Phthalate Concentrations in Personal Care Products and the Cumulative Exposure to Female Adults and Infants in Shanghai

Recent findings of human reports demonstrated endocrine-disrupting action associated with phthalate exposures. The aims of this study were to (1) measure levels of 11 PE in 198 PCP collected from retail markets in Shanghai and (2) assess daily dermal exposure in adult females and infants.

The health risk of cumulative exposure to eight PE on reproductive system function derived from dermal PCP use was further assessed by utilizing the hazard index (HI) approach. Diethyl phthalate (DEP) was the most frequently detected compound (29.8%), followed by diisobutyl phthalate (DiBP) (6.6%). The geometric mean (GM) concentrations of daily exposure to DEP, bis(2-methoxyethyl) phthalate (DMEP), DiBP, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), diphenyl phthalate (DPP), and bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in female adults were 0.018, 0.012, 0.002, 0.001, 0.003, and 0.002 μg/kg body weight (bw)/d, respectively.