The Occurrence of Bisphenol A, Phthalates, Parabens and Other Environmental Phenolic Compounds in House Dust: A Review

Dust from indoor environments can contain significant amounts environmental contaminants and is an important source of human exposure to several toxicants. In this article, studies on the occurrence of several emerging environmental contaminants, namely bisphenol A (BPA), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), phthalates, parabens, and other environmental phenolic compounds in indoor dust from various countries, were reviewed. Issues associated with sampling of dust and the uncertainties introduced in the analytical procedures were also summarized. Finally, exposure to environmental phenolic compounds through dust ingestion was evaluated, and the contribution of indoor dust to the total daily exposure of toxicants was estimated. Overall, the reported concentrations of target chemicals in dust were found, in decreasing order, as phthalates (overall mean: 949 ± 669 µg/g, range: 0.9-10,900 µg/g) >>> nonylphenol (8.9 ± 6.8 µg/g, 2.6-29.2 µg/g) > BPA (3.6 ± 4.5 µg/g, 0.35-16.6 µg/g) > Σparabens (1.53 ± 0.52 µg/g, 0.03-125 µg/g) > pentachlorophenol (1.39 ± 2.31 µg/g, 0.050- 5.76 µg/g) > triclosan (0.65 ± 0.23 µg/g, 0.38-0.93 µg/g) > TBBPA (0.18 ± 0.14 µg/g, 0.049-0.505 µg/g). Despite the elevated levels of the target phenolic compounds reported in indoor dust, exposure of humans through dust ingestion was minor. Nevertheless, dust can be a significant source of exposure to phenolic compounds for infants and toddlers. Elevated levels of phenolic compounds were found in dust collected from certain microenvironments such as offices and laboratories.