Du Qing-Ping, Chen Qia, Chen Xi-Chao, Li Wei, Zhao Xu, Gao Wei, Tu Keng, Liu Yun
Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Safety and Green Development in the Greater Bay Area, Ministry of Education, School of Ecology, Environment and Resources, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.
South China Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Guangzhou 510655, China.
Huan Jing Ke Xue. 2025 May 8;46(5):2684-2693. doi: 10.13227/j.hjkx.202404121.
Currently, research on phthalate esters （PAEs） mainly focuses on individual environmental media, such as water, soil, and air, lacking insights into the health risks associated with PAEs exposure across multiple environmental media for the Chinese population. Therefore, by integrating the published PAEs exposure data between 2010 and 2023, we explored the distribution pattern of PAEs contamination at the national scale, assessed the health risks mediated by multi-mediated PAEs exposure, and quantified the main contributing factors to the health risks of PAEs in China. A total of 3 457 PAEs exposure data points from 32 provinces were collected. The results indicated that dibutyl phthalate （DBP）, diisobutyl phthalate （DIBP）, and di（2-ethylhexyl） phthalate （DEHP） were the predominant pollutants in all environmental media. Zhejiang （120 ng·m3）, Heilongjiang （6 800 ng·L）, and Guangxi （0.298 mg·kg） exhibited the highest median concentrations and contents of PAEs in the atmosphere, water bodies, and soil, respectively. The risk assessment results revealed that the non-carcinogenic risks mediated by PAEs were below 1 for all provinces in China； however, children in Heilongjiang, Zhejiang, and Shanxi provinces faced carcinogenic risks due to exposure to PAEs across multiple media. DEHP was identified as the primary pollutant contributing to PAEs-related health risks （contributing approximately 71%-72%）, with water bodies and drinking water intake being the most significant exposure media and pathways, contributing approximately 48%-59% and 49%-59% of the total risk, respectively. Based on the established PAEs exposure database, this study reveals the current status of multi-mediated health risks of PAEs in the Chinese population, which can help to develop targeted strategies to reduce the health risks of PAEs exposure in the population.
