Degradation of ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate (IR3535) during chlorination: Tentative identification and toxicity prediction of its disinfection by-products

Studies have reported the presence of ethyl butylacetylaminopropionate (IR3535) in waters, and the content of this repellent is expected to rise significantly in the future. There are extremely scarce data in the literature regarding the behavior of IR3535 and its derivatives in water. The present work reports the results obtained from experiments conducted under controlled conditions aiming at investigating the transformation of IR3535 in chlorinated water, in addition to an attempt to identify its disinfection byproducts (DBPs). The work also reports the findings of analyses conducted in swimming pool water samples which sought to investigate the presence and content of IR3535 and its targeted DBPs in these samples. The results obtained in the controlled experiments show that IR3535 is not completely degraded under the chlorinated conditions evaluated and 9 DBPs were tentatively identified. The presence of IR3535 was detected in both adults and children's pool water samples at concentrations ranging from 62 ng L-1 to 114 ng L-1. Some of the DBPs identified in the controlled experiments were also detected in the pool water samples. The toxicity of the 9 DBPs identified was evaluated using the QSAR model, where some by-products presented mutagenic and carcinogenic properties. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study investigates the behavior of IR3535 and its derivatives in water, showing that IR3535 is not completely degraded in chlorinated water and 9 DBPs were tentatively identified. The presence of IR3535 and some DBPs were detected in swimming pool water samples. Toxicity evaluation using the QSAR model revealed mutagenic and carcinogenic properties in some by-products.