Plastic Chemical Constituents in Wastewater, Surface Water, and Drinking Water

Plasticizers constitute tens of thousands of synthetic chemical substances added to plastics to increase their elasticity and durability. Plasticizers are commonly found in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials, food packaging, medical devices, toys, automobiles, solvents, paints, and adhesives. Phthalates are the most used plasticizers and many have adverse impacts on human health. Plastic monomers include several chemical constituents that act as the building blocks in plastics manufacturing. For example, bisphenol A (BPA) and terephthalic acid (TPA) are monomers of polycarbonate and polyethylene terephthalate-based plastic products. Phthalates and BPA are regulated in consumer products in some countries due to their profound human health impact. Previous studies have reported endocrine-disrupting properties and carcinogenicity of phthalate plasticizers and BPA. Plasticizers and plastic monomers enter the environmental waters and wastewater, mainly through human exposure and leaching from the plastic materials. Plasticizers and plastic monomers are ubiquitously found in all environmental waters and wastewater ranging in concentration from ng/L to µg/L. Most plasticizers and monomers undergo biological or non-biological transformations, and these transformed products are frequently detected in wastewater. Although several analytical pipelines are employed to detect plastic chemical constituents in water, it is always recommended to ensure data quality due to the background interferences from laboratory settings. This chapter provides an overview of plasticizers and plastic monomers’ occurrence, transformations, and fate in environmental waters and wastewater. This chapter also emphasizes the analytical challenges in detecting plastic constituents and provides recommendations to ensure reported data quality.