In fact, there is no need to feel terrible because of the word "fluorescence". Fluorescence itself is ubiquitous in nature, and also exists in various animals, such as many marine life and fireflies on land. Its luminous principle is that it contains various fluorescent proteins. Qian Yongjian, a China scientist who won the Nobel Prize in 2008, won the prize for his research on the fluorescent protein (GFP) of a jellyfish. In addition, some foods, drugs, chlorophyll, bacteria and even molds will also produce fluorescence reaction under the irradiation of ultraviolet rays. This reaction is called natural fluorescence, which is an inherent characteristic of substances and is harmless.
Experimental proof
(1) does not irritate the skin.
After many years of animal and human experiments, it has been shown that even if the skin is in direct contact with pure fluorescent whitening agent CBS, it is not irritating to the skin and will not cause skin allergy.
The book Fluorescent Whitening Agent written by Professor Shen Yongjia and others points out that fluorescent whitening agent will not be absorbed by the skin. Even though a small amount of fluorescent whitening agent CBS may adhere to the skin during use, it will not react with human skin, and it will be easily washed off completely through daily washing activities (such as washing hands and bathing) and will not be absorbed through the skin [1].
Therefore, direct skin contact with CBS-added laundry detergent will not cause harm.
(2) No adverse effect on wound healing.
The article "Toxicological Characteristics of Fluorescent Brightener" published in German Journal of Dermatology 1994 points out that even if the textile material containing fluorescent whitening agent directly contacts the wound, it will not have adverse effects on wound healing and will not cause pathological changes to human skin.
(3) Metabolism: CBS is water-soluble and can be completely excreted through normal metabolism.
The book Environmental Quality and Safety, Volume IV, Supplementary Volume IV of Environmental Quality and Safety, published by Georg Thieme Publishing House in Germany, points out that the metabolic study of mice shows that most whitening agents will not be absorbed by the intestine after being fed a large dose of fluorescent whitening agent CBS for detergent, but will be excreted through the intestine quickly. There is no fluorescent whitening agent residue in blood, liver, kidney, brain, muscle and fat, that is, it will not accumulate in the body. Therefore, even if a small amount of fluorescent whitening agent CBS enters the human body in daily life, it will be quickly excreted through normal metabolism.
(4) The fluorescent whitening agent CBS has no teratogenicity and carcinogenicity.
Through the acute toxicity study of various animals and the two-year chronic toxicological experiment in mice, it is proved that CBS belongs to non-toxic substances and has no teratogenic, carcinogenic and mutagenic effects.
Additional remarks
The toxicological study of fluorescent brightener CBS (also known as FWA-5) in the test report of European Detergent Association (A.I.S.E) "Risk Assessment of Household Detergent Components on Human Body and Environment" shows that fluorescent brightener CBS has no photocarcinogenic reaction.
1983, the German Ministry of the Environment solemnly declared that CBS, a fluorescent whitening agent, is not allergic or teratogenic.
Correct understanding
There are many things in nature that are safe at normal doses. Any research that does not talk about harm on the premise of dose is meaningless. When talking about the harm of fluorescent whitening agent, we should know its dosage and the minimum dosage that causes harm to human body. At present, stilbene biphenyl fluorescent whitening agent (CBS) is widely used in detergents. According to the national standard "GB 15 1933-2003 Acute Toxicity Test" normative Appendix D "Acute Toxicity Dosage Classification Table", fluorescent whitening agent is non-toxic and belongs to the same level as the acute toxicity of daily edible salt. That is to say, fluorescent agent is as safe as salt, and their lethal dose is very close. In an understandable way, just like salt, it is dangerous to eat more than 50g at a time.
In addition, after more than 50 years of extensive use, it has also proved that the fluorescent agent is safe. So far, there is no case to prove that it can cause cancer. In the animal toxicity test of fluorescent whitening agent, it has not been clearly shown that it can cause acute injury or long-term carcinogenesis, and its irritation or allergic reaction to skin is quite low, so at present, fluorescent agents have not been included in mandatory management regulations in all countries of the world. There is no mandatory regulation on "migrating fluorescent substances" in some product fields in China (that is, the added fluorescent substances will be transferred to human skin or mucosa by washing, biting, sweating or touching).
