Assessment of public health risks caused by phthalates migrating from polymer material to bottled water

View or download the full article: 
PDF icon health-risk-analysis-2024-1-4.pdf
UDC: 
614.3.31.663: 621.798: 341.001.5
DOI: 
10.21668/health.risk/2024.1.04.eng
Authors: 

V.V. Shilov1,2, O.L. Markova1, E.V. Zaritskaya1, D.S. Isaev1, M.D. Petrova1

Organization: 

1North-West Public Health Research Center, 4 2nd Sovetskaya St., Saint-Petersburg, 191036, Russian Federation
2North-Western State Medical University named after I. I. Mechnikov, 41 Kirochnaya St., Saint-Petersburg, 191015, Russian Federation

Abstract: 

At present, consumption of packaged drinking water is growing worldwide. In this regard, ensuring packaged drinking water safety, which directly depends on the composition and quality of used polymer materials, is becoming especially relevant. Bottles made of polymer materials, i.e. polyethylene terephthalate and polycarbonate, is the most common packaging for drinking water.

The aim of this study was to assess population health risks caused by exposure to phthalates migrating from polymer bottles into drinking water.

The study was carried out according to the requirements of the Customs Union Technical Regulation… on packaging and Instruction... on sanitary-chemical study of goods. Bottles and model media were analyzed using gas chromatography with mass-spectrometric detection. Risk assessment was performed according to the current guidelines.

The study findings allow to report the following phthalate levels in bottle samples: di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), 1.7–4.2 mg/kg; di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), <2.4–31.3 mg/kg; diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), 2.2–10.2 mg/kg. Phthalate migration into model media occurred from all analyzed samples: DEHP and DiBP migrated from Polyethylene terephthalate in quantities equal to 8.6–71.0 µg/l and from < 2.6 to 19.2 µg/l respectively; DEHP, DnBP, and DiBP migrated from polycarbonate, 31.5–43.5 µg/l, 4.8–6.2 µg/l, and 17.0–54.0 µg/l, respectively.

The identified phthalate levels are safe according to the performed assessment of health risks associated with chronic intake of harmful substances with drinking water. The values of the estrogenicity equivalent calculated for the analyzed phthalates in model samples of bottled water were seen at a minimum level in Russian Federation as compared to other countries.

The results of this study can be used in safety assessment of polymer bottles for drinking water.

