Occurrence of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in river water, ground water and agricultural soils of India

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are exogenous chemicals which alter the functions of endocrine system. There are very few studies of occurrence and distribution of endocrine disrupting chemicals in water, soil and their potential human health risks under Indian conditions. In the present work, occurrence of eleven endocrine disrupting chemicals namely bisphenol-A, triclosan, triclocarbon, 4-nonylphenol, 4-tert octylphenol, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, butyl paraben, benzyl butyl phthalate, di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and di-n-butyl phthalate have been investigated in 20 river water samples, 5 ground water samples and 23 agricultural soil samples collected from 26 sampling points of different agro-climatic zones of India during 2019-2020. Instrument detection and quantification limits of different endocrine disrupting chemicals using LC-MS/MS varied from 0.001 to 0.05 and 0.005-0.1 mu g/mL, respectively. Detection frequencies of bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol, 4-tert octylphenol and di-n-butyl phthalate were 100% in river water samples. In ground water samples di-n-butyl phthalate, benzyl butyl phthalate, di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, triclosan, triclocarbon, 4-tert octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, propyl paraben and butyl paraben and in soils 4-tert octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, bisphenol-A and di-n-butyl phthalate were detected in 100% sample. High mean concentrations of di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were recorded in river waters (2706.135 mu g/L), ground waters (3203.33 mu g/L) and agricultural soils (1005.490 ng/g). Other chemicals detected in high concentrations were 4-tert octylphenol (180.680-829.93 mu g/L), di-n-butyl phthalate (117.492-182.29 mu g/L) and bisphenol-A (13.99-228.03 mu g/L). Widespread distribution and high concentrations of these chemicals in water and soil is a cause of concern and, therefore, continued monitoring of these chemicals in different environmental matrices is the need of the hour.

Automated summary

The presence and distribution of endocrine disrupting chemicals in water and soil in India, as well as their potential human health risks, have been investigated. The study found that these chemicals are widespread and exist in high concentrations, particularly di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Continued monitoring of these chemicals is necessary.