Results for Environmental Phenols

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Results on page last updated: 03/01/2018

Chemical Group: Environmental Phenols

Measured in: Urine

Project: Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) - 1.Pilot

Study Group: 112 adults
Sample Collection Date: 2011 - 2012

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	NA	µg/L	109	24.4	16.0	37.2	5.70	22.8	86.7	797	94.5%	0.500 µg/L
BPA	Bisphenol A	NA	µg/L	109	1.40	1.08	1.80	0.660	1.31	2.82	13.3	89.9%	0.200 µg/L
Butyl paraben	Butyl Paraben	NA	µg/L	109	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	13.5	21.1%	0.500 µg/L
Ethyl paraben	Ethyl Paraben	NA	µg/L	109	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	6.83	127	44.0%	0.500 µg/L
Methyl paraben	Methyl Paraben	NA	µg/L	105	78.4	56.2	109	21.7	76.4	282	1,060	99.0%	0.500 µg/L
Propyl paraben	Propyl Paraben	NA	µg/L	109	7.66	4.89	12.0	0.555	8.38	49.1	367	75.2%	0.500 µg/L
Triclosan	Triclosan	NA	µg/L	109	11.7	7.77	17.5	2.54	9.29	44.3	702	96.3%	0.200 µg/L

Footnotes

*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group

Project: Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) - 2.Expanded

Study Group: 341 adults
Sample Collection Date: 2013

Weighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight	Notes
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight	Notes
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	NA	µg/L	218	76.7	43.4	135	10.9	76.2	431	6720	95.8%	1.00 µg/L	●
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	218	83.8	49.1	143	11.8	70.8	408	3520	95.8%	1.00 µg/L	●
BPA	Bisphenol A	NA	µg/L	218	1.33	1.05	1.69	0.648	1.52	3.56	5.66	97.4%	0.100 µg/L	●
BPA	Bisphenol A	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	218	1.46	1.20	1.77	0.786	1.53	2.39	5.58	97.4%	0.100 µg/L	●
Butyl paraben	Butyl paraben	NA	µg/L	218	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	0.456	20.5	33.4%	0.200 µg/L	●
Butyl paraben	Butyl paraben	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	218	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	0.834	21.2	33.4%	0.200 µg/L	●
Ethyl paraben	Ethyl paraben	NA	µg/L	218	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	10.0	168	47.8%	1.00 µg/L	●
Ethyl paraben	Ethyl paraben	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	218	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	11.7	161	47.8%	1.00 µg/L	●
Methyl paraben	Methyl paraben	NA	µg/L	218	62.9	41.3	95.9	21.1	75.4	241	906	94.3%	1.00 µg/L	●
Methyl paraben	Methyl paraben	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	218	68.8	47.6	99.6	23.5	83.8	237	924	94.3%	1.00 µg/L	●
Propyl paraben	Propyl paraben	NA	µg/L	218	9.58	5.98	15.4	<LOD	9.05	55.5	325	71.5%	1.00 µg/L	●
Propyl paraben	Propyl paraben	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	218	10.48	6.68	16.4	<LOD	9.51	70.2	287	71.5%	1.00 µg/L	●
Triclosan	Triclosan	NA	µg/L	218	11.9	7.34	19.4	2.25	9.09	60.4	801	98.5%	0.100 µg/L	●
Triclosan	Triclosan	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	218	13.1	8.00	21.3	2.31	11.3	54.2	812	98.5%	0.100 µg/L	●

Footnotes

●Expanded BEST data from 218 participants was weighted, a statistical method to adjust over-represented and under-represented samples, so that the summary results adequately reflect the population of California’s Central Valley. Unweighted results are available to download on the Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) – 2. Expanded project page.
*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group.

Project: California Regional Exposure Study, Los Angeles County (CARE-LA)

Study Group: 430 adults (age 18 and up) living in Los Angeles County
Sample Collection Date: 2018

Weighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight	Notes
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight	Notes
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	NA	ng/ml	406	26.6	19.5	36.3	7.12	21.1	89.6	783	95.8%	0.500 and 1.000 ng/ml**	▶ ◘
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	35.3	24.8	50.2	8.33	26.7	113	2,010	95.8%	0.500 and 1.000 ng/ml**	▶ ◘
BPA	Bisphenol A	NA	ng/ml	406	0.444	0.353	0.558	0.148	0.405	1.26	5.09	77.5%	0.100 ng/ml	▶ ◘
BPA	Bisphenol A	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	0.584	0.490	0.696	0.259	0.610	1.13	4.15	78.4%	0.100 ng/ml	▶ ◘
BPF	Bisphenol F	NA	ng/ml	406	*	*	*	< LOD	< LOD	0.228	5.91	27.6%	0.200 ng/ml	▶ ◘
BPF	Bisphenol F	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	*	*	*	< LOD	< LOD	0.773	4.47	26.7%	0.200 ng/ml	▶ ◘
BPS	Bisphenol S	NA	ng/ml	406	0.612	0.474	0.791	0.141	0.701	1.82	6.86	75.8%	0.100 and 0.200 ng/ml**	▶ ◘
BPS	Bisphenol S	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	0.802	0.638	1.01	0.349	0.885	1.79	8.01	76.8%	0.100 and 0.200 ng/ml**	▶ ◘
Ethyl paraben	Ethyl paraben	NA	ng/ml	406	*	*	*	< LOD	< LOD	2.45	66.7	34.6%	0.200 and 0.500 ng/ml**	▶ ◘
Ethyl paraben	Ethyl paraben	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	*	*	*	< LOD	< LOD	2.27	73.8	35.1%	0.200 and 0.500 ng/ml**	▶ ◘
Methyl paraben	Methyl paraben	NA	ng/ml	406	13.7	9.67	19.5	2.97	18.9	78.2	389	83.3%	0.500 ng/ml	▶ ◘
Methyl paraben	Methyl paraben	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	18.4	13.4	25.2	4.05	26.0	103	254	83.3%	0.500 ng/ml	▶ ◘
Propyl paraben	Propyl paraben	NA	ng/ml	406	2.68	1.77	4.07	< LOD	2.29	23.6	158	66.1%	0.200 ng/ml	▶ ◘
Propyl paraben	Propyl paraben	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	3.50	2.33	5.28	< LOD	3.57	35.7	146	65.6%	0.200 ng/ml	▶ ◘
Triclocarban	Triclocarban	NA	ng/ml	406	*	*	*	< LOD	< LOD	< LOD	0.301	15.5%	0.100 ng/ml	▶ ◘
Triclocarban	Triclocarban	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	*	*	*	< LOD	< LOD	< LOD	0.808	14.4%	0.100 ng/ml	▶ ◘
Triclosan	Triclosan	NA	ng/ml	406	*	*	*	< LOD	0.705	6.52	528	51.0%	0.200 and 1.000 ng/ml**	▶ ◘
Triclosan	Triclosan	Creatinine	µg/g creatinine	404	*	*	*	< LOD	1.81	9.23	758	51.8%	0.200 and 1.000 ng/ml**	▶ ◘

Footnotes

▶CARE-LA data were weighted (a statistical method to adjust over-represented and under-represented demographic characteristics in a study sample) so that the summary results adequately reflect the population of California’s Los Angeles County. Unweighted results are available to download on the California Regional Exposure Study, Los Angeles County (CARE-LA) project page.
**LOD changed during the time that samples were analyzed for this project.
◘Butylparaben was tested among only 60 participants. The sample size is not sufficiently large enough to provide weighted summary statistics.
*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group.

Project: California Regional Exposure Study, Region 2 (CARE-2)

Study Group: 359 adults (age 18 and up) living in Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial, Mono, and Inyo counties
Sample Collection Date: 2019

Study Group Subset: Adults

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	NA	µg/L	151	18.5	13.7	25.1	5.59	18.0	50.0	493	96.0%	1.00
BPA	Bisphenol A	NA	µg/L	151	0.503	0.419	0.603	<LOD	0.466	1.12	3.19	69.5%	0.200
BPS	Bisphenol S	NA	µg/L	151	*	*	*	<LOD	0.233	0.593	2.25	64.9%	0.100
Ethyl paraben	Ethyl paraben	NA	µg/L	151	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	2.02	69.7	35.8%	0.500
Methyl paraben	Methyl paraben	NA	µg/L	151	15.3	10.9	21.5	3.11	12.6	79.4	535	94.0%	0.500
Propyl paraben	Propyl paraben	NA	µg/L	151	*	*	*	<LOD	1.54	14.8	223	60.3%	0.200
Triclocarban	Triclocarban	NA	µg/L	151	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	0.307	11.3%	0.100
Triclosan	Triclosan	NA	µg/L	151	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	3.02	389	45.0%	1.00

Footnotes

*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group.

