Biomarker-Determined Nonylphenol Exposure and Associated Risks in Children of Thailand, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia

Understanding the impact of soil components on the environmental existence of Nonylphenol:From the perspective of soil aggregates

Nonylphenol (4-NP) has significant adverse effects on the male reproductive system. 4-NP is commonly used in agriculture as a plasticizer and pesticide emulsifier. In the current study, two soil samples with different textures were collected to evaluate the impact of soil components on the environmental existence of 4-NP among soil aggregates. It was found that the presence of soil POM resulted in 4-NP exhibiting a significantly polarized distribution in soil aggregates, instead of the expected increase in content with decreasing particle size. High levels of organic matter and metal oxides result in a high carrying capacity of small aggregates for 4-NP in both soil textures, while POM results in a higher carrying capacity of large aggregates for 4-NP in clay soil. Another important finding is that the existence of 4-NP in soil was regulated by the percentage of aggregates. The results of contribution shown that although small aggregates in sand presented stronger 4-NP carrying capacity, whereas 4-NP was mainly distributed in large aggregates in sand. For clay soil, 4-NP was predominantly located in small aggregates with the 4-NP contributions of small aggregates amounting to 63.17%, despite the highest carrying capacity of 4-NP was observed in large aggregates. These results provide a theoretical basis to investigate the transport and transformation of 4-NP in the soil environment.

Emerging N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) and 6PPD quinone in paired human plasma and urine from Tianjin, China: Preliminary assessment with demographic factors

With increasing concerns about N-(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD) and 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-Q), relevant environmental investigations and toxicological research have sprung up in recent years. However, limited information could be found for human body burden assessment. This work collected and analyzed 200 samples consisting of paired urine and plasma samples from participants (50 male and 50 female) in Tianjin, China. Low detection frequencies (DF, <15 %) were found except for urinary 6PPD-Q (86 %), which suggested the poor residue tendency of 6PPD and 6PPD-Q in blood. The low DFs also lead to no substantial association between two chemicals. Data analysis based on urinary 6PPD-Q showed a significant difference between males and females (p < 0.05). No significant correlation was found for other demographic factors (Body Mass Index (BMI), age, drinking, and smoking). The mean values of daily excretion (ng/kg bw/day) calculated using urinary 6PPD-Q for females and males were 7.381 ng/kg bw/day (female) and 3.360 ng/kg bw/day (male), and apparently female suffered higher daily exposure. Further analysis with daily excretion and ALT (alanine aminotransferase)/TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone)/ blood cell analysis indicators found a potential correlation with 6PPD-Q daily excretion and liver/immune functions. Considering this preliminary assessment, systematic research targeting the potential organs at relevant concentrations is required.

Assessment of nonylphenol exposure based on global urinary concentration data and its risk analysis

Nonylphenol (NP) has been recognized as a priority hazardous substance because of its estrogenic activity and ubiquity in the environment. Therefore, it is important to understand the daily intake of NP in humans and evaluate the potential health risks of NP. The median or average estimated daily intake (EDI) of NP was estimated based on urinary NP or alkyl-chain-oxidized NP metabolites concentration data from published epidemiological studies. In brief, we acquired 34 peer-reviewed publications, which contained 14235 samples from twelve countries or regions. The global average estimated daily intake of NP was 1.003 μg/(kg bw·day), which was lower than the tolerable daily intake recommended by the Danish Veterinary and Food Authority [5 μg/(kg bw·day)]. Korea had the highest exposure level [3.471 μg/(kg bw·day)] among different countries or regions. Compared with the adult [0.743 μg/(kg bw·day)] and pregnant women [0.806 μg/(kg bw·day)] groups, the children group had the highest estimated daily intake of NP at 2.368 μg/(kg bw·day). Besides, the global NP risk hazard quotient was 0.201, and the risk hazard quotients of all countries or regions were less than 1. However, the global HQ value of the 95th quantile population was 2.299, which was much higher than 1, the potential health risk cannot be ignored and needs to be confirmed by more research. To our knowledge, this is the first study to assess the overall NP exposure levels based on published biomonitoring data, and has important implications for assessing the potential effects of NP exposure on human health. In addition, OH-NP is a robust and sensitive novel biomarker for NP, there are fewer studies on the application of this biomarker, and more studies are needed in the future for quantitative exposure and risk assessment of NP.

