Concentrations of Bisphenol A and Seven Other Phenols in Pooled Sera from 3-11 Year Old Children: 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Concerns exist regarding children's exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) and other phenols because of the higher sensitivity, compared to adults, of children's developing organs to endocrine disruptors. Several studies reported the urinary concentrations of these phenols in children, but data on levels of these compounds in children's serum are limited. We present here the total (free plus conjugated) and free concentrations of BPA and seven other phenols in 24 pooled serum samples prepared from individual specimens collected from 936 children 3-11 years old who participated in the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We detected benzophenone-3, triclosan, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,5- dichlorophenol, and three parabens in at least 60% of the pools suggesting children's exposure to these compounds or their precursors. Conjugated phenols were the major species. However, although many previous studies have shown widespread detection of BPA in children's urine, we only detected total or free BPA in 3 and 2 pooled serum samples, respectively, at concentrations of 0.1-0.2 mu g/L. The nonpersistent nature of BPA and the phenols examined and the likely episodic nature of the exposures to these compounds (or their precursors) suggest that for general population biomonitoring of these nonpersistent phenols, urine, not serum or plasma, is the preferred matrix.