Exposure to Phthalate and Organophosphate Esters via Indoor Dust and PM10 Is a Cause of Concern for the Exposed Saudi Population

Abstract

In this study, we measured the occurrence of organophosphate esters (OPEs) and phthalates in the settled dust (floor and air conditioner filter dust) and in suspended particulate matter (PM10) from different microenvironments (households (n = 20), offices (n = 10) and hotels (n = 10)) of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Bis (2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was the major pollutant (contributing > 85% of total chemicals burden) in all types of indoor dust with a concentration up to 3,901,500 ng g−1. While dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and DEHP together contributed >70% in PM10 (1900 ng m−3), which indicate PM10 as a significant source of exposure for DBP and DEHP in different Saudi indoor settings. Tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCPP) was the major OPE in PM10 with a concentration of up to 185 ng m−3 and the occurrence of OPEs in indoor dust varied in studied indoor settings. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of studied chemicals via dust ingestion and inhalation of PM10 was below the reference dose (RfD) of individual chemicals. However, estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) with moderate risk (1.5 × 10−5) for Saudi adults and calculated hazardous index (HI) of > 1 for Saudi children from DEHP showed a cause of concern to the local public health.

Liver-Based Probabilistic Risk Assessment of Exposure to Organophosphate Esters via Dust Ingestion Using a Physiologically Based Toxicokinetic (PBTK) Model

“…High levels of EDIs for children were found in populations in Saudi Arabia [ 29 ], Brazil [ 1 ] and South Africa [ 66 ] than in other studied children. Especially, the median EDI of TDCPP, which is the most important contributor for total EDIs of OPEs, is significantly higher than that of TPHP for each population in Saudi Arabia and Brazil.…”

“…For the results of risk assessment, we compared the results of this study with those previously reported. In the Saudi Arabia study, EDI was multifold below RfD values for TDCPP and TPHP for exposure from dust [ 29 ]. However, estimated incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) with moderate risk (1.5 × 10 −5 ) for Saudi adults and calculated hazardous index (HI) of >1 for Saudi children from bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) showed a cause of concern to local public health.…”

“…Many studies have reported the occurrence of OPEs in indoor dust, which is a crucial daily exposure source of OPEs for humans because OPEs in dust can enter the body via inhalation of dust particles, inadvertent ingestion after hand-to-mouth contact, or direct absorption through the skin [ 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. Previous studies have reported on the health risk of human exposure to OPEs in the dust [ 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ]. However, almost all the studies applied the traditional health risk approach published by the EPA based on external exposure dose and reference dose (RfD) [ 34 , 35 ].…”

Human exposure assessment of organophosphate esters (OPEs) through dust ingestion and dermal absorption in Colombian cities

“…Some toxicological studies have found that TCEP and TEHP have carcinogenic potential and indoor dusts vary according to the indoor environments studied [56][57][58] . ILCR values were estimated in the three cities and for the different age groups [Table 3, Figure 4].…”

Cyto-Genotoxic and Transcriptomic Alterations in Human Liver Cells by Tris (2-Ethylhexyl) Phosphate (TEHP): A Putative Hepatocarcinogen

“…Soil and river sediment samples collected from Tianjin, China and Bagmati River, Nepal showed 37.7 to 2100 ng/g and 983 to 7660 ng/g of OPFRs [ 8 , 9 ]. Persistent use of OPFRs in consumer products and their appearance in environmental samples raises concerns for human exposure via the consumption of drinking water, inhalation of indoor dust, and absorption of contaminated food [ 10 ]. Human biomonitoring studies have also confirmed the presence of OPFRs in human body fluids [ 11 , 12 ].…”