Presence of Bisphenol A and Parabens in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Exploratory Study of Potential Sources of Exposure Iribarne Durán, Luz María Artacho Cordón, Francisco Peña Caballero, Manuela Molina-Molina, José-Manuel Jiménez Díaz, Inmaculada Vela Soria, Fernando Serrano, Laura Hurtado, José A. Fernández, Mariana F. Freire Warden, Carmen Olea Serrano, Nicolás This paper is part of the PhD thesis developed by L.M.I.-D. in the context of the“Clinical Medicineand Public Health Program”of the University of Granada. BACKGROUND:Newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are in contact with a variety of medical products whose production might includesynthetic chemicals with hormonal activity.OBJECTIVES:Our aim was to assess the content of bisphenol A (BPA) and parabens (PBs) and the hormone-like activities of a subset of medical prod-ucts commonly used in NICUs in prolonged intimate contact with NICU newborns.METHODS:Fifty-two NICU items were analyzed, determining the concentrations of BPA and PBs [methyl- (MeP), ethyl- (EtP), propyl- (PrP), andbutylparaben (BuP)] and using the E-Screen and PALM-luciferase assays to measure thein vitro(anti-)estrogenic and (anti-)androgenic activity,respectively, of the extracts. Items found to have elevated BPA/PB content or hormone-like activities were further extracted using leachingmethodologies.RESULTS:BPA was found in three-fifths and PBs in four-fifths of tested NICU items, and∼25%and∼10%of extracts evidenced estrogenic andanti-androgenic activity, respectively. The highest BPA content was found in the three-way stopcock (>7:000 ng=g), followed by patterned transpar-entfilm dressing, gastro-duodenal feeding tubes, sterile gloves, single-lumen umbilical catheters, and intravenous (IV) infusion extension sets (con-centrations ranged from 100 to 700 ng=g BPA). A total PB concentration (PPBs) >100 ng=g was observed in several items, including light therapyprotection glasses, patterned transparentfilm dressing, winged IV catheters, IV infusion extension sets, and textile tape. The highest estrogenic activ-ity [>450 pM estradiol equivalent (E2eq)] was found in small dummy nipples, three-way stopcocks, and patterned transparentfilm dressing and thehighest anti-androgenic activity [>5 mM procymidone equivalent units per gram (Proceq=g)] in small dummy nipples and three-way stopcocks 2019-11-28T08:52:58Z 2019-11-28T08:52:58Z 2019-11-27 info:eu-repo/semantics/article Iribarne-Durán, Luz M.; et. al. Presence of Bisphenol A and Parabens in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: An Exploratory Study of Potential Sources of Exposure. Environmental Health Perspectives 127(11) November 2019 [https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5564] http://hdl.handle.net/10481/58099 10.1289/EHP5564 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 España National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences