Abstract
Seven parabens including methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), iso-propylparaben (iPrP), butylparaben (BuP), benzylparaben (BzP), and heptylparaben (HepP) were determined in bottled water, tap water, river water, lake water, and wastewater samples collected from Hanoi, Vietnam, using solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The highest total concentration of parabens were measured in wastewater (range, 27.3–1050 ng/L; mean/median, 268/175 ng/L), followed by lake water (range, 18.0–254 ng/L; mean/median, 51.7/58.5 ng/L), river water (range, 16.5–52.1 ng/L; mean/median, 32.1/42.6 ng/L), tap water (range, 5.01–54.3 ng/L; mean/median, 28.6/41.1 ng/L), and bottled water (range, 1.56–39.9 ng/L; mean/median, 6.92/9.19 ng/L). Methylparaben and propylparaben were the predominant compounds found in all samples. The mean estimated human exposure dose of parabens through drinking bottled water was 0.27 ng/kg-bw/day, which is 6 orders of magnitude below the safety threshold recommended by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additive in 1974 (10 mg/kg-bw/day). Concentrations of parabens measured in river water, lake water, and wastewater samples were assessed to pose low to moderate ecological risks to aquatic organisms (0.1 < RQ < 1). Methyl, ethyl, and propyl parabens exhibited significant correlations in water samples.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Not applicable.
References
Amin MM, Hashemi M, Ebrahimpour K, Chavoshani A (2019) Determination of parabens in wastewater and sludge in a municipal wastewater treatment plant using microwave-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Environ Health Eng Manag 6(3): 215–224. https://doi.org/10.15171/EHEM.2019.24.
Barabasz W, Pikulicka A, Wzorek Z, Nowak AK (2019) Ecotoxicological aspects of the use of parabens in the production of cosmetics. Tech Hrans 12:99–124. https://doi.org/10.4467/2353737XCT.19.126.11451
Botta F, Alliot F, Dulio V, Lestremau F, Chevreuil M (2014) Parabens in water and sediment: occurrence in river and lakes in different rural and urban environments, SETAC Europe annual meeting “Science across bridges, borders and boundaries”, Switzerland, 37. https://hal-ineris.archives-ouvertes.fr/ineris-01862417. Accessed 10 Aug 2021
Byford JR, Shaw LE, Drew MGB, Pope GS, Sauer MJ, Darbre PD (2002) Oestrogenic activity of parabens in MCF7 human breast cancer cells. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 80:49–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0960-0760(01)00174-1
Carmona E, Andreu V, Picó Y (2014) Occurrence of acidic pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Turia River Basin: from waste to drinking water. Sci Total Environ 484:53–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.085
Chen J, Hartmann EM, Kline J, Wymelenberg KVD, Halden RU (2018) Assessment of human exposure to triclocarban, triclosan and five parabens in U.S. indoor dust using dispersive solid phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. J Hazard Mater 360:623–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.08.014
Darbre PD, Byford JR, Shaw LE, Horton RA, Pope GS, Sauer MJ (2002) Oestrogenic activity of isobutylparaben in vitro and in vivo. J Appl Toxicol 22:219–226. https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.860
Darbre PD, Harvey PW (2008) Parabens esters: Review of recent studies of endocrine toxicity, absorption, esterase and human exposure, and discussion of potential human health risks. J Appl Toxicol 28(5):561–578. https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.1358
Derisso CR, Pompei CME, Spadoto M, Pinto TDS, Vieira EM (2020) Occurrence of parabens in surface water, wastewater treatment plant in southeast of Brazil and assessment of their environmental risk. Water Air Soil Pollut 231(9):468–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04835-0
Do LM, Tran TK, Eriksson B, Petzold M, Ascher H (2017) Prevalence and incidence of overweight and obesity among Vietnamese preschool children: a longitudinal cohort study. BMC Pediatr 17:150. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-017-0904-y
Drug Administration, Ministry of Health of Vietnam, 2019. Official Letter No. 13431/QLD-MP on updating regulations on substances used in cosmetics. https://dav.gov.vn/cong-van-so-13431qld-mp-ve-viec-cap-nhat-quy-dinh-ve-cac-chat-dung-trong-my-pham-n2561.html. Accessed 15 June 2021
European Commission (2015) Guidance document on analytical quality control and method validation procedures for pesticides residues analysis in food and feed., SANTE/11945/2015.
