Emissions of Liquid Crystal Monomers from Obsolete Smartphone Screens in Indoor Settings: Characteristics and Human Exposure Risk

Liquid crystal monomers (LCMs) have been found to accumulate in indoor environments, but the emission kinetics of LCMs from electronic devices are not well understood. Leakage from damaged liquid crystal displays may be an important mechanism for LCMs to enter the environment and become potential health hazards to humans. To address this issue, we conducted chamber experiments to characterize the emissions of LCMs from obsolete smartphone screens and estimated the doses of residential and occupational exposures to LCMs. The emission rates of the detected LCMs were in the ranges of 0.1–7 μg m–2 h–1 at 80 °C, 0.05–7 μg m–2 h–1 at 60 °C, and 0.002–0.2 μg m–2 h–1 at 25 °C. Liquid crystal monomers with large molecular weights and low volatilities tended to accumulate at screen surfaces and were re-emitted at elevated temperatures, leading to high emission rates of heavy LCMs upon thermal treatment. The estimated doses of residential and occupational exposures to individual LCMs were 0.0001–0.009 and 0.007–2 ng kg–1 d–1, respectively. As LCMs are potentially carcinogenic based on in silico assessments, LCMs emitted from obsolete smartphones in indoor settings may become human health hazards.