Assessing population exposure to phthalate plasticizers in thirteen Spanish cities through the analysis of wastewater

Phthalates are widely used plasticizers that produce endocrine-disrupting disorders. Quantifying exposure is crucial to perform risk assessments and develop proper health measures. Herein, a wastewater-based epidemiology approach has been applied estimate human six of the mostly phthalates within Spanish population. Wastewater samples were collected over four weekdays from seventeen wastewater treatment plants serving thirteen cities ca. 6 million people (12.8 % population). Phthalate metabolite loads in transformed into concentrations urine daily levels parent phthalates. Considering all sampled sites, population-weighted overall means estimated varied between 0.7 ng/mL 520 ng/mL. Very high levels, compared biomonitoring data, for monomethyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate. This, together with literature data pointing other sources this sewage led its exclusion assessments. For remaining metabolites, closer those found urine. Their 4-days average ranged 2 1347 μg/(day∙inh), exceeding some sites thresholds set di-i-butyl phthalate di-n-buthyl by European Food Safety Authority.