Phthalates in diapers: Evaulation of human exposure and environmental phytalate release

Disposable diapers are a very important product for all societies in terms of baby and child health. Absorbency in disposable diapers is provided by sodium polyacrylate (SAP), aka super absorbent gels. Other materials used in its production are: polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, polyurethane, perfumes and dyes, dioxins, tributyltin (TBT), volatile organic compounds (VOC) and phthalates. In addition, some disposable diapers are bleached with chlorine, which is an extremely harmful and carcinogenic process. Phthalates are of interest in toxicological research and in the context of public health because of their presence in many consumer products and their potential adverse health effects. Although newborns/children are very sensitive to environmental risk factors, worldwide data on neonatal phthalate exposure and risk assessment are limited. A baby uses approximately 6,000 diapers until they are ready for potty training . The time required for a diaper thrown into the environment to disappear is around 400-500 years, and diapers are in the third place in the list of most consumed household waste. Baby diapers constitute 30% of the garbage that does not dissolve in environment. A baby's annual need for diapers supplies 130 kg of wood, 20 kg of petroleum stocks and 10 kg of chlorine. Therefore, the environmental effect consequences of disposable diapers range from climate change to pollution of natural resources. Although there are studies showing the presence of phthalates in various forms in diapers in other parts of the world, there are no studies in Turkey. In this context, the current thesis aims to investigate the presence of phthalates in diapers which are available for consumers in Turkey, and to investigate the amount of phthalates that can reach to abiotic environmental compartments through disposal of diapers. For this purpose, phthalate levels in 39 different brand diapers which are widely used and sold in supermarkets, health-cosmetics stores and e-commerce sites in Turkey, were determined using LC-MS-MS instrument. Based on the results, an assessment of exposure for babies/toddlers and an evaluation of environmental contaminatint load were conducted.