Elsevier

Science of The Total Environment

Volume 508, 1 March 2015, Pages 575-584
Science of The Total Environment

Maternal and infant exposure to environmental phenols as measured in multiple biological matrices

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.107Get rights and content
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open access

Highlights

  • BPA and triclosan were measured in maternal and infant biospecimens

  • Triclosan was detected in over 80% of maternal urines and meconium

  • BPA was detected in over 90% of maternal urines and 40% of infant urines

Abstract

Background

Results of recent national surveys have shown the high prevalence of exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and triclosan (TCS) among the general population; however biomonitoring data for pregnant women and infants are limited.

Methods

Women (n = 80) were recruited from early prenatal clinics and asked to collect urine samples multiple times during pregnancy and once 2–3 months post-partum. Samples of infant urine and meconium as well as breast milk and infant formula were also collected. Biospecimens were analyzed by GC–MS/MS for BPA, TCS and triclocarban (TCC).

Results

Triclosan was detected in over 80% of the maternal urines (geometric mean (GM): 21.61 μg/L), 60% of the infant urines (GM: 2.8 μg/L), 46% of the breast milk and 80% of the meconium samples. Triclocarban was rarely detected in any of the biospecimens. Median total BPA concentrations were 1.21 and 0.24 μg/L in maternal and infant urines, respectively. Free BPA was detected in only 11% of infant urine samples. The meconium of female infants had significantly higher concentrations of total BPA and TCS than those of males, while no differences were observed in infant urine concentrations by sex.

Conclusions

We found widespread exposure among pregnant women and infants to environmental phenols, with large inter-individual variability in exposure to triclosan. These data will contribute to the risk assessment of these chemicals, especially in susceptible sub-populations.

Keywords

Bisphenol A
Triclosan
Urine
Infant
Pregnancy
Meconium

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