Serum Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and Hepatic and Lipid Clinical Chemistry Tests in Fluorochemical Production Employees

Abstract

The 3M Company manufactures fluorochemicals, which have as a precursor perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride (C8F17SO2F). These compounds may be expected to transform metabolically, to an undetermined degree, to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS, C8F17SO3-) as an end-stage metabolite. Subchronic studies in rats and primates indicate a potential for cumulative toxicity with PFOS with the primary effect related to metabolic wasting with hypolipidemia as a consistent finding. Biennial medical surveillance has been offered to the company's fluorochemical production workers located in Decatur, Alabama, and Antwerp, Belgium. In 1995, the mean serum PFOS level, as measured by high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, for 178 male employees was 2.19 parts per million (ppm; range, 0.00 to 12.83 ppm), and in 1997, for 149 male employees, it was 1.75 ppm (0.10 to 9.93 ppm). Our analyses suggest that among these production employees, there were no substantial changes in serum hepatic enzymes, cholesterol, or lipoproteins associated with PFOS levels less than 6 ppm. It was not possible to derive inferences from the few employees who had serum PFOS levels > or = 6 ppm. These results may be due to the lower levels of serum PFOS measured among these production employees, compared to those suspected to cause effects in laboratory animals.

Mixing of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) potassium salt with dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC)

“…Hu and co-workers reported an increased fluidity in fish leukocytes for the same concentration range of 5 to 15 mg/L using pyrenedecanoic acid as a fluorescent probe [27]. This concentration range, as mentioned above, has been measured in the serum of workers with high occupational exposure to PFOS derivatives [26].…”

“…These serum levels were observed in fetuses from dams receiving a PFOS dose that caused significant neonatal mortality. Human serum PFOS levels are typically lower compared to this animal study, but can reach > 10 mg/L in an occupational setting [26]. Because these serum levels are approximately two to three orders of magnitude below the lowest aqueous PFOS concentration (XDPPC = 0.99) employed in our DSC studies, we utilized DPH anisotropy measurements to study the effect of biologically more relevant concentrations of PFOS potassium salt on the DPPC bilayer.…”

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

“…Olsen et al (2003) examined PFOS concentrations among flurochemical production workers and reported positive associations of PFOS with TC and TG . Another study done by Olsen et al (1999) reported a negative association of PFOS with HDLC in samples of 1995, but this was not observed in 1997. Nelson et al (2010) investigated four serum lipids and only found one significant positive association between PFOS and TC, those in the highest quartile of PFOS exposure had TC levels 0.35 mmol/L higher than those in the lowest quartile .…”

Perfluorooctanesulfonate and Related Fluorochemicals in Human Blood Samples from China

“…Perfluorooctanesulfonylfluoride (POSF) is the precursor for the production of several perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) is identified to be the end-stage metabolite of many PFCs (1). The strong carbonfluorine (C-F) covalent bonds in PFCs account for the thermal and chemical stability of these compounds, which have been manufactured and used in a variety of industrial applications, such as surfactants and surface protectors, for over 50 years (2)(3)(4).…”