Temporal Changes of Urinary Oxidative Metabolites of Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate After the 2011 Phthalate Incident in Taiwanese Children: Findings of a Six Month Follow-Up

• Published in: Environmental science & technology 2013-12, Vol.47 (23), p.13754-13762
• Main Authors: Wu, Chia-Fang, Chen, Bai-Hsiun, Shiea, Jentaie, Chen, Eric K, Liu, Ching-Kuan, Chao, Mei-Chyn, Ho, Chi-Kung, Wu, Jiunn-Ren, Wu, Ming-Tsang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Chemical and industrial products toxicology. Toxic occupational diseases; Chemical compounds; Child; Child, Preschool; Children & youth; Contamination; Creatinine - urine; Diethylhexyl Phthalate - urine; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Food contamination & poisoning; Food toxicology; Humans; Male; Mass Spectrometry; Medical sciences; Metabolites; Oxidation-Reduction; Phthalic Acids - adverse effects; Statistics, Nonparametric; Taiwan; Time Factors; Toxicology; Urine; Various organic compounds
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es403141u

A major incident involving phthalates-contaminated foodstuffs occurred in Taiwan in May 2011, leading to the quick removal of tainted food items from store shelves. We investigated changes in urinary oxidative di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) metabolites, our proxy for exposure to DEHP-tainted foodstuffs in children ≤10 years, during the six months following withdrawal of the tainted food. Our hospital screened 60 possibly exposed children between May and June 2011. The children’s food intake information was collected, and they were administered one-spot urine samples at baseline and at the two and six month follow-ups. All three samples were measured for four oxidative DEHP metabolites, mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (5OH-MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (5oxo-MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (5cx-MEPP), and mono-(2-carboxymethylhexyl) phthalate (2cx-MMHP) by triple quadrupole liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Fifty-two children had been exposed. After excluding those without a full set of urine samples or adequate food intake information, 23 exposed children were studied. We found significantly positive correlations between DEHP daily intake and urinary 5OH-MEHP, 5oxo-MEHP, and 5cx-MEPP (p < 0.05). At the six month follow-up, all four metabolite concentrations had significantly decreased compared to the baseline. In conclusion, urinary DEHP metabolites decreased progressively in children after tainted food withdrawal, indicating that the main sources of phthalate contamination for children had been successfully controlled.