Phthalate ester residues--their metabolism and analysis in fish.

Abstract

During the course of our analysis of fish and other aquatic materials for pesticide residues, unknown components were often detected. Concern about the identity of late eluting gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) peaks in fish and water extracts led to the identification of phthalic acid esters (PAEs) as environmental contaminants (1). Further study of these contaminants with a GLC-mass spectrometer (GLC-MS) led to their identification as di-2-ethylhexyl phtha- late (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP). Preliminary data from acute toxicity tests indicate that these compounds are relatively low in toxicity. Chronic studies, however, indicate that they may have more subtle effects on reproduction of some aquatic species (2).