Project: California Regional Exposure Study, Region 3 (CARE-3)

Study Group: 90 adults (age 18 and up) living in San Diego and Orange counties
Sample Collection Date: 2020

Study Group Subset: Adults

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight	Notes
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	90th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight	Notes
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	NA	µg/L	90	14.4	9.16	22.6	3.70	13.1	47.4	190	90.0%	0.500 µg/L	⌂
BPA	Bisphenol A	NA	µg/L	90	0.287	0.233	0.352	0.124	0.281	0.598	0.895	82.2%	0.100 µg/L	⌂
BPF	Bisphenol F	NA	µg/L	90	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	0.573	2.03	41.1%	0.200 µg/L	⌂
BPS	Bisphenol S	NA	µg/L	90	*	*	*	<LOD	0.288	0.875	2.85	64.4%	0.100 µg/L	⌂
Butyl paraben	Butyl paraben	NA	µg/L	90	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	0.114	11.1%	0.100 µg/L	⌂
Ethyl paraben	Ethyl paraben	NA	µg/L	90	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	0.212	8.92	25.6%	0.200 µg/L	⌂
Methyl paraben	Methyl paraben	NA	µg/L	90	8.33	5.15	13.5	1.01	9.57	57.1	152	80.0%	0.500 µg/L	⌂
Propyl paraben	Propyl paraben	NA	µg/L	90	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	13.5	42.5	50.0%	0.200 µg/L	⌂
Triclocarban	Triclocarban	NA	µg/L	90	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	5.6%	0.100 µg/L	⌂
Triclosan	Triclosan	NA	µg/L	90	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	<LOD	1.82	18.9%	1.00 µg/L	⌂

Footnotes

⌂Due to the COVID-19 emergency, CARE-3 was stopped early and only 90 people completed all study steps. The results from this small non-representative sample cannot be generalized to the population of San Diego and Orange counties.
*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group.

Project: Firefighter Occupational Exposures (FOX) Project

Study Group: 101 Firefighters
Sample Collection Date: 2010 - 2011

Study Group Subset: Firefighters

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	95th	Detection Frequency	Reporting limit, wet weight
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	NA	µg/L	101	78.5	58.3	106	27.0	79.3	186	867	100%	1.00
BPA	Bisphenol A	NA	µg/L	101	1.58	1.25	1.99	0.718	1.53	3.16	11.9	94.1%	0.20
Butyl paraben	Butyl paraben	NA	µg/L	101	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	0.68	5.9	44.6%	0.50
Ethyl paraben	Ethyl paraben	NA	µg/L	101	*	*	*	<LOD	<LOD	2.52	56.5	35.6%	1.0
Methyl paraben	Methyl paraben	NA	μg/L	101	46.9	34.2	64.3	19.6	48.0	108	687	98.0%	1.0
Propyl paraben	Propyl paraben	NA	μg/L	101	*	*	*	<LOD	2.96	19.0	135	61.4%	1.0
Triclosan	Triclosan	NA	μg/L	101	20.2	13.5	30.2	3.00	19.6	103	563	99.0%	0.50

Footnotes

*Geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group

Project: Maternal and Infant Environmental Exposure Project (MIEEP)

Study Group: 92 pregnant women and their infants (65 mother-infant pairs and 27 pregnant women)
Sample Collection Date: 2010 - 2011

Study Group Subset: Pregnant women

Unweighted Results

Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	95% Confidence Interval		Selected Percentiles				Reporting limit, wet weight
Chemical measured	Indicates Exposure to	Adjusted for	Units	Number of people tested	Geometric mean	Lower	Upper	25th	50th	75th	90th	Reporting limit, wet weight
Benzophenone-3	Benzophenone-3	NA	μg/L	89	33.0	20.5	53.2	8.41	26.6	124	1320	0.50
BPA	Bisphenol A	NA	μg/L	89	1.25	0.984	1.58	0.490	1.27	3.13	4.85	0.20
Triclosan	Triclosan	NA	μg/L	89	17.2	10.5	28.2	2.44	11.1	139	445	1.0

Explanation of Terms

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean

A 95% confidence interval for the geometric mean (CI-GM) is a range of values between two numbers called the lower bound and upper bound. These bounds are calculated based on sample data collected from a subset of a larger population. In repeated random sampling, the CI-GMs calculated for the various samples will contain the population value of the geometric mean 95 percent of the time. If convenience sampling is used to collect sample data, the CI-GM should be interpreted with caution. This is because a convenience sample may not be representative of the larger population.

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean - lower

95% Confidence interval for the geometric mean - upper

Adjusted for

Chemical concentrations in urine can be adjusted for urine dilution using creatinine or specific-gravity. Chemical concentrations in serum can be adjusted for lipids. In the results tables, unadjusted chemical concentrations are denoted by NA.

