Phthalate esters contamination in soils and vegetables of plastic film greenhouses of suburb Nanjing, China and the potential human health risk

Abstract

The contamination of phthalate esters (PAEs) has become a potential threat to the environment and human health because they could be easily released as plasticizers from the daily supply products, especially in polyethylene films. Concentration levels of total six PAEs, nominated as priority pollutants by the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), were investigated in soils and vegetables from four greenhouse areas in suburbs of Nanjing, East China. Total PAEs concentration ranged from 930±840 to 2 450±710 μg kg −1 (dry weight (DW)) in soil and from 790 ± 630 to 3 010 ± 2 130 μg kg −1 in vegetables. Higher concentrations of PAEs were found in soils except in Suo Shi (SS) area and in vegetables, especially in potherb mustard and purple tsai-tai samples. Risk assessment mainly based on the exposures of soil ingestion and daily vegetable intake indicated that bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in the samples from Gu Li (GL) and Hu Shu (HS) exhibited the highest hazard to children less than 6-year old. Therefore, the human health risk of the PAEs contamination in soils and vegetables should greatly be of a concern, especially for their environmental estrogen analog effects.

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

“…The result in this study was in good agreement with that in the study conducted by Ma et al (2003), in which the PAE concentrations in greenhouse soils from the outskirts of Beijing were determined and the concentrations of DEHP were also lower than that of DnBP. However, it was reported that the concentrations of DEHP were higher than those of DnBP in greenhouse vegetable soils in Nanjing, South, China Ma et al, 2015). This variation may be caused by difference in the manage modes and climate condition between northern and southern regions of China.…”

Associations of urinary 5-methyl-2′-deoxycytidine and 5-hydroxymethyl-2′-deoxycytidine with phthalate exposure and semen quality in 562 Chinese adult men

“…Since they are not covalently bound to plastics, phthalates can be released into the environment and have been widely detected in China [e.g., air (Wang et al, 2016), soils (Ma et al, 2015), drinking water and edible food commodities (Ji et al, 2014)]. Humans may be exposed to these chemicals via ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption (Wittassek et al, 2011).…”

Phthalate exposure and human semen quality: Results from an infertility clinic in China

“…Phthalates, which are primarily used as plasticizers to induce the flexibility and workability of polymeric materials, are another group of environmental pollutants that possess endocrine-disrupting properties (Gray et al, 2000;Howdeshell et al, 2008). High concentrations of phthalates have been detected in the drinking water (Li et al, 2010), as well as in the soils and vegetables in agricultural areas of China (Ma et al, 2015). Humans are constantly exposed to phthalates through ingestion, inhalation and dermal absorption.…”