DEHP belongs to a family of chemicals called phthalates which are added to some plastics to make them flexible. DEHP is extensively used as a plasticizer in many products, especially medical devices, furniture materials, cosmetics, and personal care products. DEHP is noncovalently bound to plastics, and therefore, it will leach out of these products after repeated use, heating, and/or cleaning of the products. Due to the overuse of DEHP in many products, it enters and pollutes the environment through release from industrial settings and plastic waste disposal sites.

Phthalates are everywhere, and an abundance of research has documented their wide-ranging negative health impacts. Phthalates are endocrine disruptors, and exposure to phthalates has been linked to breast cancer, developmental issues, decreased fertility, obesity and asthma.

This large-scale R&D project investigated the transport, fate and effects/bioaccumulation of particle-bound, organic contaminant di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) in natural boxcosm sediments using a dual-labelling radio-tracer technique using 14C-DEHP and 51Cr. The relative influence of faunal activity, bioturbation and irrigation rates and particle type on the mixing and transport of phthalate (DEHP) were modelled in natural boxcosm sediments and compared with predictive models to determine the dominant processes responsible for phthalate transport in sediments.