Nonylphenol and its derivatives: Environmental distribution, treatment strategy, management and future perspectives

In recent years, emerging pollutants, including nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE), have become a prominent topic. These substances are also classified as persistent organic pollutants. NP significantly affects the hormone secretion of organisms and exhibits neurotoxicity, which can affect the human hippocampus. Therefore, various countries are paying increased attention to NP regulation. NPEs are precursors of NPs and are widely used in the manufacture of various detergents and lubricants. NPEs can easily decompose into NPs, which possess strong biological and environmental toxicity. This review primarily addresses the distribution, toxicity mechanisms and performance, degradation technologies, management policies, and green alternative reagents of NPs and NPEs. Traditional treatment measures have been unable to completely remove NP from wastewater. With the progressively tightening management and regulatory policies, identifying proficient and convenient treatment methods and a sustainable substitute reagent with comparable product effectiveness is crucial.

Urinary concentrations of environmental phenol among pregnant women in the Japan Environment and Children's Study

Humans are exposed to various bisphenols, alkylphenols and nitrophenols through dietary intake, food packaging and container materials, indoor and outdoor air/dust. This study aimed to evaluate exposure of Japanese pregnant women to environmental phenols by measuring target compounds in urine samples. From a cohort of the Japan Environment and Children's Study, 4577 pregnant women were selected. Bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol AF (BPAF), para-nitrophenol (PNP), 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol (PNMC), branched 4-nonylphenol (4-NP), linear 4-nonylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP) were analysed using a high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled to a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer. The urinary metabolite data were combined with a questionnaire to examine the determinants of phenol exposure by machine learning. The estimated daily intake (EDI) and hazard quotient (HQ) of BPA were calculated. PNP (68.2%) and BPA (71.5%) had the highest detection frequencies, with median concentrations of 0.76 and 0.46 μg/g creatinine, respectively. PNMC, BPS, BPF and 4-NP were determined in 24.9%, 11.9%, 1.3% and 0.4% of samples, respectively, whereas BPAF (0.02%) and 4-t-OP (0.02%) were only determined in a few samples. The PNP concentrations measured in this study were comparable with those reported in previous studies, whereas the BPA concentrations were lower than those reported previously worldwide. The EDI of BPA was 0.014 μg/kg body weight/day. Compared with the tolerable daily intake set by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the median (95th percentile) HQ was 0.044 (0.2). This indicates that the observed levels of BPA exposure pose a negligible health risk to Japanese pregnant women. Determinants of bisphenol and nitrophenol exposure could not be identified by analysing the questionnaire solely, suggesting that biological measurement is necessary to assess exposure of pregnant women to bisphenols and nitrophenols. This is the first study to report environmental phenol exposure of Japanese pregnant women on a nationwide scale.

Relationship between Eating Habits and 4-Nonylphenol Concentration in Breast Milk of Women in Slovakia

4-Nonylphenol belongs to the alkylphenol group of chemicals, and its high occurrence in the environment can cause an adverse effect on human health. Breast milk can serve as a marker to take measure of human exposure to these chemicals through different routes of exposure. In this work, the influence of selected factors (the kind of water drank by the mothers; the consumption of fish, pork, and beef; wearing gloves; using nail polish, gel nails, vitamins, and medication) on the concentration on 4-nonylphenol in 89 breast milk samples was studied. The concentrations of nonylphenol in breast milk were determined by HPLC with fluorescence detection. The lowest and highest concentrations of 4-nonylphenol in breast milk were 0.97 ng/mL and 4.37 ng/mL, respectively. Statistical significance was observed for the consumption of pork (p = 0.048) and fish (0.041) in relation to the 4-nonylphenol concentration. Certain parameters (use of gel nails, beef consumption, and vitamin supplementation) were at the border of statistical significance (p = 0.06). Other parameters did not show any statistical significance. The results showed that breast milk in Slovakia does not contain a harmful dose of 4-nonylphenol and does not cause health problems. But it is necessary to continue this research and perform extended screening on a larger number of samples.

The impact of perceived risk of online takeout packaging and the moderating role of educational level

With the rapid development of e-commerce and the impact of COVID-19, online takeout has become the first choice of more and more consumers. Previous research has indicated that food packaging is of great significance to marketing performance, yet very little is known about the mechanisms through which food packaging pollution risk affects online takeout consumption. This study proposes an expanded model of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by incorporating the Concept of Perceived Risk (CPR) to analyze the mechanism of consumers' packaging pollution risk perception (PPRP) on their purchasing intention toward online takeout. Online survey was performed to collect data from 336 valid respondents in China, which was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The research findings verify the effectiveness of the TPB in the context of Chinese online takeout. Notably, the PPRP of online takeout was found to have a significant negative impact on consumers' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC). It was also confirmed that consumers' attitudes, subjective norms, and PBC regarding online takeout partially mediate the negative relationship between PPRP and purchase intention. In addition, the findings corroborate the granular nuances among three groups concerning consumers' education level. The results do not only provide suggestions to the online takeout industry but also contribute theoretical value and practical significance for the improvement of sustainable food consumption.