Below the limit of detection (<LOD)

Below the limit of detection (< LOD) means that the laboratory could not detect the chemical. This may have been because the chemical was not present at all or because it was present at such a low level that the laboratory could not measure it.

Below the limit of quantification (<LOQ)

Below the limit of quantification (<LOQ) means that the chemical was not present or that it was present at such a low level that the laboratory could not measure it quantitatively with acceptable accuracy.

Chemical measured

The chemical that was analyzed in blood or urine samples. The chemical measured is sometimes the parent chemical and sometimes a metabolite of the parent chemical.

Detection frequency (percent detected)

The percentage of blood or urine samples with a measurable level of a chemical.

Geometric mean

The geometric mean is an estimated middle value of a set of numbers.This is different than the average, also called the "arithmetic mean". A geometric mean is sometimes calculated when the set of numbers contains some extreme values. For example, the geometric mean of the set of numbers "1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 6, 10, 100" is calculated by multiplying all ten numbers together and then raising to the 1/10th power, giving 4.8. To compare, the arithmetic mean is calculated by adding all ten numbers and dividing by 10, giving 14.

In the data tables, an asterisk (*) means the geometric mean was not calculated because the chemical was found in less than 65% of the study group.

Indicates exposure to

The chemical(s) listed in this column is the chemical(s) to which a person may have been exposed through various sources (e.g., via drinking water or use of a consumer product). This chemical is commonly called the parent chemical.

Number of people tested

The number of individuals whose blood or urine samples were analyzed for a particular chemical.

Reporting limit, wet weight

The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) are indicators of the lowest level of a chemical the lab can measure with acceptable accuracy and precision. For some projects, this is reported as an LOD. For others, it is reported as an LOQ. The wet-weight LOD/LOQ is presented as an amount of a chemical per liter of a sample (for example, microgram of a chemical per liter of urine, or µg/L). This is often the way that biomonitoring results are reported as well (for example, µg/L urine or µg/L serum). In some cases, however, biomonitoring results are presented as lipid-adjusted concentrations (µg/g lipid) or creatinine-adjusted concentrations (µg/g creatinine). For these cases, the units for the wet-weight LOD/LOQ will differ from the units used to report the biomonitoring results. For more information on lab results and protocols, please contact us.

Sample collection date

The time period during which blood or urine samples were collected from participants in Biomonitoring California projects or laboratory collaborations.

Selected percentiles

A range of values calculated to show the distribution of measured chemical levels. See specific percentiles below for examples.

Selected percentiles - 25th

If the 25th percentile is 0.3 µg/L, for example, this means that 25% of participants had levels less than or equal to 0.3 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 50th

If the 50th percentile is 0.6 µg/L, for example, this means that 50% of participants had levels less than or equal to 0.6 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 75th

If the 75th percentile is 1.2 µg/L, for example, this means that 75% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.2 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 90th

If the 90th percentile is 1.5 µg/L, for example, this means that 90% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.5 µg/L.

Selected percentiles - 95th

If the 95th percentile is 1.9 µg/L, for example, this means that 95% of participants had levels less than or equal to 1.9 µg/L.

Study group

A brief description of the people who provided blood and/or urine samples for analysis in a particular study.

Units

Human biomonitoring data are commonly reported as an amount of a chemical present in a specified volume of a bodily fluid (such as blood or urine). For example, a chemical measurement expressed in units of µg/L urine tells us the number of micrograms (µg) of the chemical present per one liter (L) of urine. Using standard units allows for comparison across different studies. For more examples, see definition for: Units used by Biomonitoring California.

Unweighted Results

Unweighted results summarize the measurements collected from study participants but may not apply to a wider group of Californians.

Weighted Results

Weighted results are results that have been calculated using a statistical method that adjusts over-represented and under-represented samples. Weighted results adequately reflect a wider population in California.

Results for Environmental Phenols

Chemical Group: Environmental Phenols

Project: Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) - 1.Pilot

Unweighted Results

Project: Biomonitoring Exposures Study (BEST) - 2.Expanded

Weighted Results

Project: California Regional Exposure Study, Los Angeles County (CARE-LA)

Weighted Results

Project: California Regional Exposure Study, Region 2 (CARE-2)

Unweighted Results

Project: California Regional Exposure Study, Region 3 (CARE-3)

Unweighted Results

Project: Firefighter Occupational Exposures (FOX) Project

Unweighted Results

Project: Maternal and Infant Environmental Exposure Project (MIEEP)

Unweighted Results

Explanation of Terms

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