Glycol Ethers in Water-Based Products: Determination and Evaluation According to European Directives

The physicochemical properties of glycol ethers (EG) make them attractive products for many applications. Given the toxicity of certain ethylenic derivatives (EGEs) and the absence of relative studies in our country, the evaluation of the extent of the use of these EG in the Tunisian market is of great importance. The EG subjects of this study are eight: Six EGEs, known by their reproductive, teratogenic, and hematological effects in humans and two of the propylene series (PGEs), recent studies confirm their innocuity. Our study is focused on 73 products for professional and domestic use: paint, glue, dye, ink, window cleaner, and oven cleaner. A newly developed method applying static headspace injector coupled to a gas chromatograph equipped with a mass detector (HS/GC/MS) was used. The obtained recoveries of GEs ranged from 97.5 to 100.8%. The precision of the method, as indicated by the relative standard deviations (RSDs), was within the range of 4–5%. The detection limits of GEs ranged between 0.24 and 1.1 µg/kg. The determined results show that most of the products analyzed do not contain PGEs. Their concentration is often, when used, is very low compared to that of the EGEs. The latter elements are found less in paint dyes and scarcely used in oven cleaners and furniture glues. Whereas they are found in greater amounts in paints and window cleaners, very high concentrations of ethylene glycol butyl ether (EGBE) have been found in addition to other EGEs.