US EPA

2915564 

Journal Article 

Transdermal uptake of diethyl phthalate and di(n-butyl) phthalate directly from air: Experimental verification 

Weschler, CJ; Bekö, G; Koch, HM; Salthammer, T; Schripp, T; Toftum, J; Clausen, G 

2015 

Yes 

Environmental Health Perspectives
ISSN: 0091-6765
EISSN: 1552-9924 

123 

10 

928-934 

English 

25850107 

10.1289/ehp.1409151 

WOS:000366698200011 

https://search.proquest.com/docview/1718342850?accountid=171501
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BACKGROUND: Fundamental considerations indicate that, for certain phthalate esters, dermal absorption from air is an uptake pathway that is comparable to or larger than inhalation. Yet this pathway has not been experimentally evaluated and has been largely overlooked when assessing uptake of phthalate esters.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated transdermal uptake, directly from air, of diethyl phthalate (DEP) and di(n-butyl) phthalate (DnBP) in humans.

METHODS: In a series of experiments, six human participants were exposed for six hours in a chamber containing deliberately elevated air concentrations of DEP and DnBP. The participants either wore a hood and breathed air with phthalate concentrations substantially below those in the chamber or did not wear a hood and breathed chamber air. All urinations were collected from initiation of exposure until 54 hours later. Metabolites of DEP and DnBP were measured in these samples and extrapolated to parent phthalate intakes, corrected for background and hood air exposures.

RESULTS: For DEP the median dermal uptake directly from air was 4.0 µg/(µg/m(3) in air) compared with an inhalation intake of 3.8 µg/(µg/m(3) in air). For DnBP the median dermal uptake from air was 3.1 µg/(µg/m(3) in air) compared with an inhalation intake of 3.9 µg/(µg/m(3) in air).

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that dermal uptake directly from air can be a meaningful exposure pathway for DEP and DnBP. For other semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) whose molecular weight and Kow are in the appropriate range, direct absorption from air is also anticipated to be significant. 

Adult; Air Pollutants/urine; Air Pollution, Indoor; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Dibutyl Phthalate/urine; Inhalation Exposure; Middle Aged; Phthalic Acids/urine; Skin Absorption; Tandem Mass Spectrometry