Perfluorochemicals in Pooled Serum Samples from United States Residents in 2001 and 2002

Abstract

Manufacturers have used perfluorochemicals (PFCs) since the 1950s in many industrial and consumer products, including protective coatings for fabrics and carpet, paper coatings, insecticide formulations, and surfactants. Some PFCs are persistent ubiquitous contaminants in the environment and in humans. Exposures to PFCs result in potential developmental and other adverse effects in animals. The sources of human exposure to PFCs and the potential health risks associated with exposure are still unclear, and differences in patterns of human exposure may vary. We measured the serum concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA; C8), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and 8 other PFCs in 54 pooled serum samples collected from 1832 participants of the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants were 12 years of age and older. The pools represented three major racial groups/ethnicities (non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites, and Mexican Americans), four age categories (12-19 years, 20-39 years, 40-59 years, and 60 years and older), and both genders. PFCs were extracted from 100 microL of serum using on-line solid-phase extraction coupled to isotope dilution-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The limits of detection ranged from 0.05 ng/mL to 0.2 ng/mL. The concentrations of most PFCs were similar among the four age groups. For PFOS, the estimated least-squares mean (LSM) concentrations among non-Hispanic white males (40.19 ng/mL) and females (23.97 ng/mL) were greater than among non-Hispanic black males (18.27 ng/mL) and females (17.93 ng/mL) or Mexican American males (13.71 ng/mL) and females (10.40 ng/ mL). Similarly, for PFOA, the LSM concentrations among non-Hispanic white males (6.98 ng/mL) and females (3.97 ng/ mL) were greater than among non-Hispanic black males (3.62 ng/mL) and females (2.85 ng/mL) or Mexican American males (2.89 ng/mL) and females (2.08 ng/mL). Non-Hispanic whites had also greater LSM concentrations of PFHxS than non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican Americans. These findings indicate different patterns of human exposure to PFCs among the population groups examined and stress the importance of conducting research to identify the environmental sources and pathways of human exposure to PFCs.

Assessment of lipid, hepatic, and thyroid parameters with serum perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) concentrations in fluorochemical production workers

“…In another occupational study, Kaplan (2004) did not report an association between HDL and serum PFOA concentrations. Neither did Emmett et al (2006a) in a community-based exposure study whose median PFOA concentrations (approximately 0.354 lg/ml) were 60 times higher than that of general population studies (Calafat et al 2006;Olsen et al 2003b). To further clarify any possible association with HDL, the A apolipoproteins, which form the major proteins found in HDL, could be measured although this was not part of the present study.…”

“…The widespread presence of PFOA in the blood of the general population (Calafat et al 2006) has resulted in assessments of sources of exposure including industrial production, indirect sources including atmospheric production, and transport of telomer precursors (De Silva and Maybury 2006).…”

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

“…Haug et al (2009) reported that PFNA, PFDA, and PFUdA concentrations in serum increased with age. In contrast, in the NHANES study, in which 54 pooled serum samples of the 2001/2002 survey and 1562 serum samples of the 1999-2000 survey were analyzed, no association of PFCs concentrations with age was found (Calafat et al, 2006a;Calafat et al, 2007). Studies on a Chinese population around Bohai sea did not show any significant difference between two age groups (Guo et al, 2011).…”

Ferric ion mediated photochemical decomposition of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) by 254nm UV light

“…In recent years, PFCs especially perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanyl sulfonate (PFOS) have received much attention because they were ubiquitously detected in various environmental media [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] and in the body of wildlife [12,13] and human beings [14][15][16][17]. Though their sources, fate and transport in the environment are not well understood, it has been known that they are directly released into the environment or indirectly formed [18].…”