K. Hillier et al., An investigation into claims that toluene diamine (TDA) is present in polyurethane flexible foams, CELL POLYM, 20(4), 2001, pp. 279-293
Claims have been made in Scandinavia that polyurethane flexible foams can b
e a health hazard because they contain, or on ageing can form, traces of th
e carcinogenic substance 2,4-toluene diamine (TDA). A working group was set
up to investigate these claims and some of their findings are reported her
e. Analytical protocols have been refined for the determination of TDA extr
actable into aqueous based media. Extensive testing has been carried out on
many different kinds of polyurethane foam without any evidence being found
for the presence of free TDA. These negative results apply to both fresh c
ured foam and foam treated to simulate heat ageing, autoclaving and use in
humid conditions. The reason for the erroneous reporting of TDA in foams un
doubtedly ties in the use of the wrong pretreatment of the extract or the u
se of inappropriate sample injection techniques. This could range from not
filtering the extract, increasing the pH of the extract prior to either gc/
ms or lc/ ms detection, or using hot on-column injection gc techniques. The
false reporting of TDA is demonstrated here.