Biomarkers of phthalates and alternative plasticizers in the Flemish Environment and Health Study (FLEHS IV): Time trends and exposure assessment

Phthalates and Their Impacts on Human Health

“…When processing food, it is advisable to use phthalate-free gloves, utensils, and packaging to reduce exposure in food. The most recent exposure assessment found decreased phthalates and increased PA in humans [ 48 ]. Few adolescent participants were detected to have higher estimated daily intakes than health-based guidance values.…”

Urinary levels of parabens, phthalate metabolites, bisphenol A and plasticizer alternatives in a Belgian population: Time trend or impact of an awareness campaign?

“…Compared to the results previously observed in a quite similar Belgian adult population (living in Liege) recruited 2 years earlier (Dewalque et al, 2014), the urinary levels of parabens in the present study are 2-2.5 times lower, the levels of DEHP metabolites and MnBP are 2-3 fold lower, while the MEP and MnBzP levels are similar in the urine of both presently and formerly recruited populations. Because the exposure of the worldwide population to these endocrine disruptors was demonstrated to be age and/or gender dependent likely due to difference in lifestyle habits (food consumption, cosmetic uses, time spent indoors, etc) (Bastiaensen et al, 2021;Dewalque et al, 2014;Geens et al, 2014;Hartmann et al, 2015;Giovanoulis et al, 2016;Lim, 2020;Park et al, 2019;Saravanabhavan et al, 2013) and has been decreased since the early 2000s (Bastiaensen et al, 2021;Kim et al, 2021;Koch et al, 2017;Reyes and Price, 2018;Tranfo et al, 2018;Wittassek et al, 2007;Zota et al, 2014), the results obtained were compared with those from some large scale studies carried out on mixed-gender adult populations recruited within a similar time period (between 2012 and 2016) and gathered in Table 5. The urinary levels of parabens in the present Belgian adult population were similar to those measured in the urine of some French and Dutch populations (Balicco et al, 2019b;Fillol et al, 2021;Van der Meer et al, 2021), but considerably lower than those reported from Australia (Heffernan et al, 2015), Canada (Health Canada, 2017) or the United States (CDC, 2019) where the chemicals in PCP and cosmetics are drastically less regulated than in Europe (Sarantis et al, 2011).…”

“…Regarding phthalates, a downward trend in exposure was observed worldwide since the early 2000s (Bastiaensen et al, 2021;Kim et al, 2021;Koch et al, 2017;Reyes and Price, 2018;Tranfo et al, 2018;Wittassek et al, 2007;Zota et al, 2014) also likely resulting from the several restrictions on phthalate uses implemented in Europe these past decades (Table 6), and more specifically their updated in the REACH Candidate List of Substance of Very High Concern (SVHC) based on endocrine disrupting properties and reprotoxicity (ECHA candidate list, 2021). The dependence of the time trend for phthalate exposure with the regulations implemented was also consistent with the stable urinary level observed for MEP since until now DEP has escaped from the main restrictions in EU .…”

“…The impact of these chemical regulations has already been captured through human biomonitoring (HBM) studies which highlighted decreasing time trends in human exposure for several restricted or banned chemicals such like organochlorine pesticides (Hardell et al, 2010;Noest et al, 2013;Petrik et al, 2006), perfluorinated compounds (Glynn et al, 2012;Kato et al, 2011), lead (Egan et al, 1976;Lermen et al, 2021;Pollock et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2021); phthalates (Bastiaensen et al, 2021;Koch et al, 2017;Reyes and Price, 2018;Schwedler et al, 2020;Shin et al, 2020;Tranfo et al, 2018;Zota et al, 2014), BPA (Frederiksen et al, 2020;Gyllenhammar et al, 2017;Gys et al, 2021), etc. Beside the actions of the authorities enforcing the manufacturers to reduce their uses of hazardous substances in our everyday life products, the reduction of the population exposure could also be at least partly induced by raising public awareness on the health risks related to chemical exposure.…”

Proficiency and Interlaboratory Variability in the Determination of Phthalate and DINCH Biomarkers in Human Urine: Results from the HBM4EU Project

“…Despite these regulatory measures, exposure to phthalates is still ubiquitous in Europe and other parts of the world. However, exposures have shifted considerably in the last two decades, with decreases for the regulated phthalates, recognized as a health concern, and increases for phthalates regarded as less problematic or phthalate substitutes, such as DINCH or DEHTP [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Before the turn of the millennium, more than half of the population exceeded the exposure levels deemed acceptable for combined anti-androgenic phthalate exposure (Hazard Index > 1), driven by DBP and DEHP, often exceeding their acceptable individual levels.…”