Keywords: 
packaged drinking water, bottled water, model medium, phthalate migration, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-Butylphtalate (DnBP), diisobutylphthalate (DiBP), safety, health risk assessment
Shilov V.V., Markova O.L., Zaritskaya E.V., Isaev D.S., Petrova M.D. Assessment of public health risks caused by phthalates migrating from polymer material to bottled water. Health Risk Analysis, 2024, no. 1, pp. 38–46. DOI: 10.21668/health.risk/2024.1.04.eng
References: 
  1. Rodwan J.G. Jr. Bottled water 2020: continued upward movement. BWR: Bottled Water Reporter, 2021, pp. 11–19.
  2. Diduch M., Polkowska Z., Namiesnik J. Factors affecting the quality of bottled water. J. Expo. Sci. Environ. Epidemiol., 2013, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 111–119. DOI: 10.1038/jes.2012.101
  3. Kassouf A., Maalouly J., Chebib H., Rutledge D.N., Ducruet V. Chemometric tools to highlight non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) in polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Talanta, 2013, vol. 115, pp. 928–937. DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2013.06.029
  4. Jeddi M.Z., Rastkari N., Ahmadkhaniha R., Yunesian M. Endocrine disruptor phthalates in bottled water: daily exposure and health risk assessment in pregnant and lactating women. Environ. Monit. Assess., 2016, vol. 188, no. 9, pp. 534. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-016-5502-1
  5. Zaritskaya E.V., Ganichev P.A., Markova O.L., Mikheeva A.Yu., Yeremin G.B. Dieth-ylhexyl phthalate as a current problem of hygienic safety of packaging and packaged drinking water. Gigiena i sanitariya, 2022, vol. 101, no. 1, pp. 30–34. DOI: 10.47470/0016-9900-2022-101-1-30-34 (in Russian).
  6. Engel S.M., Zhu C., Berkowitz G.S., Calafat A.M., Silva M.J., Miodovnik A., Wolff M.S. Prenatal phthalate exposure and performance on the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale
    in a multiethnic birth cohort. Neurotoxicology, 2009, vol. 30, no. 4, pp. 522–528. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuro.2009.04.001
  7. Martino-Andrade A.J., Chahoud I. Reproductive toxicity of phthalate esters. Mol. Nutr. Food Res., 2010, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 148–157. DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.200800312
  8. Xu X., Zhou G., Lei K., LeBlanc G.A., An L. Phthalate Esters and Their Potential Risk in PET Bottled Water Stored under Common Conditions. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2020, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 141–150. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17010141
  9. Chen X., Xu S., Tan T., Lee S.T., Cheng S.H., Lee F.W.F., Xu S.J.L., Ho K.C. Toxicity and Estrogenic Endocrine Disrupting Activity of Phthalates and Their Mixtures. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2014, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 3156–3168. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph110303156
  10. Pradhan A., Olsson P.-E., Jass J. Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and diethyl phthalate disrupt lipid metabolism, reduce fecundity and shortens lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans. Chemosphere, 2018, vol. 190, pp. 375–382. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.09.123
  11. Kay V.R., Bloom M.S., Foster W.G. Reproductive and developmental effects of phthalate diesters in males. Crit. Rev. Toxicol., 2014, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 467–498. DOI: 10.3109/10408444.2013.875983
  12. Gray L.E. Jr., Ostby J., Furr J., Price M., Veeramachaneni D.N., Parks L. Perinatal expo-sure to the phthalates DEHP, BBP, and DINP, but not DEP, DMP, or DOTP, alters sexual differ-entiation of the male rat. Toxicol. Sci., 2000, vol. 58, no. 2, pp. 350–365. DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/58.2.350
  13. Hlisníková H., Petrovičová I., Kolena B., Šidlovská M., Sirotkin A. Effects and mecha-nisms of phthalates’ action on reproductive processes and reproductive health: A literature review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 2020, vol. 17, no. 18, pp. 6811. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17186811
  14. Colon I., Caro D., Bourdony C.J., Rosario O. Identification of phthalate esters in the serum of young Puerto Rican girls with premature breast development. Environ. Health Perspect., 2000, vol. 108, no. 9, pp. 895–900. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.108-2556932
  15. Warner G.R., Dettogni R.S., Bagchi I.C., Flaws J.A., Graceli J.B. Placental outcomes of phthalate exposure. Reprod. Toxicol., 2021, vol. 103, pp. 1–17. DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2021.05.001
  16. Kavlock R., Boekelheide K., Chapin R., Cunningham M., Faustman E., Foster P., Golub M., Henderson R. [et al.]. NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction: phthalates expert panel report on the reproductive and developmental toxicity of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Reprod. Toxicol., 2002, vol. 16, no. 5, pp. 529–653. DOI: 10.1016/s0890-6238(02)00032-1
  17. Koch H.M., Calafat A.M. Human body burdens of chemicals used in plastic manufacture. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci., 2009, vol. 364, no. 1526, pp. 2063–2078. DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0208
  18. Markova O.L., Ganichev P.A., Yeremin G.B., Zaritskaya E.V. Phthalate migration from packing materials for bottled water. Findings of international studies. Zdorov'e – osnova chelovecheskogo potentsiala: problemy i puti ikh resheniya, 2020, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 416–427 (in Russian).
  19. Xu Y., Liu X., Park J., Clausen P.A., Benning J.L., Little J.C. Measuring and predicting the emission rate of phthalate plasticizer from vinyl flooring in a specially-designed chamber. Environ. Sci. Technol., 2012, vol. 46, no. 22, pp. 12534–12541. DOI: 10.1021/es302319m
  20. Otero P., Saha S.K., Moane S., Barron J., Clancy G., Murray P. Improved method for
    rapid detection of phthalates in bottled water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
    J. Chromatogr. B Analyt. Technol. Biomed. Life Sci., 2015, vol. 997, pp. 229–235. DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2015.05.036
  21. Zaki G., Shoeib T. Concentrations of several phthalates contaminants in Egyptian bottled water: Effects of storage conditions and estimate of human exposure. Sci. Total Environ., 2018, vol. 618, pp. 142–150. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.337
  22. Luo Q., Liu Z.-H., Yin H., Dang Z., Wu P.-X., Zhu N.-W., Lin Z., Liu Y. Migration and potential risk of trace phthalates in bottled water: A global situation. Water Res., 2018, vol. 147, pp. 362–372. DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2018.10.002
  23. Krylov A.I., Mikheeva A.Y., Budko A.G., Tkachenko I.Yu. Metrological support of phthalate content measurements: reference material for the composition of a solution of six priori-ty phthalates in methanol. Etalony. Standartnye obraztsy, 2021, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 5–19. DOI: 10.20915/2687-0886-2021-17-3-5-19 (in Russian).
  24. Krylov A.I., Budko A.G., Mikheeva A.Y., Tkachenko I.Y., Nezhikhovskiy G.R. Reference method for measuring the content of phthalates in polymer matrices: analytical and metrological approaches. Izmeritel’naya tekhnika, 2022, no. 10, pp. 64–72. DOI: 10.32446/0368-1025it.2022-10-64-72 (in Russian).
  25. Xue X., Su Y., Su H., Fan D., Jia H., Chu X., Song X., Liu Y. [et al.]. Occurrence of Phthalates in Bottled Drinks in the Chinese Market and Its Implications for Dietary Exposure. Molecules, 2021, vol. 26, no. 19, pp. 6054. DOI: 10.3390/molecules26196054
Received: 
30.08.2023
Approved: 
24.11.2023
Accepted for publication: 
20.03.2024

You are here

Home