Chloro-alkanes

Klorparaffin C10-13, Klorparaffiner, C10-13

 Chlorinated alkanes, so-called chloro-alkanes, are chlorinated, straight hydrocarbon chains that are categorised as short, medium or long chain chloro-alkanes depending on the length of the carbon chain. Short chain alkanes consist of 10 to 13 carbon atoms (C10-C13), medium chain consist of 14 to 17 carbon atoms and long chain consist of more than 17 carbon atoms.¹ Short chain alkanes are usually yellowish, oily liquids with a faint odour. These chloro-alkanes are also the most harmful to the environment.^{2 3}

Uses

Chlorinated alkanes are not produced in Sweden. The use of short chain chloro-alkanes is limited due to its adverse effects on the environment.⁴ Chloro-alkanes have been used in for example cooling agents and lubricants in the metal processing industry and as an additive in sealants, paints, plastics and rubber as a plasticiser and flame retardant.^{5 6 7} The use of short chain chloro-alkanes have decreased by 95 percent since 1998 in Sweden.⁸ Despite the limited use there are still chloro-alkanes in various imported consumer-available products.⁹

Sources and transportation pathways

Chlorinated alkanes do not occur naturally in the environment. On a global scale, emissions occur mainly from production and use of liquids and oils used within metal production.¹⁰ Chloro-alkanes are also emitted to water and can travel far by air. Short chain chloro-alkanes have been detected in various media, such as in sediment, biota and sludge from wastewater treatment plants, both in urban environments and further away from potential emission sources. Chloro-alkanes have been detected in breast milk.¹¹ Another important emission source is diffuse emissions from the use of products containing chloro-alkanes.

Effects on environment and health

Chloro-alkanes are stable compounds that are not readily degradable and can bioaccumulate in the environment. Short chain chloro-alkanes are persistent, bioaccumulate in the environment and very toxic to aquatic organisms.¹² Short chain chloro-alkanes are classified as potentially carcinogenic to humans.¹³

International agreements and regulations

Short chain chloro-alkanes are regulated by the UN Stockholm Convention, the UN Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP) and the EU Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). The presence of short chain chloro-alkanes in products are regulated by the EU regulation on cosmetic products (EC 1223/2009), the EU POP regulation (EC 850/2004) and EU REACH regulation (EC 1907/2006). The UN Protocol on PRTRs and the EU E-PRTR regulation regulate how data on emissions of short chain chloro-alkanes is made available.

-------------------------------------------------- 

¹ https://www.kemi.se/prio-start/kemikalier-i-praktiken/kemikaliegrupper/klorparaffiner
² http://prtr.ec.europa.eu
³ http://www3.kemi.se/sv/Innehall/Statistik/Kortstatistik/Kortstatistik-over-amnen-och-amnesgrupper/Klorparaffiner/
⁴ http://chm.pops.int/Implementation/Alternatives/AlternativestoPOPs/ChemicalslistedinAnnexA/Shortchainchlorinatedparaffins(SCCPs)/tabid/5986/Default.aspx
⁵ http://webapps.kemi.se/flodesanalyser/FlodesanalyserSchema.aspx?SchemaID=1464
⁶ https://www.kemi.se/prio-start/kemikalier-i-praktiken/kemikaliegrupper/klorparaffiner
⁷ https://insynsverige.se/documentHandler.ashx?did=93497 
⁸ http://www3.kemi.se/sv/Innehall/Statistik/Kortstatistik/Kortstatistik-over-amnen-och-amnesgrupper/Klorparaffiner/
⁹ https://www.kemi.se/global/tillsyns-pm/2016/tillsyn-5-16-tillsyn-av-plastvaror-2015.pdf?_t_id=1B2M2Y8AsgTpgAmY7PhCfg%3d%3d&_t_q=SCCP&_t_tags=language%3asv%2csiteid%3a007c9c4c-b88f-48f7-bbdc-5e78eb262090&_t_ip=195.67.7.30&_t_hit.id=KemI_Web_Models_Media_DocumentFile/_73e632bd-fbd6-4369-9e6e-cde3bb4da84e&_t_hit.pos=1
¹⁰ http://prtr.ec.europa.eu
¹¹ http://www3.kemi.se/sv/Innehall/Statistik/Kortstatistik/Kortstatistik-over-amnen-och-amnesgrupper/Klorparaffiner/
¹² https://www.kemi.se/prio-start/sok-i-prio
¹³ https://echa.europa.eu/sv/substance-information/-/substanceinfo/100.079.496