Global perspectives on indoor phthalates and alternative plasticizers: Occurrence and key transport parameters

Zhuo Chen; Enze Tian; Yi Jiang; Jinhan Mo

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136506

Global perspectives on indoor phthalates and alternative plasticizers: Occurrence and key transport parameters

J Hazard Mater. 2024 Nov 14:482:136506. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136506. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhuo Chen¹, Enze Tian², Yi Jiang¹, Jinhan Mo³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
² Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory, Dongguan 523808, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Coastal Urban Resilient Infrastructures (Ministry of Education), College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Geotechnics and Tunnelling, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China; State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building and Urban Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China. Electronic address: mojinhan@szu.edu.cn.

PMID: 39577293
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136506

Abstract

Phthalates and emerging alternative plasticizers have garnered significant attention due to their ubiquitous presence indoors and potential adverse health effects. However, the occurrences and key transport parameters of indoor alternative plasticizers have not been sufficiently summarized and analyzed, complicating exposure evaluation and pollution control efforts. This study addresses the gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the occurrence and key transport parameters of the most reported plasticizers, including 10 phthalates and 14 alternative plasticizers. The plasticizer content in source materials was found to range up to 27.6 wt%. An empirical formula was developed to predict the surface-adjacent gaseous plasticizer concentration (y₀) of source materials, with values ranging from 0.015 to 64.7 μg/m³. Variations in plasticizer concentrations across source, gas, particle, and dust phases were thoroughly analyzed over both temporal and spatial dimensions from a global perspective, indicating significant differences between continents over time. A detailed investigation of phthalate regulations across continents suggests that the earlier enactment of phthalate bans in Europe is likely a key factor contributing to the most significant decrease in indoor phthalate concentrations. Furthermore, after systematically reviewing mass-transfer and partitioning theories, we developed empirical formulas to predict mass-transfer coefficients (h_m) and partition coefficients (K) for both phthalates and alternative plasticizers. Notably, the h_m and K parameters of the plasticizers were thoroughly calculated for typical indoor interfaces, including airborne particles, settled dust, and impermeable and permeable materials. Overall, this study advances the understanding of indoor plasticizers, facilitating health-risk assessment and the development of suitable control and monitoring technologies.

Keywords: Alternative plasticizer; Indoor environment; Mass transfer coefficient; Partition coefficient; Phthalate.

Publication types

Review