Abstract

VAZQUEZ FRANCISCA, Marcela et al. Presence of phthalates in bottled water sold in Mexico City and their migration when stored at different temperatures. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2017, vol.8, n.5, pp.91-103.  Epub July 30, 2021. ISSN 2007-2422.  https://doi.org/10.24850/j-tyca-2017-05-06.

The objectives of this study were to research the presence of phthalates in 4 brands of bottled water and assess the effect of temperature on migration over time. Sampling was conducted over 6 months with 4 different water brands sold in Mexico City, in order to determine their phthalate ester content using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition, the migration of phthalate esters from their plastic containers (1.5 L) to the water was evaluated over 70 days at 3 temperatures (8±2°C; 22-25°C; 35 ± 1°C). Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were identified in all 4 brands of bottled water, with frequencies of 54, 25 and 96%, respectively. Two samples of brand 1 exceeded the allowable limit for this compound (6 µg L-1), while DBP and BBP phthalate levels were below the limit set by United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of 455 and 100 µg L-1, respectively. DEHP was the most abundant phthalate in the samples studied, which increased over the 70 days and reached saturation in all the treatments evaluated. These results alert regulatory agencies to the need to establish programs to monitor bottled water so as to evaluate DEHP and other phthalates that have been directly linked to endocrine diseases worldwide.

Keywords : Phthalates; bottled water; migration; temperature; storage.