Estimation Of Human Bisphenol A Exposure Level And Risk Assessment Based On Human Urinary Data And Wastewater Concentration Data

Bisphenol A(BPA)is an endocrine disrupting compound which can pose adverse effects on humans and animals.Besides,BPA is one of the most abundantly produced industrial chemicals worldwide.Given the wide application of BPA,it has been detected in various environmental media and foods.To evaluate BPA’s potential risk to health,it is important to know human daily intake.In this study,human biomonitoring and wastewater-based epidemiology were applied to calculate BPA exposure levels and to evaluate the current exposure risk of BPA.Recommendations for reducing the exposure risk of human were proposed.This study compared the results of the two methods.The limitations of the two methods and future research needs were discussed.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first time that human biomonitoring database and wastewater-based epidemiology method has been applied to the calculation of exposure level of BPA.This study thoroughly collected data on BPA concentration in human urine.A simple but effective method was adopted to estimate the average BPA intake of humans across six continents,average BPA intake in 30 countries and average BPA intake in different years.Global average intake of BPA for adults,children,pregnant women,and infants were 30.76 ng/kg bw/day,60.08 ng/kg bw/day,42.03 ng/kg bw/day and 92.68 ng/kg bw/day,respectively.When the urinary excretion sample size was large enough and over 1000,it was found that the national estimated BPA daily intake in the child group among countries,showed a good linear relationship with those of their corresponding adult group.Although the national and global estimated BPA daily intakes were generally below the temporary tolerable daily intake(t TDI)recommended by the European Food Safety Authority(EFSA),but some normal individuals’ daily intakes exceeded the t TDI.The annual trend of the average BPA intake was similar between the adult and child populations.The BPA intake in these two populations evidently decreased from 2000 to 2008 and then slightly increased from 2008 to 2011.The BPA intake in the child population started to decrease again from 2011,whereas the corresponding intake in the adult population continued to increase.The distinct difference likely contributed to the wide prohibition of the use of BPA in food-related products for children in many countries since 2009.The bans effectively decreased the total BPA exposure in the child population.This study also systematically collected data on BPA concentration in wastewater treatment plants.Based on this,wastewater-based epidemiology method was used to estimate the consumption of BPA in 16 countries.The average consumption of BPA in each country ranges from 0.02 μg/kg/day to 158.28 μg/kg/day,which is 15.8-4628.1 times that of adult BPA intakes.It shows that human excretion only accounts for 0.02%-6.32% of the sources of BPA in the inlet wastewater.The average removal rate of BPA in wastewater treatment plants in 16 countries was 50.32%-99.97%.Increasing the removal rate of BPA in wastewater treatment plants is one of the measures to reduce environmental risks.