Occurrence, migration and health risk of phthalates in tap water, barreled water and bottled water in Tianjin, China

This study was to investigate the occurrence, migration and health risk of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in tap water, barreled water and bottled water in Tianjin, China. Six priority controlled PAEs were measured, among which the detection frequency of butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was 100%, while the others were not detected. The concentration of DEHP was higher than BBP and DBP in all the samples. The initial Sigma(3)PAEs concentrations in tap water, barreled water and bottled water were 2.409 +/- 0.391 mu g/L, 1.495 +/- 0.213 mu g/L and 1.963 +/- 0.160 mu g/L, respectively. Boiling tap water could reduce the PAEs content to an extent, but they increased significantly in hot tap water contacting with disposable plastic cups. The migration of PAEs in barreled water and bottled water were positively correlated with storage time and temperature, which could be described by exponential models. The hazard indexes of PAEs in different types of drinking water were very low. However, the human carcinogenic risks of DEHP will reach the maximum acceptable risk level of 10(-6) when bottled water is stored for 8.8 days at 40 degrees C, 7.7 days at 50 degrees C, or 6.1 days at 60 degrees C.

Automated summary

The study investigated the presence, migration, and health risks of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in tap water, barreled water, and bottled water in Tianjin, China. Results showed high detection frequencies of PAEs, with DEHP having the highest concentration and positively correlated with storage time and temperature. The study also found that human carcinogenic risks of DEHP may reach the maximum acceptable level under certain conditions.