Assessment of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in bottled water: A cross-sectional study in Algiers and risk assessment in pregnant women.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Bench laboratory chemical analysis and modeled exposure risk assessment with no direct human biological measurements.
PubMed 40752387 · doi:10.1016/j.watres.2025.124301
What was done
Researchers measured 12 endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)—including phthalates, bisphenols, parabens, and benzophenones—across 5 brands of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottled water purchased at 3 locations in Algiers. Chemical migration was tested under room temperature, refrigeration, and freezing across multiple durations. Quantification was performed using liquid-liquid extraction and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Dietary exposure and safety indexes/hazard quotients (HQ) were mathematically modeled for pregnant women.
What was found
Seven EDCs were detected in bottled water: DEHP (100% detection, mean 4.675 ng/mL), DnBP (100%, mean 4.380 ng/mL), DEP (40%, mean 0.160 ng/mL), PP (40%, mean 0.026 ng/mL), BP-3 (40%, mean 0.091 ng/mL), BPA (20%, mean 0.035 ng/mL), and BP-1 (20%, mean 0.017 ng/mL). Chemical release into water positively correlated with storage temperature and duration. Modeled daily intake was generally below reference limits, though DnBP (5.753%) and DEHP (1.562%) exceeded WHO recommendations in highly exposed subsets. The maximum hazard quotient for all tested EDCs was < 1.
Why it matters
This provides initial baseline data on EDC contamination in commercial bottled water in Algeria and suggests that while migration increases with heat and prolonged storage, general consumption poses low toxicological risk based on standard safety thresholds.
Limits
The study evaluated only 5 commercial brands within a single city (Algiers). Total sample size of individual bottles was not specified in the abstract, and human risk was estimated via exposure modeling rather than measured maternal or fetal biological concentrations or clinical outcomes.
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