Abstract
Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are man-made organofluorine chemicals manufactured and marketed for their stain-resistant properties. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are anthropogenic organochlorine compounds previously used in various industrial and chemical applications prior to being banned in the Western world in the 1970s. Both PFCs and PCBs are persistent contaminants within the human organism and both have been linked to adverse health sequelae. Data is lacking on effective means to facilitate clearance of PFCs and PCBs from the body. Methods. Blood, urine, and sweat were collected from 20 individuals (10 healthy participants and 10 participants with assorted health problems) and analyzed for PFCs and PCBs using high performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Results. Some individual PCB congeners, but not all, were released into sweat at varying concentrations. None of the PFCs found in serum testing appeared to be excreted efficiently into perspiration. Conclusions. Induced perspiration may have some role in facilitating elimination of selected PCBs. Sweat analysis may be helpful in establishing the existence of some accrued PCBs in the human body. Sweating does not appear to facilitate clearance of accrued PFHxS (perfluorohexane sulfonate), PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate), or PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), the most common PFCs found in the human body.
Highlights
Following the advent of sophisticated tools of production and analytical technologies to characterize individual chemicals after the Second World War, an unprecedented upsurge in the diversity and production volume of chemical agents occurred throughout the second half of the 20th and the early part of the 21st century
Results of Elimination of Perfluorinated Compounds (PFCs). 4 of the 20 study subjects had PFHxS serum levels above the 95th percentile reported in the NHANES Study [9]
The same 4 of the 20 study participants had serum levels of PFOS that were above the 90th percentile in the NHANES Study and PFOA levels above the 50th percentile of the NHANES group
Summary
Following the advent of sophisticated tools of production and analytical technologies to characterize individual chemicals after the Second World War, an unprecedented upsurge in the diversity and production volume of chemical agents occurred throughout the second half of the 20th and the early part of the 21st century. Despite a battery of policies, ISRN Toxicology regulations, and laws around the world, most human populations are chronically exposed to significant levels of diverse environmental toxicants [1, 6]. This is likely due to (i) lack of regulation in some jurisdictions, (ii) noncompliance with existing regulations, (iii) insufficient data on many chemicals to inform regulatory policy, and (iv) lack of political will to enforce standards in some locales. Following the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 1970 as a Federal regulatory agency, many other countries in the Western hemisphere have followed suit and created regulatory bodies to monitor the environment and protect human health
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