PM 2.5 -bound phthalates in indoor and outdoor air in Beijing: Seasonal distributions and human exposure via inhalation.

Phthalates (phthalates esters, PAEs) are ubiquitous contaminants in various indoor and outdoor environment. Exposure to PAEs exerts adverse effects on human health. Seasonal variations of air phthalate concentrations and paired indoor and outdoor air phthalate level are rarely known. In this study, six priority phthalates in PM _2.5 were investigated in three indoor sites (a students' dormitory, a residential apartment and an office) and one outdoor site in Beijing, China across four seasons. PM _2.5 samples were collected at indoor and outdoor environment simultaneously. Total PAEs in four sites were 468 ng/m ³ (range: 9.52-1460 ng/m ³ ), 498 ng/m ³ (range: 11.2-4790 ng/m ³ ), 280 ng/m ³ (range: 4.08-1060 ng/m ³ ), and 125 ng/m ³ (range: 4.10-4000 ng/m ³ ), respectively. DBP and DEHP were the most abundant PAEs across the four sampling sites, accounting for 76.3%-97.7% of the total PM _2.5 -bound PAEs. Obvious seasonal variation of total PAEs was observed. PAEs concentrations were weakly or poorly correlated with PM _2.5 levels. Indoor DBP and DEHP concentrations were much higher than those of outdoor, suggesting the importance of indoor DBP and DEHP sources. Principal component analysis revealed that cosmetics and personal care products, plasticizer and PVC products may be important sources for indoor PM _2.5 -bound PAEs. Daily intakes of PAEs via inhalation for infants, student, and office-workers were 5.0, 0.8 and 0.9 μg/(kg-bw⋅day), respectively according to human exposure estimation.
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