ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR CHEMICALS - Plastics and Environmental Sustainability - page 296

Table 7.5 Common Phthalate Plasticizers and their
Characteristics

Carc a Mu t b Plasticizer Code C-chain

length

log
K

Solubility
(mg/l)

Ref.
dosage

TDI

1 µg/
kg/day

1
µg/
kg/
day

Di(2-ethylhexyl)
phthalate

DEHP 6 7.5 0.003 C/B +/− 20 37

Diisononyl
phthalate

DINP 8-9 8.8 0.0006 N − 120 150

Dibutyl
phthalate

DBP 4 4.6 11.2 D +/− 100 10

Diisodecyl
phthalate

DIDP 9-10 8.8 0.0002 N − N 150

8.1 5.0 × 10 −4 N

Di- n -octyl
phthalate

DNOP 8 N N N

4.8 2.8 × 10 −3 C Butyl benzyl

phthalate

BBP 4.6 − 200 200

a Carcinogenicity: Group B, possibly carcinogenic; Group C, not classified; and
Group D, probably not carcinogenic to humans. N, not classified. The classification
based on the USEPA and IARC.
b Mutagenicity RfDS and TDI values are from Bang et al. (2012).

Once released into the environment, phthalates degrade rapidly; the
half-life of DEHP (the most widely used phthalate) in water is only 2-3
weeks. But in air, or when bound to soil, phthalates can be stable for longer
periods of time. The reported levels of DEHP, the most common phthalate,
in air, water, and soil (see Table 7.6 ) illustrate this. As with other EDCs,
phthalates are also ubiquitous in the environment and are present in the
humanbody,breastmilk,blood,andurine.Inonestudy,over75%oftheUS
population were found to have phthalate metabolites in the urine (Stahlhut