Second-hand clothes washed with detergents for children’s clothes: toxicity of water-soluble residual compounds according to phytotesting and health risks for children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the toxicity (according to the phytotest with garden cress) of water-soluble residual compounds from reusable clothes (“second hand”), provided that they were washed with detergents for children’s underwear. Phytotesting with garden cress (Lepidium sativum L.) and statistical methods of processing the results were used in the study, the root length index and the phytotoxic effect of the solutions were calculated. Detergents for children’s clothes, widely available in the retail network of Ukraine, were used for washing. It was established that the sensitive test indicators of garden cress to the water-soluble residual toxicants of the “second hand” clothing material are the length of the roots and the aerial part of the seedlings. Phytotoxic properties were noted for solutions obtained from the material without treatment and after washing with phosphonate-containing and phosphate-free products. The consequences of fabric treatment with a laundry conditioner after washing are ambiguous: the phytotoxic properties of the water-soluble residual compounds of phosphonate-containing powder were eliminated, but the phytotoxicity of the phosphate-free powder remained. Water-soluble residual compounds of household soap had a favorable effect on the growth of the roots of the test plant. Second-hand clothes washed with the specified detergents are potentially dangerous for the child’s health, except for clothes washed with household soap, which eliminates the toxicity of the material and does not lead to the appearance of factors that are negative for health.