Endocrine disruptors in boiled drinking water carried in plastic containers: a pilot study in Thrissur, Kerala, India

Boiled drinking water is carried by students to schools and colleges in plastic containers. However, the risk associated with drinking water stored in plastic containers is very real especially the question of leachates finding their way into the water stored in these containers. In this pilot study, we identified the most common plastic container used by students to carry water and the factors that govern their choice. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was identified as the most favored plastic used to carry water. PET bottles were then subject to treatments that mimic conditions representative of normal consumer usage. The water sample collected was tested for the presence of phthalates, antimony & titanium, and their content estimated by gas chromatography and atomic absorption spectra. Although phthalates and antimony leach into water from PET bottles their concentration was not high enough to pose a threat to human life. However, the trend of increasing antimony concentration with temperature and time is a cause of concern because of its role as endocrine disruptors. Prolonged and repeated use of PET bottles to carry water, especially warm water may lead to health problems in the community.

Association of plasma antimony concentration with markers of liver function in Chinese adults

Environmental contextAntimony pollution has become a global issue given its wide distribution in the environment and its potential threat to human health. This large population-based study demonstrated that exposure to high levels of antimony may impair liver function in adults. The study highlights the potential hazard to liver function of antimony exposure, and provides convincing evidence of the need to monitor and control antimony exposure in the prevention of liver dysfunction. AbstractThe association of antimony exposure with serum liver enzymes and bilirubin levels remains unknown. We aimed to prospectively evaluate the associations of the plasma antimony concentration with serum liver enzymes [alkaline phosphatase (ALP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)] and bilirubin [total (TBil), direct (DBil) and indirect bilirubin (IBil)] levels among the Chinese middle-aged and elderly population. A total of 4733 participants who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer and chronic hepatitis at the baseline survey (2008–2010) of the Dongfeng-Tongji cohort were included in the current study. We measured the baseline plasma antimony concentration by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and the serum liver enzymes and bilirubin levels at the resurvey visit (2013) by using an automatic analyser. In the fully adjusted generalised linear models, we observed that an increased plasma antimony concentration was significantly associated with higher bilirubin levels. Moreover, we found that plasma antimony was positively associated with the elevation of DBil (≥7.0μmolL−1), where the adjusted odds ratios (ORs) comparing the extreme tertiles was 1.35 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.70, P trend=0.01). Spline regression analyses indicated that the plasma antimony concentration was linearly associated with the elevation of TBil and DBil (overall P=0.004 and P=0.002 respectively). Our study suggested that exposure to high levels of antimony may impair liver function in adults. Further investigations are warranted to confirm these findings in other populations.

Electro-Crystallization of Antimony from Acidic and Alkaline Baths in Diaphragm-Less Cell

Studies based on electrocrystallization of antimony were carried out to evaluate the effects of current density and antimony concentration in the electrolytic bath on cathodic current efficiency, energy consumption, and quality of the deposits during electrowinning of antimony from Sb2O3-HCl and Sb2S3-NaOH systems. In acidic bath, current efficiency for electrodeposition of antimony increases with the increase in current density till 150 A/m2, beyond which it follows a trend of gradual diminution. On varying antimony concentration in the bath, current efficiency was found to improve significantly and the optimum antimony concentration in Sb2O3-HCl system was evaluated to be about 60 g/L. In alkaline bath, current efficiency was observed to be maximum at 50 A/m2and further, with the increase in current density it progressively decreases. However, energy consumption for electrowinning of antimony in both of the baths gradually increases with the increase in current density. At a current density less than 150 A/m2, alkaline bath was found to be more current efficient in comparison to the acidic bath. Crystallographic studies by XRD, imaging by optical microscopic technique and morphological studies by SEM were also carried out to differentiate antimony deposits obtained from acidic and alkaline baths.

Antimony release in PET bottled natural water in Lebanon

Antimony (Sb) leaching from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottling material was assessed in eight registered Lebanese brands of bottled natural water as a function of contact time. The study was performed indoors at 22 °C in the dark and outdoors at a maximum temperature of 45 °C under sunlight. The leached antimony concentration increased with contact time for all of the studied brands except one. The antimony concentration reached 5.5 μg/L after 544 days of contact time with PET packaging. Small bottles with large contact surface area had higher antimony concentration. However, outdoor storage under sunlight at temperatures below 45 °C did not reveal a significant effect on antimony release. Among some physico-chemical parameters studied (pH, calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate), only calcium concentration showed a significant effect on antimony release. The rate of antimony leaching, normalized to the surface to volume ratio of the water bottle, fits the exponential model Sb/(S/V) = 0.562e0.0041t, with R2 = 0.87. Atomic absorption spectroscopy analysis of the different PET packaging material showed an antimony concentration between 80.6 and 352.7 mg Sb/kg PET.

The influence of pet containers on antimony concentration in bottled drinking water

Antimony trioxide (Sb2O3) is the most frequently used catalyst in the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) manufacture. As a result, antimony is incorporated into PET bottles at concentration level of 100-300 mg/kg. PET containers are used for drinking water and beverages, as well as food packaging and in the pharmaceutical industry. Thus, it is important to understand the factors that may influence the release of antimony from the catalysts into water and other products, since antimony is potentially toxic trace element. In this paper, the antimony content in nine brands of bottled mineral and spring water from Serbia, and seven brands of bottled mineral and spring water from EU countries was analyzed. The measurements were conducted using the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) technique. In the all examined samples the antimony concentration was bellow the maximum contaminant level of 5 ?g/L prescribed by the Serbian and EU regulations. Comparison of the content of antimony in PET bottled waters with the content of antimony in water bottled commercially in glass and the natural content of antimony in pristine groundwaters, provides explicit evidence of antimony leaching from PET containers. Since waters bottled in PET have much greater concentration ratio of Sb to Pb than corresponding pristine groundwaters, it can be assumed that bottled waters cannot be used as the relavant source for the study of the natural antimony content in groundwaters. There is a clear relation between the quality of water in bottles (composition, ion strength) and antimony leaching rate. Moreover, while the rate of antimony leaching is slow at temperatures below 60 oC, at the temperature range of 60-80 oC antimony release occurs and reaches maximum contaminant level rapidly. As antimony can cause both acute and chronic health problems, factors that promote the increase of antimony concentration should be avoided.