Abstract
Organophosphate esters (OPEs), as a class of emerging flame retardant and plasticizers, have attracted particular attention due to their ubiquitous existence in the environment and potential effects on human health. Here, we investigated the levels of OPEs in human serum and examined the role of demographic variables on the body burden of such compounds. Of 11 OPEs screened, 8 were detected in human serum samples collected from a population (n = 89) in Bohai Bay, North China. The ∑OPE concentrations ranged from 4.7 to 948 ng/g lipid weight (lw), with a median concentration of 243 ng/g lw. Tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (TCEP) was identified as the most abundant OPEs with a median concentration of 214 ng/g lw. The concentrations of the triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) in older adults were higher than those in young adults (p < 0.05), and lower concentrations of tri-iso-butyl phosphate (TIBP) were observed in female samples compared to males. Furthermore, significant differences were observed in tri-n-propyl phosphate (TPrP) concentrations between urban and rural residence groups (p < 0.05). This study provides important information on the accumulation potential of OPEs in human bodies and suggests the need for further investigation to understand the potential human health risk.
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This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81772812, 21677023, and 2018J138N096).
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All participants provided informed consent when they were enrolled and agreed to donate their serum sample for analysis. Ethical approval of this study was given by the Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University Ethics Committee.
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Dute Gao and Jun Yang share first authorship of this study.
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Gao, D., Yang, J., Bekele, T.G. et al. Organophosphate esters in human serum in Bohai Bay, North China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 2721–2729 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07204-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07204-5