Biomonitoring of Perfluorinated Compounds in Children and Adults Exposed to Perfluorooctanoate-Contaminated Drinking Water

Abstract

Objective40,000 residents in Arnsberg, Germany, had been exposed to drinking water contaminated with perfluorinated compounds (PFCs). Internal exposure of the residents of Arnsberg to six PFCs was assessed in comparison with reference areas.Design and participantsOne hundred seventy children (5–6 years of age), 317 mothers (23–49 years), and 204 men (18–69 years) took part in the cross-sectional study.MeasurementsIndividual consumption of drinking water and personal characteristics were assessed by questionnaire and interview. Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS), perfluorohexanoate, perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHxS), perfluoropentanoate, and perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS) in blood plasma and PFOA/PFOS in drinking water samples were measured by solid-phase extraction, high-performance liquid chromatrography, and tandem mass spectrometry detection.ResultsOf the various PFCs, PFOA was the main compound found in drinking water (500–640 ng/L). PFOA levels in blood plasma of residents living in Arnsberg were 4.5–8.3 times higher than those for the reference population (arithmetic means Arnsberg/controls: children 24.6/5.2 μg/L, mothers 26.7/3.2 μg/L, men 28.5/6.4 μg/L). Consumption of tap water at home was a significant predictor of PFOA blood concentrations in Arnsberg. PFHxS concentrations were significantly increased in Arnsberg compared with controls (p < 0.05). PFBS was detected in 33% of the children, 4% of the women, and 13% of the men in Arnsberg compared with 5%, 0.7%, and 3%, respectively, in the reference areas (p < 0.05). Regression analysis showed that age and male sex were significant predictors of PFOS, PFOA, and PFHxS; associations of other regressors (diet, body mass index) varied among PFCs.ConclusionsPFC concentrations in blood plasma of children and adults exposed to PFC-contaminated drinking water were increased 4- to 8-fold compared with controls.

Associations between serum concentrations of perfluoroalkyl acids and serum lipid levels in a Chinese population

“…PFOA, instead of PFOS, was the dominant analyte (Pan et al, 2010;Guo et al, 2011). Consistent with other studies, the univariate analysis showed that concentrations of PFOA, PFNA and PFOS were significantly correlated with age, and concentrations of PFOA, PFNA, PFDA and PFOS appeared to be higher in males than those in females (Calafat et al, 2007;Fromme et al, 2007;Holzer et al, 2008;Haug et al, 2009;Zhang et al, 2010).…”

Effects of age, gender and region on serum concentrations of perfluorinated compounds in general population of Henan, China

“…Water source was the primary determinant of serum PFOA concentrations (Emmett et al, 2006). Biomonitoring data showed 4-8 fold higher PFCs concentrations in blood plasma of population exposed to PFCs contaminated drinking water compared with controls (Holzer et al, 2008). These can also explain why the concentrations of PFOS and PFOA in this study were much lower than concentrations from developed countries like USA (Nelson et al, 2010), Japan (Harada et al, 2010) and Germany (Fromme et al, 2009), only higher than those reported for South Africa (Hanssen et al, 2010) and Peru (Calafat et al, 2006b).…”

“…Significant correlations of serum PFCs with age were reported in some studies (Holzer et al, 2008;Haug et al, 2009;Zhang et al, 2010b). In a Chinese study, the concentration of PFOS increased significantly with age, while PFOA concentration showed a negative correlation with age (Zhang et al, 2010b).…”

“…In a Chinese study, the concentration of PFOS increased significantly with age, while PFOA concentration showed a negative correlation with age (Zhang et al, 2010b). Significant positive correlations between PFOA, PFOS and age were reported by Holzer et al (2008). Haug et al (2009) reported that PFNA, PFDA, and PFUdA concentrations in serum increased with age.…”

Mitteilungen des Umweltbundesamtes zu per- und polyfluorierten Chemikalien (PFC) in Trinkwasser

“…Gehalte im Blut gemessen als in unbelasteten Vergleichskollektiven [18]. Nach Reduzierung der PFC-Kontamination des Trinkwassers durch Aktivkohlefiltration sowie Verminderung des weiteren Eintrags von PFC in die Oberflächengewässer zeigte sich bei Wiederholungsmessungen im Jahr 2012 ein Rückgang der PFOA-Belastung um 75 % im geometrischen Mittel [19].…”