Occurrence, Ecological and Health Risk Assessment of Phthalate Esters in Surface Water of U-Tapao Canal, Southern, Thailand

Abstract

Phthalate esters (PAEs) are well known for their environmental contamination and endocrine-disrupting effects on wildlife and humans. In this study, the occurrence of PAEs and ecotoxicological risk assessments were performed in one of the significant canals in southern Thailand, named U-Tapao. Water samples were collected and analyzed for the six most common PAEs by using a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Of the 6 PAEs analyzed, only three PAEs, including di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), di (2-Ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), and diisononyl phthalate (DiNP) were detected in water samples. The total concentration of PAEs ranged from 1.44 to 12.08 µg/L, with a mean level of 4.76 µg/L. The total average concentration of PAEs found in the canal was higher than the criteria of 3 µg/L for PAEs recommended for the protection of fish and other aquatic organisms by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The results of the potential ecological risk assessment of the risk quotient (RQ) method revealed that DEHP and DiNP posed a high risk to algae and crustacean and crustacean and fish, respectively, whereas DBP posed a medium risk to the different aquatic species. However, current levels of noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks via ingestion and dermal exposure in children and adults are within acceptable limits. The baseline data of PAEs in this canal will be beneficial to the strategic and future pollutant control along the canal network.

Occurrence and seasonal disparity of emerging endocrine disrupting chemicals in a drinking water supply system and associated health risk

“…The abundance of DEHP, DBP, and DNOP in the surface water could be linked to their huge production and rampant usage. DEHP was the most prominent species in the water samples with a concentration range of 84.49–8351.85 µg/L, which is much higher than the earlier reported concentration of 1.28–5.28 µg/L 30 and 1.684 µg/L 12 in drinking water. Many previous studies have also reported similar results 9 , 23 , 31 .…”

Phthalate Esters in Tap Water, Southern Thailand: Daily Exposure and Cumulative Health Risk in Infants, Lactating Mothers, Pregnant and Nonpregnant Women

“…The pretreatment procedures for water samples were described as defined by [ 15 , 23 , 40 ]. Here, we briefly present these procedures.…”

“…Therefore, PAEs may persist in tap water after treatment. In addition, the occurrence of PAEs has been reported in water bodies that supply raw waters to provincial waterworks in developing countries [ 12 , 13 , 15 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. In addition, while there is a growing tendency toward replacing tap water with bottled water in developed countries, the reverse is the case in developing countries.…”

“…In addition, while there is a growing tendency toward replacing tap water with bottled water in developed countries, the reverse is the case in developing countries. Notably, the regulations or standards for surface and drinking water in most developing countries do not specify PAEs [ 13 , 23 ]. The lack of rules and standard limits of drinking water may impede the eradication of human exposure to PAEs via drinking water.…”

Deterministic Assessment of the Risk of Phthalate Esters in Sediments of U-Tapao Canal, Southern Thailand

“…The primary water quality degradation sources of the freshwater are wastewater effluents discharge from rubber, plastics, parawood and seafood processing industries at the rate of 41,000 m 3 /day, which have negatively impacted the ecological integrity of the canal [ 18 , 19 ]. Besides, we observed levels of PAEs that pose ecological risks in surface water of U-Tapao [ 20 ]. Nevertheless, the levels of PAEs in sediments is still unknown.…”