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Beyond Phthalate Diesters: Existence of Phthalate Monoesters in South China House Dust and Implications for Human Exposure

Xiaotu Liu, Changfeng Peng, Yumeng Shi, Hongli Tan, Shuqin Tang, Da Chen

Environ Sci Technol. 2019 Oct 15;53(20):11675-11683.

PMID: 31503463

Abstract:

Despite phthalate monoesters (mono-PAEs) being commonly recognized as metabolic products of phthalate diesters (di-PAEs), investigations on their environmental occurrences, particularly in indoor environments, remain limited. The present study demonstrated the presence mono-PAEs, along with a variety of di-PAEs, in house dust collected from 83 South China families. Among 15 target mono-PAEs, monobutyl phthalate (median concentration, 21.54 μg/g) dominated over other mono-PAEs in indoor dust, followed by monoethylhexyl phthalate (9.44 μg/g), monoisobutyl phthalate (5.14 μg/g), monomethyl phthalate (MMP; 2.05 μg/g), and several others. The total concentrations of detectable mono-PAEs (median, 45.40 μg/g) constituted an average of 6.7 ± 3.7% of the total concentrations of their parent diesters in the same dust. Molar concentration ratios of mono-PAEs to their respective di-PAEs varied greatly among chemicals (median, 0.001-3.1), with the highest ratios determined for the MMP/dimethyl phthalate and mono-/diisopropyl phthalate pairs (i.e., 3.1 and 1.5, respectively). In addition, no significant associations were observed between dust-associated mono- or di-PAEs and urinary mono-PAEs detected in both children (n = 48) and adult participants (n = 41). We hypothesized that mono-PAEs in dust could originate from different sources (e.g., impurities in di-PAE formulas, degradation from di-PAEs, and direct application as commercial additives), while the relative importance of various origins could differ between chemicals. Our findings demonstrate broad occurrences of mono-PAEs in indoor environments, but future studies are needed to better elucidate their sources, fate in indoor and outdoor environments, and potential human health risks.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number Product Name Structure CAS Number Price
AP605458 Diisopropyl phthalate Diisopropyl phthalate 605-45-8 Price
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