European Commission Regulation (EU) (2011) No 1130/2011 of 11 November 2011 Establishing a Union List of Food Additives Approved for Use in Food Additives, Food Enzymes, Food Flavourings and Nutrients. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1130/oj. Accessed 15 June 2021
European Commission Regulation (EU) (2014) No 358/2014 of 9 April 2014 amending Annexes II and V to Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on cosmetic products. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_2014.107.01.0005.01.ENG&toc=OJ:L:2014:107:TOC. Accessed 20 July 2021
European Commission, Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS/1348/10) (2011) Opinion on parabens. 14 December 2010, revision of 22 March 2011. https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_041.pdf. Accessed 17 Aug 2021
European Commission, Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS/1514/13) (2013) Opinion on parabens. Updated request for a scientific opinion on propyl- and butylparaben. https://ec.europa.eu/health/scientific_committees/consumer_safety/docs/sccs_o_132.pdf. Accessed 17 Aug 2021
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) (2010) Scientific opinion on dietary reference values for water. EFSA J 8(3):1459. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1459
Feizabadi GK, Hajizadeh Y, Feizi A, Ebrahimpour K (2020a) Urinary concentrations of parabens in a population of Iranian adolescent and their association with sociodemographic indicators. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 79:195–207. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-020-00746-7
Feizabadi GK, Hajizadeh Y, Feizi A, Ebrahimpour K (2020b) Urinary concentrations of parabens amongst Iranian adults and their associations with socio-demographic factors. J Environ Health Sci Eng 18(2):1227–1238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40201-020-00540-6
Feng J, Zhao J, Xi N, Guo W, Sun J (2019) Parabens and their metabolite in surface water and sediment from the Yellow River and the Huai River in Henan Province: spatial distribution, seasonal variation and risk assessment. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 172:480–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.01.102
Ferreira AMC, Moder M, Laespada MEF (2011) GC-MS determination of parabens, triclosan and methyl triclosan in water by in situ derivatization and stir-bar sorptive extraction. Anal Bioanal Chem 399(2):945–953. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-010-4339-7
Future Market Insight (2021) Parabens market-Global industry analysis 2014–2018 and opportunity assessment: 2019–2029. https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/parabens-market. (Assessed 9 August 2021).
Galinaro CA, Pereira FM, Vieira EM (2015) Determination of parabens in surface water from Mogi Guacu River (São Paulo, Brazil) using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction based on low density solvent and LC-DAD. J Braz Chem Soc 26(11):2205–2213. https://doi.org/10.5935/0103-5053.20150206
Gao CJ, Kannan K (2020) Phthalates, bisphenols, parabens, and triclocarban in feminine hygiene products from the United States and their implications for human exposure. Environ Int 136:105465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105465
González-Mariño I, Quintana JB, Rodríguez I, Cela R (2011) Evaluation of the occurrence and biodegradation of parabens and halogenated by-products in wastewater by accurate-mass liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF-MS). Water Res 45:6770–6780. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2011.10.027
Guo Y, Kannan K (2013) A survey of phthalates and parabens in personal care products from the United States and its implications for human exposure. Environ Sci Technol 47:14442–14449. https://doi.org/10.1021/es4042034
Guo Y, Wang L, Kannan K (2014) Phthalates and parabens in personal care products from China: concentrations and human exposure. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 66(1):113–119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9937-x
