Phosphorous flame retardants and plasticizers (PFRs) have been increasingly used in the past years. Because of their ubiquity and the multiple exposure routes, they may pose a threat to human health. At the individual level, exposure to contaminants is generally assessed through the analysis of specific biomarkers in biological matrices. However, these studies are subject to limitations regarding monitoring of exposure in the population over time and space. In particular, they are expensive, often lack a temporal dimension and suffer from selection bias. In this perspective, wastewater analysis complements human biomonitoring by gathering population-wide information about exposure to contaminants. This work focused on exploring the possibility of monitoring human exposure to PFRs through the analysis of urban wastewater. Solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry were used to analyze selected biomarkers. Both spatial and temporal differences in levels of selected biomarkers were investigated by collecting samples in different locations and time periods. Substantial variability could be highlighted from a geographical perspective, suggesting that differences in exposure to PFRs exist among the investigated catchments. Time trends between 2013 and 2016 were investigated for one location and significant patterns could be highlighted. In general, these trends were in line with results from human biomonitoring studies and reports about production volumes. Finally, using stochastic urine production models and Monte Carlo simulations, attempts were made to estimate average urinary concentrations. Obtained concentrations were generally higher compared to results from human biomonitoring surveys. This could be linked to contribution from other excretion sources (e.g., feces), uncertainties in the calculation approach, input from external sources or differences in the sampling period (i.e., wastewater samples are collected over 24h, whilst spot urine samples are used in human studies).

Mining the chemical information of urban wastewater: Monitoring human exposure to phosphorous flame retardants and plasticizers

256th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.