Exposure to Contemporary and Emerging Chemicals in Commerce among Pregnant Women in the United States: The Environmental influences on Child Health Outcome (ECHO) Program

Abstract

Prenatal chemical exposures can influence maternal and child health; however, few industrial chemicals are routinely biomonitored. We assessed an extensive panel of contemporary and emerging chemicals in 171 pregnant women across the United States (U.S.) and Puerto Rico in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. We simultaneously measured urinary concentrations of 89 analytes (103 total chemicals representing 73 parent compounds) in nine chemical groups: bactericides, benzophenones, bisphenols, fungicides and herbicides, insecticides, organophosphate esters (OPEs), parabens, phthalates/alternative plasticizers, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We estimated associations of creatinine-adjusted concentrations with sociodemographic and specimen characteristics. Among our diverse prenatal population (60% non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic), we detected 73 of 89 analytes in ≥1 participant and 36 in >50% of participants. Five analytes not currently included in the U.S. biomonitoring were detected in ≥90% of samples: benzophenone-1, thiamethoxam, mono-2-(propyl-6-carboxy-hexyl) phthalate, monocarboxy isooctyl phthalate, and monohydroxy-iso-decyl phthalate. Many analyte concentrations were higher among women of Hispanic ethnicity compared to those of non-Hispanic White women. Concentrations of certain chemicals decreased with the calendar year, whereas concentrations of their replacements increased. Our largest study to date identified widespread exposures to prevalent and understudied chemicals in a diverse sample of pregnant women in the U.S.

Early childhood exposure to environmental phenols and parabens, phthalates, organophosphate pesticides, and trace elements in association with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in the CHARGE study

“…Among 62 analytes quanti ed in child urine samples, 43 chemicals with detection frequencies over 70%, including 21 phenols/parabens, 12 phthalates, 5 pesticides, and 5 trace elements, were included in the statistical analyses. Several zero or negative values, occurred as a result of blank correction of instrument software-generated values, were replaced with a xed value (i.e., 0.0001) to allow natural log (ln)transformation (Buckley et al 2022). The positive nonzero values were then speci c gravity (SG)corrected using the following equation: C sg = C × [(SG median -1)/(SG -1), where C sg is the SG-corrected chemical concentration, C is the measured chemical concentration, SG median is the median (1.022) of SG values in this study samples, and SG is the measured SG value (Boeniger et al 1993;Kuiper et al 2021).…”

Addressing systemic problems with exposure assessments to protect the public’s health

“…As chemicals are phased out of use, their replacements are often structurally similar analogues (e.g., bisphenol S [BPS] replacing BPA or the phthalate DINCH replacing diethylhexyl phthalate [DEHP]). Thus, as exposures to the first-generation chemical appear to be decreasing in a population, exposures to the second generation of chemicals – and there are often several replacements rather than a single one – may increase in the same population [ 67 – 69 ]. By the time that the hazards associated with the replacement are documented, exposures may be widespread.…”

A science-based agenda for health-protective chemical assessments and decisions: overview and consensus statement

“…Under most U.S. laws concerning chemical risks, the burden of data generation and proof is on federal agencies such as EPA to assess the impact of chemicals currently on or to be introduced to the market. However, this approach presents both a financial and health burden to the public [ 54 , 55 ]. Chemical manufacturers have a financial stake in the production of existing chemicals and have an incentive to delay data generation to maintain or grow their market [ 54 , 56 ].…”