PET is a thermoplastic polymer used in many products, such as clothes and food containers. DEHP is a phthalate used as a plasticizer. The new study looked at the distribution in the sediments, temporal trends and discussed the ecological risks of these in the Jiaozhou Bay in China.
The study found that the loading to the sediments of both PET and DEHP increased rapidly with anthropogenic activities from the 1970s onwards, and that PET and DEHP in the sediments pose a low ecological risk.
The paper can be found here.
Because of harmful properties, from July 2020 it is no longer legal to trade DEHP in the EU and EEC, through the REACH-legislation. Read more here.