Heliyon (Mar 2024)

Co-detection of azoxystrobin and thiabendazole fungicides in mold and mildew resistant wallboards and in children

  • Wenxin Hu,
  • Yun-Chung Hsiao,
  • Nikolas Morrison-Welch,
  • Sophia Lamberti,
  • Chih-Wei Liu,
  • Weili Lin,
  • Stephanie M. Engel,
  • Kun Lu,
  • Mark J. Zylka

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 6
p. e27980

Abstract

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The study measured the levels of azoxystrobin (AZ) and thiabendazole (TBZ) in wallboards and metabolite levels of these fungicides in children. The paper covering of wallboard samples contained a higher concentration of AZ and TBZ than the gypsum core, and similar amounts (w/w) of these two fungicides were present in the samples. These data suggest that commercial products containing a 1:1 (w/w) amount of AZ and TBZ, such as Sporgard® WB or Azo Tech™, were applied to the wallboard paper. This is the first detection of TBZ in mold-and-mildew resistant wallboards. The TBZ metabolite, 5OH-TBZ, was detected in 48% of urine samples collected from children aged 40–84 months, and was co-detected with AZ-acid, a common AZ metabolite, in 37.5% of the urine samples. The detection frequency of 5OH-TBZ was positively associated with the detection frequency of AZ-acid. These findings suggest that certain types of wallboards used in homes and commercial buildings may be a potential source of co-exposure to AZ and TBZ in humans.

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