In particular, what some people know about the pathogenicity of fluorescent agents to the human body is actually confused with bleach or other toxic chemicals with similar structures; However, it is mentioned that the fluorescent agent will cause irritation or allergic reaction to the skin, which may be confused with the reaction caused by spices or preservatives contained in the product.
Domestic research
With the improvement of people's living standards, the continuous development and the continuous expansion of application scope, the requirements for color are getting higher and higher. The whitening, brightening and brightening effects of fluorescent brighteners just meet this requirement. The development of fluorescent brighteners in China began in the 1960s. The original products were limited to VBL of stilbene-bis-triazine and DT of benzoxazole introduced and developed in 1970s. This species is few and its chemical structure is single, which has been maintained until 1985. Driven by market economy, FWA eliminated many small factories and loss-making enterprises, and gradually developed into a large-scale, intensive and specialized production enterprise. At the same time, strengthen cooperation with universities and research institutes and take the road of industrial research integration. After more than ten years of close cooperation, we have successively developed new varieties that conform to the times, filled the gap in China, narrowed the distance with the world powers, and improved the research level of FWA structure grade in China. At the end of 1980s, China's synthetic fiber industry flourished, but pyrazoline FWA DCB, which has a good whitening effect on acrylic fiber, still needs to be imported. 1993, Shanghai Dyestuff Research Institute has finally developed a variety that conforms to the actual production in China: benzoxazole FWA OB is an important additive for plastic synthetic fibers, paints, coatings and rubber and plastic products.
[ 1]
Species introduction
According to the chemical structure can be divided into five categories:
(1) stilbenes, which are used in cotton fibers and some synthetic fibers, papermaking, soap making and other industries, have blue fluorescence;
(2) Coumarin, which has the basic structure of coumarone, is used in celluloid, PVC plastics, etc. and has strong blue fluorescence;
(3) pyrazoline type, used for wool, polyamide, acrylic fiber and other fibers, with green fluorescence;
(4) Phenoxy-nitrogen type, used for acrylic fibers and plastics such as polyvinyl chloride and polystyrene, with red fluorescence;
(5) Phthalimide type, used for polyester, acrylic, nylon and other fibers, with blue fluorescence.
Introduction to usage
First, the performance and use of fluorescent whitening agent BC. The appearance is light yellow powder. The color light is similar to the standard, and it is blue fluorescence when dissolved in water, with 0.5% insoluble impurities, 5% strength 1005, 5% fineness (residue content after passing through 100 mesh sieve), 5% yellowing point and 5% moisture content. This product is mainly used for whitening cotton fiber, rayon, rayon and pulp in neutral dyeing bath.
Second, the performance and application of fluorescent whitening agent JD-3 is light yellow powder, which can be dissolved in hot water. The product is used to whiten synthetic detergents, soaps, paper making and textiles under neutral or weakly alkaline conditions.
Three. Properties and uses of fluorescent whitening agent 3 1# is a pale yellow powder with the properties of general stilbene triazine whitening agent. The fluorescent tone is cyan, which is an anion. Soluble in 100℃ or 1000 times 25℃ water. The moisture content is 5%, and the water-insoluble impurity content is 0.5%. This product is mainly used for whitening synthetic detergents, soaps, soaps and paper, and can also be used for whitening cotton fabrics, nylon and rayon, which can make the whitened objects white and shiny.
Four. The condensation product of sodium salt of DSD, a component of fluorescent whitening agent BR (whitening agent BL), and phenyl isocyanate is light yellow powder with a reddish purple appearance. 2% aqueous solution is clarified, and more than 95% passes through a 60-mesh sieve.
V: The performance and application of the condensate of o-aminophenol and 2,5-thiophene dicarboxylate, the component of fluorescent whitening agent EBF, is an excellent yellow-white suspension. There is bright blue fluorescence. It contains 10% effective fluorescent substance, is nonionic neutral, and can be diluted and dispersed with water in any proportion. Hard water resistance, acid resistance, alkali resistance, sun resistance and stable oxidative bleaching. The whitening strength is similar to that of standard products, and it can be used with most finishing agents and dyeing carriers applied to white fabrics. The pH value is 10g/L, and the dispersity is pH6. This product is mainly used for whitening polyester, nylon and acetate fibers, and can also be used for whitening synthetic fiber, cotton and wool blended fabrics.
