Silicone oil is often used as an additive in the dyeing industry. So is it harmful?

When applied as a dyeing auxiliaries, the fabric is very smooth on the hand, but it also causes airtightness. When sweating, the silicone oil slowly enters the body with the opening of the pores!
At the end of 90, European and American scientists also discovered that silicone oil can cause the body's immune function to decline or become cancerous.
There have been scientific experiments in animal studies in the laboratory that have been found to have endocrine disrupting effects, affecting connective tissue, leading to adverse immune responses, and damage to the liver and lungs.
(1) The route of volatile methyl siloxane into the human body The ring VMS can be absorbed by humans through the respiratory system. In order to determine the pharmacokinetics of VMS, researchers have done research in the respiratory system inhalation and exhalation of VMS. Study of the content of D4. The study was conducted between 12 healthy volunteers aged 25 to 49 years. Volunteers inhaled 10 ppm of D4 (122 μg / liter) or air, continuously measured the concentration of D4 in inhalation and exhalation, and obtained the average intake of D4 in volunteers with D4 concentration of 137 ± 25 mg. Only 6%-17% of the human body's D4 is absorbed. The ring VMS can be absorbed by the body through the digestive system. Foreign researchers feed the mice with D4. As a result, the digestive system of the mice absorbs 52% of D4. The ring VMS can be absorbed by the body through the skin. D4 and D5 are important additives for cosmetics and are widely used in personal care products. Studies have shown that in the process of human use of cosmetics, 90% of D4 and D5 are volatilized into the air before use. The absorption rate of D4 by human skin is only 0.5%, while the absorption of D5 is only 0.05. %. In the test results on mice, less than 1.0% of D4 and 0.2% D5 were absorbed by the mice.


(2) Acute toxicity of volatile methyl siloxanes VMS exhibits unique ecotoxicity in soil [46]. Foreign literature shows that the median lethal concentration (LC50) of D4 in rats exposed to respiration is 36 mg/l. Mice were all killed within 5-8 days after being injected into 35 g/kg of cyclic VMS (D3, D4, D5, D6), and the mice had a median lethal dose (LD50) of 28 g/kg.


(3) Repeated dose and reproductive developmental toxicity of volatile methyl siloxane According to foreign research results, the liver and respiratory system are the target organs of siloxane in animals. Repetitive respiratory exposure of VMS may result in liver weight gain and hepatic hypertrophy. Liver weight gain exceeded 10% (when the D4 exposure dose was 10 ppm), which exceeded the normal range. No liver damage was observed at this time; liver hypertrophy began to appear when the exposure dose reached 500 ppm. In addition, toxicological studies have shown that high concentrations of repetitive respiratory exposure to D4 also lead to adrenal weight gain, thymus and ovarian weight loss. Female SD rats showed significant problems at high concentrations of 500 ppm of respiratory exposure, including luteal loss, decreased uterine implantation points, decreased litter size, and decreased survival of offspring, with significant dose-response relationships. None of the above items appeared after mating with normal unexposed females. Under the 700 ppm respiratory exposure of D4, the physiological cycle of females is affected, affecting normal ovulation and fertilization. Studies have also shown that male rats exposed to D4 did not show a reduction in sperm count and changes in reproductive organs and reproductive capacity. Therefore, the decrease in the survival rate of the offspring is mainly related to the change of the female, which may exclude the influence of the male]. Toxicologists believe that the reproductive effects of D4 on SD rats can be further analogized to humans and the NOAEL value is determined to be 300 ppm.


(4) Weak estrogenic effects of volatile methyl siloxanes Existing animal experiments have shown that D4 may have weak estrogen toxicity, which can cause uterine weight gain and uterine epithelial cell height increase in mice. In a study of 344 mice, half of male and female mice were exposed to different concentrations of D4 in the environment, resulting in an increase in liver weight (488 to 898 ppm) in female rats compared to male rats and a significant reduction in ovarian weight. (898 ppm) and ovarian activity decreased in female rats.


(5) Carcinogenicity of volatile methyl siloxanes No human experimental studies have shown that D4 is carcinogenic. However, animal experiments have shown that F344 rats have no tumors in the liver and respiratory tract after 2 years of exposure, but have caused endometrial adenomas and adenocarcinomas. The incidence of endometrial adenomas in female rats at an exposure dose of 700 ppm was 11%, 80% was accompanied by proliferation of endometrial epithelial cells, and only 19% in the control group. In addition, endometrial adenocarcinoma and endometrial adenoma were found in 12-month-old female rats exposed to radiation at a dose of 150 ppm and a lower exposure dose of 30 ppm [24]. Mechanistic studies have shown that endometrial cancer is produced because D4 acts as a dopamine agonist. Since dopamine inhibits the secretion of prolactin, the reproductive aging period in females is delayed, resulting in long-term stimulation of the endometrium to produce tumors. It is unclear whether D4 can cause tumors in other organisms through the food chain.