Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure assessment in a community exposed to contaminated drinking water, New Hampshire, 2015

Background: From 1980 to 2017, a fluorochemical manufacturing facility discharged wastewater containing poorly understood per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Cape Fear River, the primary drinking water source for Wilmington, North Carolina, residents. Those PFAS included several fluoroethers including HFPO-DA also known as GenX. Little is known about the bioaccumulation potential of these fluoroethers. Objective: We determined levels of fluoroethers and legacy PFAS in serum samples from Wilmington residents. Methods: In November 2017 and May 2018, we enrolled 344 Wilmington residents of age into the GenX Exposure Study and collected blood samples. Repeated blood samples were collected from 44 participants 6 months after enrollment. We analyzed serum for 10 fluoroethers and 10 legacy PFAS using liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry. Results: Participants’ ages ranged from 6 to 86 y, and they lived in the lower Cape Fear Region for 20 y on average (standard deviation: 16 y). Six fluoroethers were detected in serum; Nafion by-product 2, PFO4DA, and PFO5DoA were detected in of participants. PFO3OA and NVHOS were infrequently detected. Hydro-EVE was present in a subset of samples, but we could not quantify it. GenX was not detected above our analytical method reporting limit ( ). In participants with repeated samples, the median decrease in fluoroether levels ranged from 28% for PFO5DoA to 65% for PFO4DA in 6 months due to wastewater discharge control. Four legacy PFAS (PFHxS, PFOA, PFOS, PFNA) were detected in most ( ) participants; these levels were higher than U.S. national levels for the 2015–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The sum concentration of fluoroethers contributed 24% to participants’ total serum PFAS (median: ). Conclusion: Poorly understood fluoroethers released into the Cape Fear River by a fluorochemical manufacturing facility were detected in blood samples from Wilmington, North Carolina, residents. Health implications of exposure to these novel PFAS have not been well characterized. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6837

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“…Sample results below the MRL were assigned a fill value of the MRL divided by the square root of 2 ( Calafat et al. 2007 ; Daly et al. 2018 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of Novel, Drinking Water-Associated PFAS in Blood from Adults and Children in Wilmington, North Carolina

Kotlarz

McCord

Collier

et al. 2020

Environ Health Perspect

151

110

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“…A 2015 survey of a New Hampshire community close to a former military base was conducted when the drinking water supply was found to be contaminated with PFAS. The survey revealed that more than 94% of individuals were found to have PFOA detectable in serum, with a geometric mean of 3.1 ng/mL 13 . A 20-year survey of PFAS exposure in the mid-Ohio River Valley from 1991 to 2012 revealed that PFOA was detected in 99.9% of sera collected from test subjects, 47% of which were in the 95th percentile of PFOA sera levels in the United States, with a peak median concentration of 7.6 ng/mL 14 .…”

Section: Production Use and Human Exposurementioning

confidence: 99%

NTP Technical Report on the Toxicity Studies of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates (Perfluorohexanoic Acid, Perfluorooctanoic Acid, Perfluorononanoic Acid, and Perfluorodecanoic Acid) Administered by Gavage to Sprague Dawley (Hsd:Sprague Dawley SD) Rats

2019

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“…Based on their structurally inherent thermal and chemical stability, PFAS persist in the environment where they are generally resistant to biodegradation, photooxidation, direct photolysis, and hydrolysis (Schultz et al 2003). As a result, they are widely detected in the environment (Dauchy et al 2019;Pan et al 2018), wildlife (Cui et al 2018;Escoruela et al 2018;Route et al 2014), drinking water (Guelfo and Adamson 2018;, and humans (Daly et al 2018;Hurley et al 2018;Jain 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Developmental Toxicity, Developmental Neurotoxicity, and Tissue Dose in Zebrafish Exposed to GenX and Other PFAS

Gaballah

Swank

Sobus

et al. 2020

Environ Health Perspect

276

149

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BACKGROUND: Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a diverse class of industrial chemicals with widespread environmental occurrence. Exposure to long-chain PFAS is associated with developmental toxicity, prompting their replacement with short-chain and fluoroether compounds. There is growing public concern over the safety of replacement PFAS. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to group PFAS based on shared toxicity phenotypes. METHODS: Zebrafish were developmentally exposed to 4,8-dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoate (ADONA), perfluoro-2-propoxypropanoic acid (GenX Free Acid), perfluoro-3,6-dioxa-4-methyl-7-octene-1-sulfonic acid (PFESA1), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluoro-n-octanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), or 0.4% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) daily from 0-5 d post fertilization (dpf). At 6 dpf, developmental toxicity and developmental neurotoxicity assays were performed, and targeted analytical chemistry was used to measure media and tissue doses. To test whether aliphatic sulfonic acid PFAS cause the same toxicity phenotypes, perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS; 4-carbon), perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS; 5-carbon), PFHxS (6-carbon), perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS; 7-carbon), and PFOS (8-carbon) were evaluated. RESULTS: PFHxS or PFOS exposure caused failed swim bladder inflation, abnormal ventroflexion of the tail, and hyperactivity at nonteratogenic concentrations. Exposure to PFHxA resulted in a unique hyperactivity signature. ADONA, PFESA1, or PFOA exposure resulted in detectable levels of parent compound in larval tissue but yielded negative toxicity results. GenX was unstable in DMSO, but stable and negative for toxicity when diluted in deionized water. Exposure to PFPeS, PFHxS, PFHpS, or PFOS resulted in a shared toxicity phenotype characterized by body axis and swim bladder defects and hyperactivity. CONCLUSIONS: All emerging fluoroether PFAS tested were negative for evaluated outcomes. Two unique toxicity signatures were identified arising from structurally dissimilar PFAS. Among sulfonic acid aliphatic PFAS, chemical potencies were correlated with increasing carbon chain length for developmental neurotoxicity, but not developmental toxicity. This study identified relationships between chemical structures and in vivo phenotypes that may arise from shared mechanisms of PFAS toxicity. These data suggest that developmental neurotoxicity is an important end point to consider for this class of widely occurring environmental chemicals.

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) exposure assessment in a community exposed to contaminated drinking water, New Hampshire, 2015

Cited by 101 publications

References 23 publications

Measurement of Novel, Drinking Water-Associated PFAS in Blood from Adults and Children in Wilmington, North Carolina

Measurement of Novel, Drinking Water-Associated PFAS in Blood from Adults and Children in Wilmington, North Carolina

NTP Technical Report on the Toxicity Studies of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates (Perfluorohexanoic Acid, Perfluorooctanoic Acid, Perfluorononanoic Acid, and Perfluorodecanoic Acid) Administered by Gavage to Sprague Dawley (Hsd:Sprague Dawley SD) Rats

Evaluation of Developmental Toxicity, Developmental Neurotoxicity, and Tissue Dose in Zebrafish Exposed to GenX and Other PFAS

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