Abstract:
The study was based on quantitative methods. The quick, easy, cheap,
effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) analytical method was used for the
extraction and cleanup to quantify endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in
agricultural soils and female blood samples. Four composite soil samples were
taken from Accra and Cape Coast to represent cultivated soils, industry,
decommissioned waste dump and forest reserve at a depth of 30cm for the
analysis of potentially Toxic elements (PTE) (Fe, Cd, As, Pb Ni, Co, Cu, Zn,
Mn), Phthalates and Bisphenol A. Twelve composite samples were taken per
site to determine soil quality. Menstrual blood, samples were collected on
aluminum foil and transferred into a vacutainer tube. Also survey
questionnaire administered to 300 respondents in selected communities was
used to determine individual understanding of pesticide use and health effects
of EDCs. Ordinary least squares regression and multivariate statistics were
fitted to the data obtained. The study indicated low level of knowledge of
health effects of EDCs among the three communities. The study also indicated
that generally PTEs and EDCs in soils were within recommended thresholds
except for arsenic (As) and bisphenol A (BPA). Similarly, carcinogenic
exposure risks of Benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) and Bis (2-ethylhexyl)
phthalate (DEHP) via non-dietary routes were lower than 1 × 10−6 however;
the ingestion cancer risk (CR) values of Cadmium (Cd), Arsenic (As) and
Lead (Pb) exceeded the threshold value. Traces of Diethyl phthalates (DEP),
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were found
in menstrual blood ahowever, the carcinogenic exposure risks of DEHP via
various routes were much lower than 1 × 10−6.
