Due to concerns about its ability to cause endocrine disruption, bisphenol A (BPA) has largely been phased out of consumer goods. In many cases, different bisphenol analogues have been used in place of BPA. Recent studies have shown that these BPA replacements can be detected in human urine, household dust, and river sediments. Even though these studies suggest that the bisphenols used as BPA replacements may be ubiquitous, little is known about their environmental fates. We thus examined the photochemical behavior of two such bisphenols (BPF and BPS) under simulated solar and natural sunlight. Both BPS and BPF were photolabile, with BPS degrading by direct photolysis and BPF through sensitized processes. The late summer half-life of BPS in pH 7 water at 47� latitude was measured to be 17 hours. Although BPF degrades relatively slowly by direct photolysis at environmentally realistic pH values, it photodegrades rapidly in the presence of natural organic matter (NOM). Its indirect photolysis rates scaled with NOM concentration. Mechanistic studies were performed to determine indirect photolysis pathways responsible for the rate enhancements seen with BPF. Environmental half-lives for BPF are expected to vary based on solution pH as well as on the source and concentration of NOM.

Photochemical studies of current use bisphenols: BPA replacements BPS and BPF

245th National Meeting (2013)

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