The properties and uses of intransitive verb fluorescent whitening agent R The components of DSD sodium salt and phenyl isocyanate are white to yellowish powder. Anionic type. More than 95% can pass through a 60-mesh screen. 0.2% water solution clarification. This product is mainly used for dyeing and whitening fibers and paper and whitening light-colored fibers.
Seven: the condensation properties and uses of P-chloromorpholinyl propionyl benzene hydrochloride and P-methylsulfonylphenylhydrazine hydrochloride, the components of fluorescent whitening agent AD (fluorescent whitening agent CA), are pale yellow fine needle crystals with green light. This product is mainly used as whitening agent for synthetic fibers.
Eight: The performance and application strength of fluorescent whitening agent ER (whitening agent PS- 1) are 1003 of the standard, and its color light is similar to that of the standard. It is nonionic and uniformly dispersed in water. This product is used to whiten polyester and polyester-cotton blended fabrics. The fabric treated with it has high whiteness and pure color. Excellent washing, sun and sublimation fastness resistance.
Major controversy
Not easy to decompose.
Some scholars believe that fluorescent agents are not as easy to decompose as general chemical components, but accumulate in the human body, causing many harmful effects and greatly reducing human immunity; The combination of fluorescent agent and protein outside the wound will also hinder the healing of the wound; Fluorescent agents will cause the variability of human cells, and their toxicity will accumulate in the liver or other important organs, which will become a potential carcinogen. Damage to blood system: Chemical substances can easily pollute human blood. Although blood has a certain self-purification ability, a small amount of harmful substances will be diluted, decomposed, adsorbed and discharged, but a large number of toxic substances will inevitably change qualitatively for a long time; Entering the blood circulation will destroy the cell membrane of red blood cells and cause hemolysis.
In daily life, there are many opportunities to contact fluorescent agents. As long as it does not exceed a certain standard, it will bring many benefits to our lives. If you come into excessive contact with it, it will do harm to the human body.
carcinogenic substance
Fluorescent agent is a fluorescent dye, or white dye, and also a complex organic compound, which is mainly used as whitening agent.
Scientific experiments show that fluorescent agents are not as easily decomposed as ordinary chemical components after being absorbed by human body. If there is a wound, the combination with protein in the human body will hinder the healing of the wound, and it is very difficult to remove it. Only through the enzymatic decomposition of the liver, which undoubtedly increases the burden on the liver. According to medical clinical experiments, fluorescent substances can mutate cells, and the mutated fluorescent substances can receive electromagnetic waves or radiation with shorter wavelength than ultraviolet rays, and then convert these energies into visible light with longer wavelength.
test method
Experimental equipment: purple light, barreled noodles, white cotton sheets, hot water and tweezers.
Experimental content: 1. Check whether there is fluorescent agent on the barrel wall.
2. Will the fluorescent agent penetrate into the soup?
3. Will the lips be stained with fluorescent agent?
Experimental process:
In the first experiment, the reporter bought six brands of paper barrel noodles and two brands of plastic bowl noodles that are common in the market. The purchased barrel surface packaging is divided into two layers, the inner layer is generally coated paper made of virgin pulp, and the outer layer is generally recycled paper, which is used for labeling product information and thermal insulation.
In the second experiment, the reporter used purple light to illuminate the plastic bowl. No fluorescent substances were found on the inner wall of the plastic bowl, but the surface of the paper barrel was different inside and outside. No fluorescent substances were found on the original paper inside, but there were fluorescent substances on the recycled paper outside. Because the inner layer and the outer layer are separated, the fluorescent substances in the outer layer will not penetrate into the soup.
In experiment 3, all the bowls were filled with boiling water and sealed for one hour, so that the substances could fully penetrate into the boiling water. Then put a white cotton piece, take it out with tweezers after half an hour, and irradiate it with purple light. No fluorescent substance was found.
