Exposure to Contemporary and Emerging Chemicals in Commerceamong Pregnant Women in the United States: The Environmentalinfluences on Child Health Outcome (ECHO) Program

Prenatal chemical exposures can influence maternaland child health; however, few industrial chemicals are routinelybiomonitored. We assessed an extensive panel of contemporary andemerging chemicals in 171 pregnant women across the UnitedStates (U.S.) and Puerto Rico in the Environmental influences onChild Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. We simultaneouslymeasured urinary concentrationsof89analytes(103totalchemicals representing 73 parent compounds) in nine chemicalgroups: bactericides, benzophenones, bisphenols, fungicides andherbicides, insecticides, organophosphate esters (OPEs), parabens,phthalates/alternative plasticizers, and polycyclic aromatic hydro-carbons (PAHs). We estimated associations of creatinine-adjustedconcentrations with sociodemographic and specimen character-istics. Among our diverse prenatal population (60% non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic), we detected 73 of 89 analytes in >= 1participant and 36 in >50% of participants. Five analytes not currently included in the U.S. biomonitoring were detected in >= 90% ofsamples: benzophenone-1, thiamethoxam, mono-2-(propyl-6-carboxy-hexyl) phthalate, monocarboxy isooctyl phthalate, andmonohydroxy-iso-decyl phthalate. Many analyte concentrations were higher among women of Hispanic ethnicity compared to thoseof non-Hispanic White women. Concentrations of certain chemicals decreased with the calendar year, whereas concentrations oftheir replacements increased. Our largest study to date identified widespread exposures to prevalent and understudied chemicals in adiverse sample of pregnant women in the U.S