Phthalate diesters (PAEs) are used as plasticizer additives to polymer chains to make the material more flexible and malleable. PAEs are bonded physically, not chemically, to the polymeric matrix and can migrate to and leach from the product surface, posing a serious danger to the environment and human health. There have been a number of studies on PAE concentrations in landfill leachate conducted in the EU and around the world, though few in Poland. In the present study, the leachate of five municipal landfills was analyzed for the presence of PAEs. Raw leachate was sampled four times over the period of one year in 2015/16. It was the first large study on this subject in Poland. PAEs were detected in the leachate samples on all of the landfills, thereby indicating that PAEs are ubiquitous environmental contaminants. The following PAEs were detected in at least one sample: Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Diethyl phthalate (DEP), Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), Di-isobutylphthalate (DIBP). Out of all ten PAEs, DEHP was the most predominant, with concentrations up to 73.9 μg/L. DEHP was present in 65% of analyzed samples (in 100% of samples in spring, 80% in winter, and 40% in summer and autumn). In only 25% of all samples DEHP was below the acceptable UE limit for surface water (1.3 μg/L), while 75% was from 1.7 to 56 times higher than that value. On the two largest landfills DEHP concentrations were observed during samples from all four seasons, including on a landfill which has been remediated and closed for the last 5 years.
Sciences: Comprehensive Works; Phthalates; Precipitation techniques; Surface water; Plastics; European Union; Polyvinyl chloride; Toxicity; Water pollution; Carcinogenicity; Environmental assessment; Embryonic growth stage; Contamination; Environmental monitoring; Acute toxicity; Butyl benzyl phthalate; Fertilization; Cell migration; Children; Sampling; Risk assessment; Stem cells; Landfill; Environment protection; Dissolved organic matter; Butyl phthalate; Environmental chemistry; Regulation; Air pollution; Studies; Assaying; Above ground tanks; Climatology; Exposure; Waste disposal; Biodegradation; Solvents; Wastewater facilities; Chemical industry; Biocompatibility; Seasonal variations; Environmental protection; Inhalation; Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate; Environment; Leachates; Body weight loss; Wastewater treatment; Leaching; Degradation; Pollutants; Wastewater treatment plants; Labelling; Matrices (mathematics); Coagulation; Breast cancer; Gene mapping; Acetates; Chemical bonds; Annual variations; Landfills; Enforcement; Councils; Drinking water; Metabolites; Acidic soils; Chemicals; Temperature effects; Weather; Flocculation
