Phthalates and substitutes

General-purpose plasticizers for PVC and other polymers

Phthalates are esters of phthalic acid (1,2-benzenedicarboxylic acid) with different alcohols. They are mainly used in the production of polyvinyl chloride to soften the PVC. Plasticized PVC is used in numerous applications such as wire insulations, floor tiles and carpets, wall papers, foils, synthetic leather, packaging, medical products (e.g. blood bags and flexible tubes), toys, childcare articles and sporting goods. The mean phthalate content of plasticized PVC is 30–35%. Phthalates are not chemically bound to PVC and may therefore outgas or be released upon contact with fluids and fat. Due to their wide use, phthalates are ubiquitous in the environment.
Released phthalates strongly adsorb to particles and may be subject to long-range transport in the atmosphere.
In soils and sediments phthalates are persistent. They have a high potential for bioaccumulation. Some phthalates are endocrine disruptors and are suspected to be toxic for reproduction and development.

Some phthalates have been forbidden in childcare articles and toys in the European Union (EU) since 2005. Since 2015, use of the phthalates DEHP (bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate), DBP (dibutyl phthalate), BBP (benzyl butyl phthalate), DINP (di-isononyl phthalate), DIDP (di-isodecyl phthalate) and DNOP (di-n-octyl phthalate) is prohibited without a specific authorisation.

Due to the strong regulation, the alternative use of long chained phthalates and different substance classes is on the rise. Hexamoll^® DINCH^® (Diisononyl cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylate) is an example of these substitute plasticizers.

The above mentioned substances are degraded when entering the body. Therefore only their degradation products (metabolites) can be analysed. The first metabolites are monoesters which are further degraded to other metabolites.

Recommended analysis examples

• Phthalates in human samples

Sub-groups

• Dimethyl phthalate

  Short-chain phthalate
• Diethyl phthalate

  Short-chain phthalate
• Di-n-butyl phthalate

  Short-chain phthalate
• Diisobutyl phthalate

  Short-chain phthalate whose use in packaging materials for food has been withdrawn voluntarily by the industry in 2007
• Di-n-pentyl phthalate

  A phthalate, which might soon be subject to more severe regulation
• Dicyclohexyl phthalate

  Phthalate with two cyclohexane rings as ester rests
• Di-n-octyl phthalate

  Structural isomer of DEHP
• Diethylhexyl phthalate

  Formerly the world's most important plasticizer among the chemical group of phthalates
• Diisononyl phthalate

  Mixture of phthalate diesters differing slightly in branching of the alcohol chains and main substitute of DEHP as plasticizer
• Di(2-propylheptyl)phthalate (DPHP)

  Analytically difficult to grasp
• Butylbenzyl phthalate

  Only phthalate of commercial importance with differing side chains, one of them representing a benzyl group
• Hexamoll DINCH

  Important substitute for phthalates
• Diethylhexylterephthalat (DEHTP)

  Important substitute for phthalates

Specimen

• Students

  Student groups with an even number of female and male students at the age of 20 to 29.

  Search data

Sampling area

Sampling period

Extended information

Links to external information and legislation

• Corrigendum to Commission Regulation (EU) No 143/2011 of 17 February 2011 amending Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals ('REACH') (external)
• Commission Regulation (EU) No 143/2011 of 17 February 2011 amending Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals ('REACH') (external)
• Commission Regulation (EC) No 552/2009 of 22 June 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) as regards Annex XVII (external)
• Band I: Phthalat-Belastung der Bevölkerung in Deutschland: Expositionsrelevante Quellen, Aufnahmepfade und Toxikokinetik am Beispiel von DEHP und DINP (external)

Literature

• Internal exposure of young German adults to di(2-propylheptyl) phthalate (DPHP): Trends in 24-h urine samples from the German Environmental Specimen Bank 1999-2017
  Schmidtkunz, Christoph; Gries, Wolfgang; Weber, Till; Leng, Gabriele; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike
  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (2019), online 14 February 2019, 2019
  
• Internal phthalate exposure over the last two decades – A retrospective human biomonitoring study
  Wittassek, Matthias; Wiesmüller, Gerhard A.; Koch, Holger M.; Eckard, Rolf; Dobler, Lorenz; Helm, Dieter; Müller, Johannes; Angerer, Jürgen; Schlüter, Christoph
  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 210 (2007), 3-4, 319-333, 2007
  
• Trends of the internal phthalate exposure of young adults in Germany - Follow-up of a retrospective human biomonitoring study
  Göen, Thomas; Dobler, Lorenz; Koschorreck, Jan; Müller, Johannes; Wiesmüller, Gerhard A.; Drexler, Hans; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike
  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 215 (2011), 1, 36-45, 2011
  
• Phthalate metabolites in 24-h urine samples of the German Environmental Specimen Bank (ESB) from 1988 to 2015 and a comparison with US NHANES data from 1999 to 2012
  Koch, Holger M.; Rüther, Maria; Schütze, André; Conrad, André; Pälmke, Claudia; Apel, Petra; Brüning, Thomas, Kolossa-Gehring, Marike
  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (2016), online 9 November 2016, 2016
  
• Bis-(2-propylheptyl)phthalate (DPHP) metabolites emerging in 24 hour urine samples from the German Environmental Specimen Bank (1999 to 2012)
  Schütze, André; Gries, Wolfgang; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Apel, Petra; Schröter-Kermani, Christa; Fiddicke, Ulrike; Leng, Gabriele; Brüning, Thomas; Koch, Holger M.
  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (2015), online 1 June 2015, 2015
  
• Entering markets and bodies: increasing levels of the novel plasticizer Hexamoll® DINCH® in 24 hr urine samples from the German Environmental Specimen Bank
  Schütze, André; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Apel, Petra; Brüning, Thomas; Koch, Holger M.
  International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health (2013), online 16 August 2013, 2013
  
• German Environmental Specimen Bank: 24-hour urine samples from 1999 to 2017 reveal rapid increase in exposure to the para-phthalate plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHTP)
  Lessmann, Frederik; Kolossa-Gehring, Marike; Apel, Petra; Rüther, Maria; Pälmke, Claudia; Harth, Volker; Brüning, Thomas; Koch, Holger Martin
  Environment International 132 (2019), 105102, 2019