Abstract
Phthalates are widely used in consumer products. Exposure to phthalates can lead to adverse health effects in humans, with early-life exposure being of particular concern. Phthalate exposure occurs mainly through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption. However, our understanding of the relative importance of different exposure routes is incomplete. This study estimated the intake of five phthalates from the residential indoor environment for 455 Swedish pregnant women in the SELMA study using phthalate mass fraction in indoor dust and compares these to total daily phthalate intakes back-calculated from phthalate metabolite concentrations in the women's urine. Steady-state models were used to estimate indoor air phthalate concentrations from dust measurements. Intakes from residential dust and air made meaningful contributions to total daily intakes of more volatile di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and di-iso-butyl phthalate (DiBP) (11% of total DEP intake and 28% of total DnBP and DiBP intake combined). Dermal absorption from air was the dominant pathway contributing to the indoor environmental exposure. Residential exposure to less volatile phthalates made minor contributions to total intake. These results suggest that reducing the presence of low molecular weight phthalates in the residential indoor environment can meaningfully reduce phthalate intake among pregnant women.
Highlights
Phthalate diesters are a group of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), of which several are high volume production chemicals
Total intake and residential indoor intake via dust ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption from air were estimated from paired urine and dust samples
Our results suggest that the residential indoor environment makes a meaningful contribution to the total intake of di-ethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and di-iso-butyl phthalate (DiBP) (ΣDBP) in pregnant women
Summary
Phthalate diesters are a group of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), of which several are high volume production chemicals. Anatomical and physiological changes, such as increased inhalation rate,[27] may influence phthalate intake from the indoor environment, especially in case of more volatile phthalates.[17,21] Numerous studies have analyzed phthalate metabolite concentrations in the urine of pregnant women.9,28–31 our understanding of the relative contribution of different exposure pathways to this total intake is limited.[9,32]. We investigate whether PVC flooring in the bedroom affects the residential indoor exposure to phthalates
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