Although the fluorescent substance on the outer packaging of the paper barrel bowl will not penetrate into the soup, will it touch people's lips when drinking the soup? The reporter used tweezers to hold the cotton piece wet with hot water and rubbed it back and forth at the mouth of the bowl for 20 times, then irradiated it with purple light, and no traces of fluorescent substances were found.
Experimental conclusion:
The experimental results show that the inner wall of the barrel bowl surface does not contain fluorescent agent, and it will not stick to the lips when drinking, so it can be safely eaten.
Abuse influence
introduce
In February, 20 13, it was found that five of the six kinds of exercise books in Beijing contained fluorescent agents. Experts say that this fluorescent agent has certain toxicity and may have an impact on human health.
Experts say that almost all white papers contain fluorescent agents. Not only that, our clothes, lipsticks and other daily necessities also contain this "whitening artifact", and the influence of fluorescent agents on people has penetrated into every corner of life.
Through such an experiment, the exercise book is put into an ultraviolet analyzer. Under strong ultraviolet irradiation, the fluorescent whitening agent that was invisible will automatically appear and the paper will appear blue. The darker the blue color, the more fluorescent agent content, and vice versa. If there is no blue color, it means that the paper does not contain fluorescent agent, so you can judge whether the paper contains fluorescent agent and how much.
Through experiments, we know that some lipsticks, washing powder, sanitary napkins, clothes and plastic lunch boxes all contain fluorescent agents.
"Fluorescent agents are widely used, and fluorescent whitening agents are used in many places in life. For example, our clothes, general textiles will add fluorescent whitening agents. " Professor Sun Baiwang said that in fact, the content of fluorescent agent in paper is relatively small, usually less than 0.5%, and the limit is 1%. This is because the phosphor itself is yellow, and the paper made of excessive pulp will not turn white but yellow. "The fluorescence content in clothes is relatively more than that in paper."
Add reason
The natural pulp used for papermaking is slightly yellow, like the traditional Xuan paper in China, and the color is yellow, which is pure natural paper without any chemical components; However, the paper in real life is basically white.
"If the paper products are made of pure natural pulp, the chromaticity will definitely not meet the requirements. Merchants must try to make the paper white when processing." Professor Sun said that in the processing technology, the usual bleaching method is bleaching, and food and textile materials are often bleached. Similarly, paper can also be bleached, for example, adding blue pigment to yellow pulp will turn white after mixing; But sometimes the paper can't meet the requirements of "white" after bleaching, and it is necessary to add fluorescent whitening agent.
In the relevant national standards, paper mills are allowed to add fluorescent agent to pulp, and the key is which fluorescent agent to add. As a complex organic compound, there are many kinds of fluorescent agents. "If the manufacturer uses a fluorescent agent that meets the standard, a small dose should not affect the health of the child." However, some experts hold the opposite view that fluorescent substances are not as easy to decompose as general chemical components, but accumulate in the human body, which greatly weakens human immunity and harms human health.
suggestion
For the sake of safety, parents are advised to observe the color of the paper under strong light when buying exercise books for their children. If the paper is too white and bright, you'd better not buy it. "Yellow paper is relatively safe." In addition, parents should educate their children not to put their exercise books in their mouths to prevent fluorescent agents from being swallowed directly by their children.
misunderstand
In recent years, on the Internet, newspapers and other media, we often see some reports about the toxic, harmful and carcinogenic effects of fluorescent brighteners, thus misleading consumers, making people doubt the safety of fluorescent brighteners, causing panic and some wrong understandings. In summary, there are the following points.
1. Saying "harmful" means "harmful", not believing.
Among them, the article published by Mr. H.Baron between 1955-1965 is the most prominent. Its main contents include "potential incompatibility of fluorescent whitening agents in direct contact with skin, possible allergic and photosensitivity reactions and other potential hazards, such as delaying blood coagulation, inhibiting wound healing and mutagenicity, that is, genotoxicity and carcinogenicity."
In fact, some of these viewpoints are not based on facts, but on initial assumptions or unconfirmed descriptions, which have been denied by later experiments. However, these views have been repeatedly reiterated by some people until today.
