Course assistant in Mass Spectrometry course, and supervising diploma works. 

Most of us are exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals by just wearing clothes. Thousands of chemicals are used during textile production and many can be found as residues in finished garments. Further, the number of chemicals used is expected to continue increasing due to fast fashion trends. One health effect from this exposure is textile allergy, which affects as many as around 1% of the general Western population. Still, other suspected effects exist, such as mutagenicity and even carcinogenicity. My project investigates textile chemicals in clothing, their occurrence, potential health risks, and release from textile fibers through sweating. Analytical methods are developed for targeted compounds and non-targeted screening workflows for emerging chemicals. Furthermore, understanding how these substances penetrate the skin is essential for risk assessments. In this project, skin permeation studies utilize a model membrane that simulates human skin. Tests for skin sensitization potencies are performed using non-animal methods recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standard guidelines. In collaboration with KI and KTH, an ongoing project evaluates the cell test KeratinoSens® for yielding skin sensitization potencies of the complex chemical mixtures typically found in clothing. My project aims to increase awareness of the exposure and related risks from chemicals in everyday clothing. In a longer perspective, this will hopefully lead to more control and regulation.

A selection from Stockholm University publication database

• Health risks from exposure to chemicals in clothing - non-regulated halogenated aromatic compounds

  2024. Josefine Carlsson (et al.). Chemosphere 363

  Article

  The objective of the present study was to investigate some commonly detected halogenated textile pollutants for their bioavailability and hazardous properties. Release into artificial sweat and skin absorption in vitro were examined as well as mutagenic effects by Ames test, and skin-sensitizing properties from a peptide reactivity assay combined with a cell test.

  All investigated compounds were shown to migrate from the textile into sweat and be absorbed by the skin, although to a different extent. The experimental values for migration were found to be up to 390 times higher compared to literature values. Two of the studied compounds, 2,5-dinitrochlorobenzene and 3,5-dinitrobromobenzene, both exhibited mutagenic effects in the Ames test, while both 2,5-dinitrochlorobenzene and 2,6-dichlorobenzene-1,4-diamine were classified as skin sensitizers. The allergenic reactivity of the latter was found to be due to an oxidized transformation product.

  Risks for the induction of skin allergy and other non-carcinogenic effects from dermal exposure to the individual compounds were found low, even when considering clothing with the highest reported levels. However, the complex mixtures of chemicals often present in garments may still constitute a health risk, especially when considering the many hours of daily exposure. It is important to further study the toxicity of other frequently occurring chemicals as well as the synergistic effects of chemicals that co-occur in clothing.

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Show all publications by Awat Dostberg at Stockholm University