Human biological monitoring data provide direct evidence that exposure to EDCs is widespread and current regulations are missing the major sources of EDCs and potential health risks. Despite exposure to daily life, the presence of EDCs in our blood, urine and tissues, and the impact of these chemicals on human health, information on sources of exposure and regulatory method are limited.
The purpose of this study is to reduce the body burden of phthalates and environmental phenols in participants by voluntary avoiding exposure routes using intervention guidelines. Intervention guidelines were established to reduce exposure to phthalates and environmental phenols, including desirable lifestyle, use of personal care products, cosmetics, and detergents and cleaning products, desirable intake and use of plastic containers. A total of 465 women over the age of 13 participated in this study and the study lasted 14 days. Participants were provided with guidelines and training on how to implement and were asked to fill out a questionnaire and dairy checklist during the intervention period. Urine samples were collected before and after each intervention. In the urine, environmental phenol and phthalate metabolites were analyzed and urine levels before and after intervention were compared. To identify factors contributing to an increase in the body burden of phenol and phthalates, an association was observed between urine EDC pre-intervention concentrations and 24-hour recall questionnaire items. In addition, the interventional efficacy and changes in behaviors due to reduced body burden of environmental phenols and phthalates were observed. The main findings are as follows:

1. Two analytical methods have been established to simultaneously analyze 11 phthalate metabolites and 17 environmental phenols in urine samples. In particular, analytical methods for environmental phenols were able to reduce the time and labor required for preparation by installing an online SPE system on LC-MS/MS. In this study, phthalate metabolites in 360 urine samples and environmental phenol in 580 urine samples were analyzed and used for exposure assessment.

2. As a result of confirming the association between the concentration of EDC biomarkers in urine prior to intervention and factors such as the use of lifestyle and personal care products, the following factors were associated with an increased body burden of environmental phenols and phthalates:
MMP levels were associated with the use of mouthwash, cleansing cream, nail remover, eating food in a glass bottle and Korean soy sauce. MEP levels were associated with drinking more than 1L of water and also with use of treatment, body-wash, body-lotion, mouthwash, cleansing foam, feminine wash, skin, sunscreen, make-up base, lip stick/lip gloss, perfume, deodorizer and eating dairy products. MiBP levels were associated with the use mouthwash and BB/CC cream. MnBP levels were associated with the use of cleansing foam, BB/CC cream, nail remover, eating microwaved food and stew with korean soy sauce. DEHP metabolites(MEHHP, MEOHP, MECPP) levels were associated with use of nail remover. MINP levels were associated with the use of nail remover and laundry soap. BPA levels were associated with hand-washing frequency, use of shampoo, rinse, cream, hair essence/lotion, nail remover, perfume and eating microwaved food. BPS levels were associated with the use of cleansing oil, cream, mascara, manicure, nail remover, essence, eye-shadow, eye-brow and perfume. TCS levels were associated with thermal receipt frequency, use of body-wash, toothpaste, mouth, liquid handwash, cleansing foam, cleansing water, foundation, eye-brow, shampoo, insecticide and other plastic containers(exclude tabelware). BP-3 levels were associated with hand-washing frequency, wet cleaning, use of rinse, body-lotion, hand-cream, cleansing foam, skin, essence, cream, eye-cream, sunscreen, make-up base, cheek, eye-liner, hair essence/lotion, shampoo, lip/eye remover, powder and lip stick/lip gloss. EtPB levels were associated with wet cleaning, thermal receipt frequency, use of mouthwash, lip stick/lip gloss, foundation and eat-out. PrPB levels were associated with the use of rinse, mouthwash, liquid handwash, eye-cream, sunscreen, lip stick/lip gloss, hai wax, plastic drinking bottle(the above was same as factors related to increasing MePB), body-lotion, cleansing water, lip/eye remover, skin, lotion, cream, foundation, eye-brow, hair essence/lotion, cleansing oil and deodorant.

3. After the voluntary intervention, urine concentrations of MEP, MiBP, MEHHP, MEOHP, MECPP, MEHP and MINP decreased to the range of 0.9 to 26.7%, but this is not significant. MMP and MnBP concentrations increased by 4.0% and 4.6%, respectively. Urinary concentrations of BPS, TCS, BP-3, MePB, EtPB and PrPB significantly decreased by 25.7?68.3% after the intervention. After the intervention, BPA concentration decreased by 21.5%. The largest change in PrPB concentration (68.3%) was observed, and the smallest change in MiBP concentration (0.9%) was observed.

4. The intervention guidelines established in this study were effective in reducing participants'' EDCs body burden.; In particular, reduced body washes resulted in decreased levels of MMP, MEP, DEHP metabolites, BPA, TCS and PrPB.

5. The use of reduced skin resulted in reduced levels of MnBP, DEHP metabolites, MINP and MePB, and less use of hair wax and hair essence/lotions reduced levels of DEHP metabolites, MINP, BPA, BPS and PrPB in body. MnBP and DEHP metabolite levels decreased when the multi-purpose cleaner was not used, and body concentrations of MiBP, MnBP, MBzP, DEHP metabolites, and MINP decreased when dairy intake was reduced.

This study demonstrated that intervention guidelines were effective in reducing the body burden of phthalates and environmental phenols. Participants intentionally avoided the EDC exposure route after training. Therefore, the intervention guidelines established in this study can be used as public or youth education programs to reduce exposure to EDCs.