Hajizadeh Y, Feizabadi GK, Ebrahimpour K, Shoshtari-Yeganeh B, Fadaei S, Darvishmotevalli M, Karimi H (2020) Urinary paraben concentrations and their implications for human exposure in Iranian pregnant women. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27(13):14723–14734. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07991-2
Hajizadeh Y, Feizabadi KG, Feizi A, Ebrahimpour K (2021) Evaluation of exposure to parabens in Iranian women and its association with personal care products using behavior. Hum Ecol Risk Assess 27:1188–1205. https://doi.org/10.1080/10807039.2020.1816807
Haman C, Dauchy X, Rosin C, Munoz JF (2015) Occurrence, fate, and behavior of parabens in aquatic environments: a review. Water Res 68:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2014.09.030
Karthikraj R, Vasu AK, Balakrishna K, Sinha RK, Kannan K (2017) Occurrence and fate of parabens and their metabolites in five sewage treatment plants in India. Sci Total Environ 593–594:592–598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.173
Kim TS, Kim CY, Lee HK, Kang IH, Kim MG, Jung KK, Kwon YK, Nam HS, Hong SK, Kim HS, Yoon HJ, Rhee GS (2011) Estrogenic activity of persistent organic pollutions and parabens based on the stably transfected human estrogen receptor–α transcriptional activation assay (OECD TG 455). Toxicol Res 27 (3): 181–184. https://doi.org/10.5487/TR.2011.27.3.181
Kusk KO, Krũr T, Long M, Taxvig C, Lykkesfeldt AE, Frederiksen H, Andersson AM, Andersen HR, Hansen KMS, Nellemann C, Bonefeld-Jorgensen EC (2011) Endocrine potency of wastewater: contents of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and effects measured by in vivo and in vitro assays. Environ Toxicol Chem 30(2):413–426. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.385
Liao C, Chen L, Kannan K (2013a) Occurrence of and dietary exposure to parabens in foodstuffs from the United States. Environ Sci Technol 47:3918–3925. https://doi.org/10.1021/es400724s
Liao C, Liu F, Kannan K (2013b) Occurrence of parabens in foodstuffs from China and its implications for human dietary exposure. Environ Int 57–58: 68–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2013b.04.001.
Ma WL, Subedi B, Kannan K (2014) The occurrence of bisphenol A, phthalates, parabens and other environmental phenolic compounds in house dust: a review. Curr Org Chem 18(7):2182–2199. https://doi.org/10.2174/1385272819666140804230205
Ma WL, Zhao X, Lin ZY, Mohammed MOA, Zhang ZF, Liu LY, Song WW, Li YF (2016) A survey of parabens in commercial pharmaceuticals from China and its implications for human exposure. Environ Int 95:30–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2016.07.013
Ma WL, Zhao X, Zhang ZF, Xu TF, Zhu FJ, Li YF (2018) Concentrations and fate of parabens and their metabolites in two typical wastewater treatment plants in northeastern China. Sci Total Environ 644:754–761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.358
Marta-Sanchez AV, Caldas SS, Schneider A, Cardoso SMVS, Primel EG (2018) Trace analysis of parabens preservatives in drinking water treatment sludge, treated, and mineral water samples. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25(15):14460–14470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1583-4
Moreta C, Tena MT, Kannan K (2015) Analytical method for the determination and a survey of parabens and its derivatives in pharmaceuticals. Environ Res 142:452–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2015.07.014
Mowad CM (2000) Allergic contact dermatitis caused by parabens: 2 case reports and a review. Am J Contact Dermat 11(1):53–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1046-199x(00)90033-2
Oishi S (2002) Effects of propyl paraben on the male reproductive system. Food Chem Toxicol 40:1807–1813. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0278-6915(02)00204-1
Reichert G, Mizukawa A, Antonelli J, Goulart FDAB, Filippe TC, Azevedo JCRD (2020) Determination of parabens, triclosan, and lipid regulators in a subtropical urban river : effects of urban occupation. Water Air Soil Pollut 231(3): 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04508-y.
