Exposure to plasticizers in city waste recycling: Focused on the size-fractioned particulate-bound phthalates and bisphenols

Phthalate (PAEs) and Bisphenols (BPs) are plasticizers or additives in consumer products. They are typical endocrine disruptors, and potential health hazards may occur when people are exposed to them through inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact. The current research on inhalation exposure pays limited attention to the particle distribution of PAEs and BPs in air, although particulate-bound pollutants are usually size-dependent. In this study, we discussed the size resolution of PAEs and BPs in air particles from city waste recycling plants. With paired urine samples of the workers, we also compared the internal and external exposure of PAEs and BPs and related potential health risks. The particulate-bound PAEs and BPs concentrated mainly on coarse particles (Dp > 2.1 µm), with a bimodal distribution, and the peak particle size ranged from 9–10 to 4.7–5.85 µm, respectively. Model calculation revealed that the deposition fluxes of PAEs in different respiratory regions followed the sequence of head airways (167±92.8 ng/h) > alveolar region (18.9 ± 9.96 ng/h) > tracheobronchial region (9.20±5.22 ng/h), and the similar trends went for BPs. The daily intakes of PAEs and BPs via dust ingestion were higher than those from respiratory inhalation and dermal contact, with mean value of 96 and 0.88 ng/(kg-bw day), respectively. For internal exposure, the estimated daily intakes of PAEs for waste recycling workers were higher than those in e-waste dismantling workers, while the exposure levels of bisphenols were comparable. Overall, the potential health risks from inhalation exposure to particulate-bound PAEs and BPs were low.