Monitoring Human Exposure to Organophosphate Esters: Comparing Silicone Wristbands with Spot Urine Samples as Predictors of Internal Dose

Silicone wristbands present a noninvasive exposure assessment tool and an alternative to traditional biomonitoring; however, questions about their utility remain as validation studies are limited. We sought to determine if wristbands provide quantitative estimates of internal organophosphate ester (OPE) exposure. We evaluated internal dose by measuring metabolite masses excreted in 24-h urine samples collected over five days among 10 adults. We compared internal dose to OPE concentrations in paired wristbands worn during collection and, as a comparison, evaluated metabolite levels in spot urine samples. Three of six OPE metabolites evaluated were detected in greater than 98% of urine samples, and 24 of 34 assessed OPEs were detected in at least one wristband. OPE uptake in wristbands was linear over time (range = 0.54–61.8 ng/g/day). OPE concentrations in spot urine and wristbands were not correlated with total diphenyl phosphate (DPHP) excreted in urine, which may be due to the range of possible DPHP parent compounds or dietary exposure. However, for tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl)phosphate (TDCIPP) and tris(2-chloroisopropyl)phosphate (TCIPP), wristbands and spot urine samples were both moderately to strongly correlated with internal dose (all r s > 0.56 and p < 0.1), suggesting both perform well as integrated exposure estimates. Given the potential advantages of silicone wristbands, further studies investigating additional compounds are warranted.