Analysis of phthalate esters in soils near an electronics manufacturing facility and from a non-industrialized area by gas purge microsyringe extraction and gas chromatography

Here, a novel technique is described for the extraction and quantitative determination of six phthalate esters (PAEs) from soils by gas purge microsyringe extraction and gas chromatography. Recovery of PAEs ranged from 81.4% to 120.3%, and the relative standard deviation (n = 6) ranged from 5.3% to 10.5%. Soil samples were collected from roadsides, farmlands, residential areas, and non-cultivated areas in a non-industrialized region, and from the same land-use types within 1 km of an electronics manufacturing facility (n = 142). Total PAEs varied from 2.21 to 157.62 mg kg− 1 in non-industrialized areas and from 8.63 to 171.64 mg kg− 1 in the electronics manufacturing area. PAE concentrations in the non-industrialized area were highest in farmland, followed (in decreasing order) by roadsides, residential areas, and non-cultivated soil. In the electronics manufacturing area, PAE concentrations were highest in roadside soils, followed by residential areas, farmland, and non-cultivated soils. Concentrations of dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), and di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) differed significantly (P < 0.01) between the industrial and non-industrialized areas. Principal component analysis indicated that the strongest explanatory factor was related to DMP and DnBP in non-industrialized soils and to butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) and DMP in soils near the electronics manufacturing facility. Congener-specific analysis confirmed that diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) was a predictive indication both in the non-industrialized area (r2 = 0.944, P < 0.01) and the industrialized area (r2 = 0.860, P < 0.01). The higher PAE contents in soils near the electronics manufacturing facility are of concern, considering the large quantities of electronic wastes generated with ongoing industrialization.