Determination and Distribution of Phthalate Diesters in Plastic Bottled Beverages Collected in Hanoi, Vietnam

Phthalates, industrial synthetic chemicals, are widely used to improve the flexibility of plastics. The more plastic products are used, the more phthalates are found in the environment. In spite of their significant benefits to our lives and industry, their bad effects on laboratory animals have been recorded in some studies. Nevertheless, until now the understanding of the occurrence, distribution, and risk of human exposure to phthalates has been limited in Vietnam. This study introduces a gas chromatography system in combination with mass spectrometry for analyzing nine phthalates in the beverage samples collected in Hanoi (Vietnam). The linearity ranged from 1.00 to 1,000 ng/mL with R ≥ 0.998. The method detection limits (MDLs) and method quantitative limits (MQLs) of phthalates in the beverage ranged from 0.01 to 0.05 ng/mL and 0.03 to 0.15 ng/mL, respectively. The recoveries of surrogate compounds ranged from 73.4 ± 5.5% (d4DPP) to 91.6 ± 9.9% (d4-BzBP), with RSD≤10.7%. The total concentrations of phthalates in several brands of beverage collected in Hanoi were found ranging from 18.2 to 86.0 ng/mL. Among the studied phthalates, the concentrations of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) and di(noctyl)phthalate (DnOP) were found much higher than the others’. However, the concentrations of phthalate in all the studied samples were below the maximum residual level specified in the relevant Vietnamese regulations.