Alkylphenols

Alkylphenols, such as nonylphenol and octylphenol, are chemical compounds that are mainly used to make alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs), a class of synthetic surfactants used in detergents and cleaning products. However, alkylphenols can be used alone as plasticizers in plastics, or as antibiotics in plastics and rubber products. Also, their derivatives, alkylphenol phosphites, can be used as UV stabilizers in plastics. Alkylphenols have been found in sewage sludge.

Uses
Alkylphenols and their derivatives are used in detergents, plastics, and rubber products. Additionally, they are used in pesticides, lube oil, hair dyes and other hair care products, and as nonoxynol-9 in spermicides.

Alkylphenols as Endocrine Disruptors
Two alkyphenols, nonylphenol and octylphenol, have been identified as suspected hormone disruptors. These chemicals mimic estrogen in the human body. According to the website Healthy Child Healthy World:

"APEs do not biodegrade easily after they are washed down the drain. As a result, nonylphenol has been found in water and sediment downstream from sewage treatment plants, paper pulp mills, and industrial facilities. Some studies have found altered reproduction, feminization, hermaphrodism, and lower survival rates in salmon and other fish living in nonylphenol-contaminated water. These effects have been found in wildlife even at low doses."

"Nonylphenol has also been detected in a wide range of foods."

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Biosolids
 * Sewage sludge
 * Food Rights Network
 * Alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs)
 * Nonylphenols
 * Octylphenol

External articles

 * alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates, Chemical Encyclopedia.
 * Ruthann A Rudel, David E Camann, John D Spengler, Leo R Korn, and Julia G Brody, Phthalates, Alkylphenols, Pesticides, Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers, and other Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds in Indoor Air and Dust, Environmental Science & Technology, September 13, 2003, Posted on Mindfully.org.
 * Alkylphenolic Compounds - Introduction
 * Alkylphenolic Compounds