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Characteristics of dust-phase phthalates in dormitory, classroom, and home and non-dietary exposure in Beijing, China

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Abstract

The phthalate concentrations in dust from undergraduate dormitories, classrooms, and homes in Beijing, China, were measured in April 2017. We analyzed the characteristics of phthalates in dust from three environments. In addition, we estimated the daily intake of phthalates via three pathways using Monte Carlo simulations. The detection frequency of eight phthalates in dust ranges from 74.5 to 100%. Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) are the most abundant phthalates. The median proportion of DEHP in dust is the highest, ranging from 67.1 to 72.9%. The PMF results indicated that two, four, and three types of phthalate sources exist in home, dormitory, and classroom, respectively. The differences in the phthalate concentrations between sunny and shaded rooms and urban and suburban classrooms are insignificant, whereas that between male and female dormitories is significant. The total daily intake of DEHP, DnBP, and DiBP ranges from 97.3 to 336 ng/ (kg·day). The oral intake for DEHP in classrooms and the dermal intake of DnBP and DiBP in homes are the highest. The carcinogenic risk of DEHP to university students is the highest in classrooms and the total carcinogenic risk of the three environments is 4.70 × 10-6.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Wiley Editing Services (hwileyeditingservices.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Funding

This study was supported by Beijing Science and Technology Planning Project (Z191100004419002) and the Fund of Beijing Municipal Commission of Education (KM201410016014).

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Conceptualization: Lixin Wang, Fang Liu; Data curation: Meinan Qu, Lixin Wang; Formal analysis and investigation: Meinan Qu, Yi Zhao, Xiangzhao Shi, Sijia Li; Methodology: Lixin Wang, Fang Liu; Writing-original draft preparation: Meinan Qu; Writing-review and editing: Lixin Wang, Fang Liu; Funding acquisition: Lixin Wang, Fang Liu. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted.

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Correspondence to Lixin Wang.

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Practical Implications

This is the first report on the characteristics of phthalates in dust from undergraduate living environments and non-dietary exposure in China. di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), and di-isobutyl phthalate (DiBP) are the most abundant phthalates. The difference of phthalate concentrations is significant between male and female dormitories. The oral intake of DEHP in classrooms and dermal intake of DnBP and DiBP in homes are the highest. The carcinogenic risk value of DEHP is the highest in classrooms, and that is 4.70 × 10-6 in three environments. The study provides valuable information on phthalate characteristics in dust in undergraduate living environments. The results can be used to develop strategies for the reduction of the phthalate exposure of college students.

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Qu, M., Wang, L., Liu, F. et al. Characteristics of dust-phase phthalates in dormitory, classroom, and home and non-dietary exposure in Beijing, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 38159–38172 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13347-1

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