Wastewater based epidemiology for the assessment of phthalate health risk in Ireland

Phthalates are synthetic organic chemicals commonly used as plasticisers in PVC and additives in personal care products. Phthalates are ubiquitous within the environment, giving wide-range exposure to the public, and have been classed as endocrine disruptors, leading to a range of detrimental health effects (birth defects, decreased neurological development, association with some cancers and insulin resistance). This project will pioneer in using sewage epidemiology to determine phthalate exposure in Irish population. Risk assessment data will be used to relate the level of exposure to an associated health risk.