Russo I, Mese PD, Viretto M, Doronzo G, Mattiello L, Trovati M, Anfossi G (2008) Sodium azide, a bacteriostatic preservative contained in commercially available laboratory reagents, influences the responses of human platelets via the cGMP/PKG/VASP pathway. Clin Biochem 41(4–5):343–349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2007.10.012
Santos MMD, Brehm FDA, Filippe TC, Knapik HG, Azevedo JCRD (2016) Occurrence and risk assessment of parabens and triclosan in surface waters of southern Brazil: a problem of emerging compounds in an emerging country. B J Water Res 21(3):603–617. https://doi.org/10.1590/2318-0331.011616018
Soni MG, Carabin IG, Burdock GA (2005) Safety assessment of esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (parabens). Food Chem Toxicol 43:985–1015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2005.01.020
Sun Q, Li M, Ma C, Chen X, Xie X (2016) Seasonal and spatial variations of PPCP occurrence, removal and mass loading in three wastewater treatment plants located in different urbanization areas in Xiamen, China. Environ Pollut 208(Part B): 371–381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2015.10.003.
Tran TM, Minh TB, Kumosani TA, Kannan K (2016) Occurrence of phthalate diesters (phthalates), p-hydroxybenzoic acid esters (parabens), bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) and their derivatives in indoor dust from Vietnam: Implications for exposure. Chemosphere 144:1553–1559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.10.028
Tran TM, Tran-Lam TT, Mai HHT, Bach LHT, Nguyen HMN, Trinh HT, Dang LT, Minh TB, Quan T, Hoang AQ (2021) Parabens in personal care products and indoor dust from Hanoi, Vietnam: temporal trends, emission sources, and non-dietary exposure through dust ingestion. Sci Total Environ 761:143274. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143274
LT Truong R Tay HTT Nguyen 2020 Relationships between body mass index and self-reported motorcycle crashes in Vietnam Sustainability 12 https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041382
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) (2020) Parabens in cosmetics. https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/parabens-cosmetics#regulations. Accessed 17 Aug 2021
Wang W, Kannan K (2016) Fate of parabens and their metabolites in two wastewater treatment plants in New York State. United States Environ Sci Technol 50(3):1174–1181. https://doi.org/10.1021/asc.est.5b05516
Wei F, Mortimer M, Cheng H, Sang N, Guo LH (2021) Parabens as chemicals of emerging concern in the environment and humans: a review. Sci Total Environ 778:146150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146150
Yamamoto H, Tamura I, Hirata Y, Kato J, Kagota K, Katsuki S, Yamamoto A, Kagami Y, Tatarazako N (2011) Aquatic toxicity and ecological risk assessment of seven parabens: Individual and additive approach. Sci Total Environ 410–411:102–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.09.040
Yu K, Li B, Zhang T (2012) Direct rapid analysis of multiple PPCPs in municipal wastewater using ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry without SPE pre-concentration. Anal Chim Acta 738:59–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aca.2012.05.057
Yu Y, Huang Q, Wang Z, Zhang K, Tang C, Cui J, Feng J, Peng X (2011) Occurrence and behavior of pharmaceuticals, steroid hormones, and endocrine-disrupting personal care products in wastewater and the recipient river water of the Pearl River Delta, South China. J Environ Monit 13:871–878. https://doi.org/10.1039/C0EM00602E
Zhao X, Qiu W, Zheng Y, Xiong J, Gao C, Hu S (2019) Occurrence, distribution, bioaccumulation, and ecological risk of bisphenol analogs, parabens, and their metabolites in the Pearl River Estuary, South China. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 180:43–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.04.083
Zhu H, Kannan K (2020) Parabens in stretch mark creams: a source of exposure in pregnant and lactating women. Sci Total Environ 744:141016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141016
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Thuy Minh Le: Conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, writing—original draft. Phuong Thi Pham: Investigation, methodology, formal analysis. Truong Quang Nguyen: Methodology, formal analysis. Trung Quang Nguyen: Formal analysis. Minh Quang Bui: Formal analysis. Hoa Quynh Nguyen: Formal analysis. Nam Duc Vu: Writing—review and editing. Kurunthachalam Kannan: Supervision, writing—review and editing. Tri Manh Tran: Supervision, conceptualization, resources, methodology, writing—review and editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Ester Heath.
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Le, T.M., Pham, P.T., Nguyen, T.Q. et al. A survey of parabens in aquatic environments in Hanoi, Vietnam and its implications for human exposure and ecological risk. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 46767–46777 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19254-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-19254-3