Exposure of Phthalates in Residential Buildings and its Health Effects

Phthalates (PAEs) are SVOCs (Semi Volatile Organic Compounds), which are used as plasticizers in industrial products and home daily supplies. Phthalates are ubiquitous in indoor environment, consequently affect human health, especially children's health. This study is part of CCHH (China, Children, Home, Health) projects. The study consisted of two phases. Phase I, the home environment and health information of children aged 1-8 years old in Tianjin area and Cangzhou area were surveyed with questionnaire. Phase II, the home environment were measured and the dust samples were collected. Finally, 6928 questionnaires were collected back and analyzed, and 410 dust samples were collected from children's bedrooms in Tianjin and Cangzhou areas. The concentration of PAEs in dust samples were measured by GC-MS method. The six target PAEs were Diethyl phthalate (DEP), Diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP), Di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBzP), Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Diisononyl phthalate (DiNP). It was found that the median values of DEP, DiBP, DnBP, BBzP, DEHP and DiNP were 0.31 mu g/g, 16.38 mu g/g, 42.6 mu g/g, 0.11 mu g/g, 127.11 mu g/g and 0.28 mu g/g, respectively. Indoor modern decoration and frequent use of household cleaning products were related to higher PAE concentrations, consequently to children's asthma and allergy. Higher concentrations of DEP, DiBP were significantly associated to children's diagnosed asthma (DEP AOR 2.08; DiBP AOR 2.48). (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.