A pilot biomonitoring study of cumulative phthalates exposure among Vietnamese American nail salon workers

Background: Many California nail salon workers are low-income Vietnamese women of reproductive age who use nail products daily that contain androgen-disrupting phthalates which may increase risk of male reproductive tract abnormalities during pregnancy. Yet, few studies have characterized phthalate exposures among this workforce. Objective: To characterize individual metabolites and cumulative phthalates exposure among a potentially vulnerable occupational group of nail salon workers. Study Design: We collected 17 post-shift urine samples from Vietnamese workers at six San Francisco Bay Area nail salons in 2011, which were analyzed for four primary phthalate metabolites: mono-n-butyl-, mono-isobutyl-, mono(2-ethylhexyl)-, and monoethyl phthalates (MnBP, MiBP, MEHP, and MEP, respectively) (μg/L). Phthalate metabolite concentrations and a potency-weighted sum of parent compound daily intake (Σandrogen-disruptor, μg/kg/day) were compared to 203 Asian Americans from the 2011-12 National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) using Student t-test and Wilcoxin signed rank test. Results: Creatinine-corrected MnBP, MiBP, MEHP (μg/g), and cumulative phthalates exposure (Σandrogen-disruptor, μg/kg/day) levels were 2.9 (p