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Halogenated organic additives (HOAs) are used in plastic components of various electrical products, potentially causing detrimental effects on the eco-environment and humans. Besides reported HOAs, many unknown HOAs may be present in electrical product plastics and urgently require identification and characterization. This study performed nontarget analysis and comprehensive characterization of HOAs in three typical electrical product plastics by nontarget analysis using gas chromatography–negative chemical ionization–high-resolution mass spectrometry in association with in-house-developed chlorine/bromine-specific data-processing algorithms. A total of 674 formulas of HOAs were identified in the plastics dismantled from three electrical products, among which 166, 362, and 146 were organochlorines, organobromines, and mix-chlorinated/brominated organic compounds, respectively. The identified HOAs were semiquantified, and the total concentrations of HOAs in individual plastics were 445–1549 ng/g. Organobromines showed the most species and the highest abundances in all of the plastics, of which the abundances accounted for 86.6–98.0% of the total HOAs. Partial HOAs (209 formulas) were tentatively structurally elucidated, which were classified into 13 groups, i.e., halogenated alkyl phenoxyethyls (H-alkyl phenoxyethyls), H-alkylbenzenes, H-benzenes, H-bisphenol A (H-BPAs), H-dioxins, H-diphenyl ethers, H-biphenyls/terphenyls, H-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, H-phenols, H-phenyl esters, H-phenyl-aldehydes/ketones, H-quinones, and an undefined group containing the HOAs such as dechlorane plus and chlordane. H-BPAs were the predominant HOAs in the plastics, showing relatively high concentrations (13–281 ng/g), and tetrabromobisphenol A was the most abundant H-BPA, with the concentrations of 9–196 ng/g. The comprehensive characterization results represent a holistic picture on the species features and abundance distributions of HOAs in electrical product plastics and provide an inventory of crucial HOAs worthy of concern. HOAs may migrate from plastics and release into the environment and are possibly an important source of halogenated organic pollutants in the environment, thus calling for further investigation and proper regulation.

Azole antifungals in soil are of increasing concern. In this work, a stable, sensitive and reliable method was developed and validated for extraction of azole antifungal pharmaceuticals (clotrimazole, econazole, ketoconazole, and miconazole) and biocides (propiconazole and tebuconazole) in various soils. Ultrasound-assisted extraction using ammonified methanol was used to extract the azole antifungals from soils, which were then quantified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The total organic carbon content of soil was correlated with extraction efficiency. The extraction mechanism of azole antifungals in soils was also preliminarily illustrated. The presence of amino groups in the methanol extractant was important for efficient extraction. Recoveries ranged from 81.1% to 119.0% with relative standard deviations within 10%. The method quantification limits were in the range of 0.1–0.2 ng g−1(dry weight) in soils. The method was successfully applied to a batch determination of azole antifungals in soils with good recoveries of the surrogate standard ranging from 80.2% to 110.6%, with an average of 95.1% and relative standard deviations within 8.7%. Miconazole, econazole, tebuconazole and propiconazole were occasionally detected at several ng g−1(dry weight). This method is a valuable tool for investigating the occurrence, behavior, transport, and fate of azole antifungals in soil environments.