QUANTIFICATION OF DEHP BY UHPLC IN SOIL OF MUNICIPAL WARDS OF PATNA, BIHARASEEM KUMAR ANSHU AND PREETY SINHAAbstract Unrestrained manufacture and use of plastic has made the plasticizers ubiquitous in nature. Di-(2-Ehtylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) is one of the plasticizers used widely for imparting flexibility to the plastic, which is non-covalently bonded with the plastic matrix and leaches out due to change in pH and temperature. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the level of contamination of the soil of municipal wards of Patna with DEHP by using UHPLC. Soil samples were collected from 25 municipal wards at the depth of 30 and 50 cm of Patna urban area. The results of this study showed that DEHP is ubiquitously present in the top soil of all the selected municipal wards of Patna urban agglomeration. The concentration of DEHP ranged from 0.058 micro g/g to 82.109 micro g/g at the depth of 30 cm and 0.39 micro g/g to 86.94 micro g/g at the depth of 50 cm. The mean concentrations at the depth of 30 and 50 cm were observed to be 30.055 micro g/g and 38.92 micro g/g, respectively. This study also revealed that 18 out of 25 municipal wards were found to have higher than recommended permissible concentration of DEHP. Moreover, DEHP in the topsoil may pose a serious risk to the environmental and human health in this area. Therefore, extensive monitoring of other phthalates including DEHP must be taken up for addressing the potential threats to public health. |