material matrix of each product was analyzed using ATR-FTIR, with results identifying the anal toy as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the anal beads as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), the external vibrator as a silicone blend (polydimethylsiloxane [PDMS]), and the dual vibrator as a rubber mixture (polyisoprene). After extraction, phthalates known to be endocrine disruptors were present in all tested sex toys at levels exceeding hazard warnings. Analogous findings have been reported for similar materials that, when incorporated into other product categories, are subject to regulatory scrutiny in both the US and EU. This data set is not intended to be representative of sex toys as an entire class of products, nor are the abrasion experiments claiming to simulate exact use conditions. However, these exploratory data frame potential concerns, highlighting research questions and the need for prompt prioritization of protective action. Therefore, future studies and multi-stakeholder action are needed to understand and reduce risk for this class of products.
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s43591-023-00054-6.
大多数美国成年人报告称使用过性玩具，这些性玩具按设计会与私密且可渗透的身体部位接触，但尚未经过充分的风险评估或管理。本文呈现了物理和化学数据，研究了与当前市面上四种类型的性玩具相关的潜在风险：肛门玩具、珠子、双振动器和外部振动器。一台标准化磨损机将产品实时分解为微塑料和纳米塑料。然后对性玩具中的微塑料进行溶剂萃取，并使用气相色谱 - 质谱联用仪（GC - MS）进行分析。在磨损测试中，微塑料和纳米塑料释放率从最高到最低依次为肛门玩具、珠子、双振动器、外部振动器。磨损测试后产生了微塑料和纳米塑料颗粒，其中50%直径（D50）范围为：肛门珠子658.5微米、双振动器887.83微米、肛门玩具950微米、外部振动器1673.33微米。使用衰减全反射傅里叶变换红外光谱仪（ATR - FTIR）分析了每种产品的材料基质，结果表明肛门玩具为聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET），肛门珠子为聚氯乙烯（PVC），外部振动器为硅氧烷混合物（聚二甲基硅氧烷[PDMS]），双振动器为橡胶混合物（聚异戊二烯）。萃取后，所有测试的性玩具中均存在已知为内分泌干扰物的邻苯二甲酸盐，其含量超过了危险警告水平。对于类似材料，在美国和欧盟，当它们被纳入其他产品类别时会受到监管审查，也有类似的发现报道。此数据集并非旨在代表整个性玩具产品类别，磨损实验也并非声称能模拟确切的使用条件。然而，这些探索性数据提出了潜在的担忧，突出了研究问题以及迅速优先采取保护行动的必要性。因此，需要未来的研究和多方利益相关者的行动来了解并降低这类产品的风险。
在线版本包含可在10.1186/s43591 - 023 - 00054 - 6获取的补充材料。
