Human biomonitoring reference values and characteristics of Phthalate exposure in the general population of Taiwan: Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants 2013-2016.

Since a 2011 incident involving phthalate-tainted food, Taiwanese people have become concerned with food quality, and they are still being exposed to certain levels of phthalates. However, no nationwide human biomonitoring survey had been conducted to gather information on levels or reference values (RVs) of phthalates in the Taiwanese population. We aimed to establish the urinary levels and RVs of phthalate metabolites and identify exposure characteristics among Taiwan's population. We enrolled 1857 participants 7 years of age and older from the Taiwan Environmental Survey for Toxicants (TESTs) conducted during 2013-2016. Levels of 11 phthalate metabolites in each participant's urine samples were determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. For all phthalate metabolites except for mono-methyl phthalate (MMP), mono-ethyl phthalate (MEP), and mono-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP), urinary median levels were significantly higher in the 7-17-year old group than in the ≥18-year-old group. For most phthalate metabolites and in the general population, the geometric...