Phthalate concentrations in drinking water in WPRO regions: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The pollutants are in the water due to PAE migrating to various environmental factors. Bottles made of plastic are utilized as containers for packaging drinking water. The investigation's findings revealed that Xiangqin, Xing He, Xing He, Chenchen, Hui, and Yang showed the most elevated mean levels of DEP (0.1 µg/l), DEHP (1.30 µg/l), DBP (0.95 µg/l), DPP (0.02 µg/l), DBEP (0.07 µg/l), and BBP (0.66 µg/l). The findings of this investigation show that temperature, sunlight exposure, as well as the kind of container or packaging used for keeping, strongly affect the concentration of phthalates in drinking water. • This study is a systematic review and meta-analysis of phthalates concentration in drinking water in Western Pacific Region (WPR) countries. • Among 2520 articles searched in 4 databases, finally 11 articles had the necessary criteria for quantitative and qualitative synthesis. • STATA software was used for statistical analysis of information. • Nine of the 11 selected studies investigating phthalates in drinking water were conducted in China. • According to the obtained results by researchers, the most detectable phthalates in drinking water in WPR were DEHP, DBP, and BBP. • The thickness degree of the bottle is an essential contributor to the increase in phthalates detected in bottled water. The materials used in the bottle and improper storage conditions, including contact with UV, are other reasons for the release of phthalates in water.