Accumulation of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate from polyvinyl chloride flooring into settled house dust and the effect on the bacterial community

The effect of phthalates exposure during pregnancy on asthma in infants aged 0 to 36 months: a birth cohort study

This cohort study sought to investigate the effects of phthalates exposure during pregnancy on offspring asthma and its association with placental stress and inflammatory factor mRNA expression levels. A total of 3474 pregnant women from the China Ma'anshan birth cohort participated in this study. Seven phthalate metabolites were detected in urine samples during pregnancy by solid phase extraction-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Placenta stress and inflammation mRNA expression were assessed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Early pregnancy may be the critical period when phthalates exposure increases the risk of asthma in infants and young children, and there is a certain gender difference in the risk of asthma in infants and young children. Moreover, through the placenta stress and inflammatory factor associated with infant asthma found anti-inflammatory factor of interleukin-10 (IL-10) mRNA expression will reduce the risk of 36-month-old male infant asthma. The expression of interleukin-4(IL-4) and macrophage (M2) biomarker cluster of differentiation 206(CD206) mRNA reduced the risk of asthma in 18-month-old female infants. Placental stress and inflammatory response were analyzed using mediating effects. Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) showed a complete mediating effect between mono-benzyl phthalate (MBzP) exposure in early pregnancy and asthma in 12-month-old males, and IL-10 also showed a complete mediating effect between mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBP) exposure in early and late pregnancy and asthma in 36-month-old males. In summary, exposure to phthalates during pregnancy may contribute to the development of asthma in infants, which may be associated with placental stress and inflammation.

Potential environmental risk assessment of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate emissions from a municipal solid waste landfill leachate

Background

In certain countries, including Poland, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) waste, together with di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) contained within (up to 60%), is mostly directed to municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills. From there, over time, it is released from the polymer matrix and can migrate with landfill leachate into the environment. The amount of DEHP placed on the Polish market since the start of industrial production and the prevalent landfilling disposal of PVC waste in Poland, indicate that DEHP pollution can increase risk factors in the future. The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of DEHP in leachates from a chosen MSW landfill directed to a local sewage treatment plant (STP) and estimate the associated potential risks to the environment.

Results

DEHP concentrations in leachates ranged from < LOQ to 394.4 µg/L, depending on the sampling year and season. DEHP is a pervasive environmental contaminant present in all investigated landfill leachate samples. The results from The European Union System for the Evaluation of Substances (EUSES) modelling related to DEHP in leachate directed to STP indicated potentially unacceptable risk to freshwater organisms; and birds and mammals feeding on earthworms (where a sewage sludge applications in agriculture take place). The results indicated low risk for other environmental components including local fresh-water sediment, local soil and microorganisms of STP, and freshwater fish-eating birds and mammals.

Conclusions

Future DEHP emissions may occur after the technical lifetime of the landfill and/or decay its bottom sealing. To avoid contamination, the monitoring of landfills after closure should include DEHP concentrations and last longer than the recommended (inter alia in Poland) 30 years, or until emissions from PVC to leachate are eliminated. More research on leachate of DEHP and its potential risks should be conducted, utilising detailed modelling which can including other landfills and different routes of DEHP emissions in leachates.

Bacteria-driven phthalic acid ester biodegradation: Current status and emerging opportunities

The extensive use of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) has led to their widespread distribution across various environments. As PAEs pose significant threats to human health, it is urgent to develop efficient strategies to eliminate them from environments. Bacteria-driven PAE biodegradation has been considered as an inexpensive yet effective strategy to restore the contaminated environments. Despite great advances in bacterial culturing and sequencing, the inherent complexity of indigenous microbial community hinders us to mechanistically understand in situ PAE biodegradation and efficiently harness the degrading power of bacteria. The synthetic microbial ecology provides us a simple and controllable model system to address this problem. In this review, we focus on the current progress of PAE biodegradation mediated by bacterial isolates and indigenous bacterial communities, and discuss the prospective of synthetic PAE-degrading bacterial communities in PAE biodegradation research. It is anticipated that the theories and approaches of synthetic microbial ecology will revolutionize the study of bacteria-driven PAE biodegradation and provide novel insights for developing effective bioremediation solutions.

Bioactive natural derivatives of phthalate ester

The advantages and emergent interest in organism-derived bioactive molecules have recently renewed scientific research attention in this field. Since 1967, about 52 different derivatives of phthalate ester (PE) have been reported from different taxonomic groups. Anthropogenic derivatives of the PEs are confined to petroleum products, as a plasticizer. These derivatives exhibit a potential toxicity on the living system, particularly those having a reduced molecular weight. An organism-derived PE differs chemically from that of synthetic ones in terms of the abundance of ¹⁴C and its bond structure, leading to its varied activities in the biological system. The study of the biosynthetic pathway and the optimization of parameters for product enhancement have advocated their organism-derived nature. Various bioactivities of such organisms-derived derivatives of phthalates such as antibacterial, antifungal, an inducer of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, antioxidant, cytotoxic, antitumor, allopathic, larvicidal, antifouling, chemotactic, antimelanogenic, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activities have been well documented. This is the first review that focuses on the positive bioactivities of such organism-derived PEs in detail. There is enormous scope for research in this field to search for the utilization of such organism-derived phthalate derivatives will have potential bioactivity, their possible use to improve their efficacy.