phthalates
Library Research Paper
(LRP)
Phthalates, Environmental Pollutants
Today, there is a great concern on chemical substances that accumulate in the environment which become pollutants in high concentrations that can cause serious threats and hazards in the environment and in the organisms living in it by imitating hormones and changing the normal functions of the endocrine system and by carrying diseases in humans and other organisms. These compounds can be naturally occurring in the environment but most of them are by-products of human activities like in chemical industries or companies. Phthalates are one of these chemical compounds that are found abundantly in the environment.
Phthalates belong to a family of chemical compounds or substances which are based on a benzene ring (a six carbon membered compound), to which is attached a pair of carbonyl groups in consecutive positions on the benzene ring (Sheeba et. al.). They are a family of industrial compounds with a common chemical structure, dialkylor alkyl arylestersof1, 2-benzenedicarboxylicacid. They are usually clear liquids when they are found in nature, most of them are odorless, some with faint sweet odors and some with faint yellow color. Phthalates are known to be one of the most abundant chemical compounds that act as pollutants in the world and they are commonly found in the environment or in nature where most humans and other living systems are exposed at low levels in air, water, and food specifically di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which is the most commonly used as plasticizers. It was reported that 18 billion pounds of phthalates are produced and used annually and 2M tons of DEHP are produced each year worldwide (Lorz, et. al.).
They are widely used as additives in plastic manufacturing to improve mechanical properties of plastic resin, particularly flexibility. They are however not covalently bounded to the resins; thus, phthalates are able to migrate and
(LRP)
Phthalates, Environmental Pollutants
Today, there is a great concern on chemical substances that accumulate in the environment which become pollutants in high concentrations that can cause serious threats and hazards in the environment and in the organisms living in it by imitating hormones and changing the normal functions of the endocrine system and by carrying diseases in humans and other organisms. These compounds can be naturally occurring in the environment but most of them are by-products of human activities like in chemical industries or companies. Phthalates are one of these chemical compounds that are found abundantly in the environment.
Phthalates belong to a family of chemical compounds or substances which are based on a benzene ring (a six carbon membered compound), to which is attached a pair of carbonyl groups in consecutive positions on the benzene ring (Sheeba et. al.). They are a family of industrial compounds with a common chemical structure, dialkylor alkyl arylestersof1, 2-benzenedicarboxylicacid. They are usually clear liquids when they are found in nature, most of them are odorless, some with faint sweet odors and some with faint yellow color. Phthalates are known to be one of the most abundant chemical compounds that act as pollutants in the world and they are commonly found in the environment or in nature where most humans and other living systems are exposed at low levels in air, water, and food specifically di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which is the most commonly used as plasticizers. It was reported that 18 billion pounds of phthalates are produced and used annually and 2M tons of DEHP are produced each year worldwide (Lorz, et. al.).
They are widely used as additives in plastic manufacturing to improve mechanical properties of plastic resin, particularly flexibility. They are however not covalently bounded to the resins; thus, phthalates are able to migrate and
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