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The revised consumer product safety law was enforced in 2007. Then, the collection and publication system of the information of product accidents was newly included. Serious product accidents due to the chemical substances used in household products had 32 cases in fiscal years 2007 and 2008. These household products were a desk mat, a sectional bed, a spray-type adhesive, a paint and an adhesive for table tennis rackets. The safety measure of the household product was explained based on the law for the control of household products containing harmful substances.

The use of tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) in some household products are prohibited by "Act on the Control of Household Products Containing Harmful Substances" in Japan. In this study, methods for determination of TBT and TPT in water soluble paints and adhesives were developed by GC-MS. These compounds in paints and adhesives, which were mainly composed of vinyl acetate, urethane and acryl resins, and chloroprene rubber, were firstly extracted with HCl-acetone, and then extracted with hexane. On the other hand, the adhesive composed of natural rubber was firstly dispersed in water before acidification. The organotins were extracted with hexane from this solution and then these compounds were extracted with acetonitrile from hexane extract. These extracts were purified by a florisil cartridge column after ethyl-derivation with sodium tetraethylborate, and analyzed by GC-MS. The quantifications using deuterated compound of both organotins as surrogate standard were conducted, and good results were obtained. The recoveries were 81 to 118% and the coefficients of variation were 0.83 to 4.3% (TBT and TPT added; 5 microg/g). The method quantification limits were 0.0090 to 0.025 microg/g, which were lower than those of an official method. These methods were applied to monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT), monophenyltin (MPT), and diphenyltin (DPT). DBT and DPT in paints and adhesives were quantified, except for DPT in natural rubber. These methods were applied to commercial products. DBT was detected at low concentrations (t.r.-0.19 microg/g) in some paint samples, while TBT and TPT were not detected in all samples.

A surface of biomaterials is known to affect the behavior of cells after their adhesion on the surface, indicating that surface characteristics of biomaterials play an important role in cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. To assess the effects of functional groups on biomaterial surface, normal human osteoblasts (NHOsts) were cultured on surfaces coated with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) containing various functional groups, and the adhesion, proliferation, differentiation, and gap junctional intercellular communication (GJIC) of the NHOsts were investigated. In the case of SAM with terminal methyl groups (hydrophobic surface), NHOst adhesion and proliferation was less prevalent. In contrast, NHOsts were adhered well on SAMs with hydroxyl, carboxyl, amino, phosphate, and sulfate group, which are relatively hydrophilic, their proliferation and differentiation level were dependent on the type of functional groups. Especially, when they were cultured on either SAMs with phosphate or sulfate group, both their alkaline phosphate activity and the calcium deposition by them were enhanced more than those cultured on a collagen-coated dish. More interestingly, GJIC of NHOsts, which has been reported to play a role in cell differentiation as well as homeostasis of cells, were not significantly different among the SAM surfaces tested. These suggest that a specific functional group on a material surface can regulate NHOst adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation via cell-functional group interaction without influencing their homeostasis.

2,3,3,3,2',3',3',3'-Octachlorodipropyl ether (Abbreviation; S-421) is originally developed as synergist of a pyrethroid insecticide. In recent years, S-421 is used widely at home, for a mosquito-repellent incense, electric mosquito-repellent, an insect-killing spray, a vacuum cleaner paper pack, etc. as well. On the other hand, S-421 has been detected in vacuum cleaner dust samples as well as human milk samples in Japan indicating that our living environment is already contaminated by this compound. Long term toxicity studies including a carcinogenesis study have been performed and NOEL of chronic toxicity has been settled. However, it is clear that S-421 is used in close proximity so that acute or subacute exposure at relatively higher dose levels than chronic NOEL values are easily assumed, such as use of a spray in an ill-ventilated room, etc. This study, 28 day repeated oral dose toxicity study of S-421 was performed to monitor the outcome of acute and subacute exposure assuming possible exposure accidents mentioned above. The protocol is as follows; Groups of 10 rats of each sex(5 week-old), were treated with intragastric administration of S-421 with a dose of 0 (olive oil, control), 10, 40, 160 or 640 mg/kg body weight. For recovery test, 14 day after the last treatment, the control and 640 mg/kg groups were examined, respectively. All animals of all groups in both sexes survived. In the 640 mg/kg groups of the both sexes, all animals were set to drowsiness from about 5 hours after administration, however, they recovered by the next morning. In the hematology examination, Hb, MCH, MCHC, WBC values were significantly decreased and MCV value was significant increased in the 640 mg/kg group of both sexes. In the serum biochemistry, items increased in the 640 mg/kg groups of both sexes returned to normal level after 14 days recovery period. Absolute and relative liver weight increase seen in the 160 mg/kg and above also returned to control level after recovery. Histopathologically, slight hepatocellular swelling was observed in the 160 mg/kg groups and severe hepatocellular swelling with vacuolization and slight necrosis was seen in the 640 mg/kg group. In conclusion, the no-observed-effect levels (NOEL) of S-421 under these conditions was judged to be 40 mg/kg/day.

3 cases of allergic contact dermatitis from industrial rubber products were investigated using a combination of patch testing in patients and chemical analysis of causative rubber products by gas chromatography (GC), GC-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Our studies revealed N-isopropyl-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (IPPD), a typical rubber allergen, as a causative chemical in a case from a brand of heavy-duty rubber gloves and a case from a black rubber ring for car manufacture, and zinc ethylphenyldithiocarbamate (ZEPC), a dithiocarbamate (DTC)-type accelerator, as a causative chemical in a case from a brand of rubber work gloves: both IPPD and ZEPC, which showed positive patch test reactions, were confirmed in the extracts of the causative rubber products by GC, GC-MS and/or HPLC.

The binary mixtures of a urethane model compound, diethyl 4,4'-methylenebis(N-phenylcarbamate) (MDU), and various polyether macroglycols have been investigated mainly by infrared (IR) spectroscopy. The mixtures of macroglycol and MDU showed two C=O bands (free C=O at higher wave number, hydrogen bonded C=O at lower wave number), and the intensity of free C=O increased while that of hydrogen bonded C=O decreased linearly with increasing molar ratio of macroglycol/MDU. The slope of the increase or decrease suddenly changed at the specific molar ratio around the eutectic composition. The eutectic molar composition for PTMO1000/MDU was determined as 1.15 or 1.1 by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) or infrared (IR) studies while that for PTMO3000/MDU as 0.345 or 0.55 by DSC or IR, respectively. The eutectic compositions for other sets were determined by IR studies as follows: PEO1000/MDU, 0.4; PEO3000/MDU, 0.16; PPO1000/MDU, 1.4; PPO3000/MDU, 0.45. The number of ethylene oxide, tetramethylene oxide, and propylene oxide units to form a eutectic with MDU calculated from these values were 15-20, 10-11, and 23-24, respectively. The similar DSC or IR changes were observed in the various kinds of polyurethanes such as MDI/BD, MDI/PTMO/BD, and MDI/PTMO polymers. The relationship between the eutectic compositions of soft segments (MDI/macroglycol) and the ideal Mn of the macroglycols in blood compatibility of segmented polyurethanes are discussed.