Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been extensively used as surfactants because of their high stability and good water/oil-repellent properties. PFASs, especially perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs), have long biological half-lives, and exposure may cause adverse health effects in humans. We assessed temporal trends of concentrations of eight PFAAs in serum of Swedish adolescents (age 16–21 years) from the general population, and estimated the stability of PFAAs and serum samples after 6 years of storage. Repeated cross-sectional sampling was performed on five occasions (covering in total 1213 individuals, 83% males) in southern Sweden between 2000 and 2017. We analyzed serum for perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA) using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We assessed time trends using linear regression, long-term stability was assessed by reanalyzing samples collected 2013, and the comparison was done using Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman plots.PFHxS, PFOS, and PFOA decreased by 6.7% (CI: –7.0, –6.3%), 12.6% (CI: –12.9, –12.3%), and 6.5% (CI: –6.8, –6.1%) per year, respectively, and year of sampling explained 48–81% of the variation in concentrations. PFNA and PFDA seemed to increase up to 2009 and decrease thereafter. The trends were consistent after sensitivity analyses excluding women. Strong correlations of 94–97% were observed for concentrations of all compounds, except PFHxS, after storage. The observed trends closely followed the timing of manufacturers’ voluntary phase-out initiatives, and of regulatory measures governing the compounds implemented in the EU and USA. This indicates that these actions mitigated the population’s exposure to PFHxS, PFOS, and PFOA and, in recent years, to PFNA and PFDA, in southern Sweden. Furthermore, the results suggest that PFAAs remain stable in serum samples after long-term storage.
Highlights
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent synthetic chemicals for which there is evidence that exposure can cause adverse health effects in humans
The main objective of this study was to assess exposure concentra tions and temporal trends from 2000 to 2017 of perfluorohexane sul fonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), per fluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), per fluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA), and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA) in serum from Swedish adolescents from the general popu lation to estimate the efficacy of the implemented regulatory measures
perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), PFOS, PFOA, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and PFDA were present in quantifiable concentrations in more than 85% of the samples (Table 1)
Summary
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent synthetic chemicals for which there is evidence that exposure can cause adverse health effects in humans. The strong carbon–fluorine bond makes PFASs, perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in particular, very stable and resistant to chemical and biological degradation (Buck et al, 2011; Kissa, 2001). These compounds have been extensively used since the 1950s in various applications to create products that repel water, oil, and dirt and resist high temperatures (Buck et al, 2011; Kissa, 2001). PFASs are water soluble and, unlike other persistent organic pollutants, do not bind to organic matter to a large degree and can migrate from point sources to eventually
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