Objective-To determine serum [PFOA] in residents near a fluoropolymer production facility: the contributions from air, water and occupational exposures, personal and dietary habits, and relationships to age and gender.Methods-Questionnaire and serum PFOA measurements in a stratified random sample and volunteers residing in locations with the same residential water supply but with higher and lower potential air PFOA exposure. [PFOA] greatly exceeded general population medians. Occupational exposure from production processes using PFOA and residential water had additive effects, no other occupations contributed. Serum [PFOA] depended on the source of residential drinking water, and not potential air exposure. For public water users the best-fit model included age, tap water drinks per day, servings of home-grown fruit and vegetables, and carbon filter use. Results-SerumConclusions-Residential water source was the primary determinant of serum [PFOA].

To investigate the relation of ultraviolet radiation and cataract formation, we undertook an epidemiologic survey of 838 watermen (mean age, 53 years) who worked on Chesapeake Bay. The annual ocular exposure was calculated from the age of 16 for each waterman by combining a detailed occupational history with laboratory and field measurements of sun exposure. Cataracts were graded by ophthalmologic examination for both type and severity. Some degree of cortical cataract was found in 111 of the watermen (13 percent), and some degree of nuclear cataract in 229 (27 percent). Logistic regression analysis showed that high cumulative levels of ultraviolet B exposure significantly increased the risk of cortical cataract (regression coefficient, 0.70; P = 0.04). A doubling of cumulative exposure increased the risk of cortical cataract by a factor of 1.60 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.01 to 2.64). Those whose annual average exposure was in the upper quartile had a risk increased by 3.30 (confidence interval, 0.90 to 9.97) as compared with those in the lowest quartile. Analysis using a serially additive expected-dose model showed that watermen with cortical lens opacities had a 21 percent higher average annual exposure to ultraviolet B (t-test, 2.23; P = 0.03). No association was found between nuclear cataracts and ultraviolet B exposure or between cataracts and ultraviolet A exposure. We conclude that there is an association between exposure to ultraviolet B radiation and cataract formation, which supports the need for ocular protection from ultraviolet B.