UNDERSTANDING PHTHALATE EXPOSURE IN DOMESTIC ANIMALS

Abstract

Phthalates are a common plastic additive that is found in households everywhere. They have become a chemical of concern because they are potential endocrine disruptors in humans and animals. Research into the dangers of phthalates is still ongoing, and this paper serves to determine whether household pets can serve as sentinel species and model organisms in further research regarding phthalates. A thorough literature review of studies evaluating the potential use of canines and felines as model organisms for human diseases and for sentinel species for environmental pollutants was undertaken. We found that household pets are exposed to much of the same levels of phthalates as humans and have previously served as model organisms for other endocrine diseases such as diabetes mellitus. We believe that due to their comparable exposure levels and high degree of homology, canines and felines are good model organisms to be used in studies of the impact of phthalates and are good sentinel species that can be used to indicate phthalate metabolite levels in the humans they cohabitatewith.