Occurrence of Phthalate Diesters in Particulate and Vapor Phases in Indoor Air and Implications for Human Exposure in Albany, New York, USA

Abstract

Phthalate diesters are used as plasticizers in a wide range of consumer products. Because phthalates have been shown in laboratory animal studies to be toxic, human exposure to these chemicals is a matter of concern. Nevertheless, little is known about inhalation exposure to phthalates in the United States. In this study, occurrence of nine phthalates was determined in 60 indoor air samples collected in 2014 in Albany, New York, USA. Airborne particulate and vapor phase samples were collected from various sampling locations by use of a low-volume air sampler. The median concentrations of nine phthalates in air samples collected from homes, offices, laboratories, schools, salons (hair and nail salons), and public places were 732, 143, 170, 371, 2600, and 354 ng/m(3), respectively. Diethyl phthalate (DEP) was found at the highest concentrations, which ranged from 4.83 to 2250 ng/m(3) (median 152) followed by di-n-butyl phthalate, which ranged from 4.05 to 1170 ng/m(3) (median 63.3). The median inhalation exposure dose to phthalates was estimated at 0.845, 0.423, 0.203, 0.089, and 0.070 µg/kg-bw/d for infants, toddlers, children, teenagers, and adults, respectively. Inhalation is an important pathway of human exposure to DEP.

Quantitative filter forensics with residential HVAC filters to assess indoor concentrations

“…The median concentration of DEHP in this study is about one order of magnitude smaller than the particle‐bound concentration, 46.2 ng/m 3 , reported by Mandin et al, who analyzed samples collected over 7 days in 285 French dwellings. The significant discrepancy may have resulted from differences in the source strengths of DEHP, ventilation rates, and environmental factors such as indoor temperature between the present study and those in Mandin et al The estimated particle‐bound concentration of BBzP in the current study is slightly lower than the particle‐bound concentration reported in Mandin et al and Trans et al, which is 1.6 and 1.19 ng/m 3 , respectively. The significantly lower particle‐bound concentrations of DMP, DEP, and DnBP observed in our study are most likely due to their high volatility, where more than 90% of these compounds are expected to be found in the gas‐phase rather than particle‐phase .…”

Phthalate esters in soil, plastic film, and vegetable from greenhouse vegetable production bases in Beijing, China: Concentrations, sources, and risk assessment

“…The extensive use of PAE-containing products results in the release of large amounts of these compounds into the environment. It has been reported that the residues of PAEs were detected in various environmental matrices, such as air (Teil et al, 2006;Tran and Kannan, 2015), soil (Net et al, 2015;Niu et al, 2014), water and sediment (Peijnenburg and Struijs, 2006;Selvaraj et al, 2015). Researchers have indicated that some PAEs have endocrine disruptive effects in animals and humans (Main et al, 2006;Philippat et al, 2015;Zota et al, 2014).…”

Determination method and distribution of phthalate diesters in beverage collected from Hanoi, Vietnam

“…The volume of injection with splitless mode was 1 µL via autosampler with the splitless mode. The chromatographic analysis was similar to that described in earlier reports [4,11]. The temperature of the injector and ion source were set at 280 o C and 230 o C, respectively.…”

“…The oven temperature programmed was started from The MS detector was operated in the selective ion monitoring mode. Ion fragments m/z 149 was monitored for quantification phthalates [4,11]. Ion fragments m/z 177 for DEP, m/z 233 for DiBP and DBP, m/z 279 for DnHP were used for confirmation of the target compounds.…”

“…Because of spread use in our lives, phthalates can easily leach out into the environment over time from products and also migrate to body through dietary intake, air inhalation, and dermal absorption [9,10,11]. Although phthalates exist naturally in di-ester form, only mono-ester form was found in humans [12].…”