Organophosphorus compounds have drawn concern because of their wide environmental occurrence and potential risks. Dithiophosphates are a class of organophosphorus compounds with broad industrial relevance, yet data on their environmental occurrence remain scarce. Nontarget and suspect screening analyses, guided by the characteristics of both fragmentation patterns and molecular composition, were employed to probe dithiophosphates in dust from automotive repair shops. A total of 30 dithiophosphates were tentatively identified, including 11 dialkyl dithiophosphates, 16 dithiophosphate derivatives, and 3 dialkyl dithiophosphate-substituted carboxylic acids and esters. A total of 19 dithiophosphates were detected in >50% of the dust samples from automotive repair shops. Dialkyl dithiophosphates were detected at considerable levels, and bis(2-ethylhexyl)dithiophosphate contributed about 41% of the total instrumental response within the dialkyl dithiophosphate group, with a median concentration of 4.30 × 103 ng/g. Automotive repair shops represent typical sites of dithiophosphate contamination, where concentrations are generally significantly higher than those in surrounding buildings. Computational cheminformatics indicated that dialkyl dithiophosphates may exhibit activity toward the blood–brain barrier and nutritional toxicity end points, and analogues with 10 or more carbon atoms in their alkyl groups show potential for bioaccumulation. The detection of dithiophosphates in the environment broadens the spectrum of known organophosphorus pollutants and highlights potential risks from their industrial use.
Xu et al. (2026) studied this question.