Some people think that fluorescent whitening agents can cause allergies, cause cancer, delay coagulation and inhibit wound healing. And this view often appears in newspapers and the Internet, causing consumers to panic about using products containing fluorescent whitening agents. Is it because we only saw the early toxicological experimental results of fluorescent brighteners or the initial hypothesis or unconfirmed description? I didn't notice that later toxicologists got the opposite results through scientific and rigorous experiments-that is, no sensitization, no carcinogenicity, no coagulation delay, no wound healing inhibition and so on. It leads consumers to think that some people say that fluorescent whitening agents are harmful to cancer, and that is harmful to cancer. It is better to believe that it exists than to believe that it does not exist.
This also reminds people that access to information must be complete, otherwise it will easily lead to misunderstanding.
2. "Fluorescent" substances are "harmful"
Some people have a fear of fluorescent substances and mistakenly think that fluorescent substances are harmful to people, so detergents, soaps, clothes washed with this detergent and papers whitened with fluorescent brighteners have become suspicious objects.
In fact, whether a substance emits fluorescence has nothing to do with whether it is toxic or not. Because substances that can emit fluorescence exist widely in nature, fluorescence exists not only in natural objects, but also in vitamin A, vitamin B2, vitamin B 12, protein, tryptophan, tyrosine and hormones. These substances are absorbed by people every day as essential substances for nutrition and life support, but people do not doubt or worry about it. This also shows that toxicity has nothing to do with fluorescence, and the view that fluorescent substances are harmful to human body is unfounded.
I'd rather believe in advertisements.
Nowadays, in order to promote their products, some businesses exaggerate the toxicity and possible harm of fluorescent brighteners through mass media, and repeatedly speculate on the results of early toxicology experiments or initial assumptions or unconfirmed descriptions, which intentionally mislead consumers. This is also one of the main reasons why people misunderstand fluorescent brighteners.
Is it safe?
1. According to common sense, the production and application of fluorescent brighteners at home and abroad have a history of about 70 years, and the toxicological research on fluorescent brighteners abroad has also been carried out for many years. It is impossible for people to produce and use it all over the world while knowing that it is toxic and harmful to human body. That doesn't make sense either.
2. According to the existing test results (see the data in the following 5), the commonly used fluorescent brighteners at home and abroad are not harmful substances under the framework of EU REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction) regulations: they are neither "PBT/ vPvB" substances (i.e. PBT- persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances, nor vPvB- high-persistent, bioaccumulative and restrictive). It is also not a CMR substance (that is, CMR- carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductive toxic substance).
3. Among the banned and restricted dye products published by the European Union, fluorescent whitening agent, as a white dye, has no banned or restricted products.
4. There are three inspection items to control the content of harmful substances in the product standard of fluorescent whitening agent in China:
The first is the control of "harmful aromatic amines". The standards adopted are GB 1960 1 Limit and Determination of 23 Harmful Aromatic Amines in Dye Products and GB/T 24 10 1 Limit and Determination of 4- aminoazobenzene in Dye Products.
The second is the control of "heavy metal elements", and the standard adopted is GB 208 14 "Limit and Determination of Heavy Metal Elements in Dye Products".
The third is the control of "triazine impurities", which is mainly aimed at fluorescent whitening agents used in detergents. The adopted standard is GB/T 29598-20 13 "Limits and Determination of Triazine Impurities in Fluorescent Brightener".
If these inspection items meet the requirements of corresponding standards, the use safety of fluorescent whitening agent products can be guaranteed.
Interested consumers can also refer to the following information and make their own judgments.
1) EU and EPA data network
2) Toxicological characteristics of fluorescent whitening agent No.6, 1998
3) Expert Media Meeting on Safety of Fluorescent Brightener for Detergents 20 1 1.08.02 Net
4) Fluorescent brighteners are actually very safe. China Consumer News Zhang Pengwang.
5) Consumer Guide Magazine Fluorescent Whitening Agent Knowledge Manual 20 15.06.30 China Household Paper Information Network
6) Toxicological data of fluorescent whitening agent and its safety in use. China detergent industry 20 12 No.4, etc.
7) Other information networks, newspapers and periodicals, books, etc. Optical brightener.
reference data
[1] Shen Yongjia Li Hongbin Lu Wei. Optical brightener. Chemical Industry Press, 2004.