World-Wide Indoor Exposure to Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphate Esters (PAPs) and other PFASs in Household Dust

Abstract

Human exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is ongoing and in some cases increasing, despite efforts made to reduce emissions. The role of precursor compounds such as polyfluorinated phosphate esters (PAPs) has received increasing attention, but there are knowledge gaps regarding their occurrence and impact on human exposure. In this study, mono-, di-, and triPAPs, perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs), saturated, and unsaturated fluorotelomer carboxylic acids (FTCA/FTUCAs), perfluoroalkane sulfonamides, and sulfonamidethanols (FOSA/FOSEs), and one fluorotelomer sulfonic acid (FTSA)) were compared in household dust samples from Canada, the Faroe Islands, Sweden, Greece, Spain, Nepal, Japan, and Australia. Mono-, di-, and triPAPs, including several diPAP homologues, were frequently detected in dust from all countries, revealing an ubiquitous spread in private households from diverse geographic areas, with significant differences between countries. The median levels of monoPAPs and diPAPs ranged from 3.7 ng/g to 1 023 ng/g and 3.6 ng/g to 692 ng/g, respectively, with the lowest levels found in Nepal and the highest in Japan. The levels of PAPs exceeded those of the other PFAS classes. These findings reveal the importance of PAPs as a source of PFAS exposure worldwide.

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in indoor and outdoor dusts around a mega fluorochemical industrial park in China: Implications for human exposure

“…The congener pattern of PFAAs in dusts was consistent with that in surface water and sediment in this area, in which PFOA and short chain PFCAs dominated as well (Wang et al, 2016). Like the congener pattern in the present study, PFOA was found to be the predominant PFCA in many other countries, such as Canada, Sweden, Spain or Australia (Eriksson and Kärrman, 2015). The median concentration of PFOA (852 ng/g) in house dust here was 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than that in house dusts from these countries (9-21 ng/g) (Eriksson and Kärrman, 2015) and was also 4 times higher than the mean PFOA concentration (205 ng/g) in indoor dusts from ordinary houses without a nearby point source in China (Zhang et al, 2010).…”

“…The EDI of PFOA was 0.43 ng/kg·bw/day for adults and 5.3 ng/kg·bw/day for children in Birmingham, UK (Goosey and Harrad, 2011) and was 0.20 ng/kg·bw/day for adult women in Norway (Haug et al, 2011b). The estimated intake of PFAAs (PFOA) via dust ingestion by 2 years' children was between 2.5 (0.06) and 7.0 (0.11) ng/kg·bw/day in Australia, Canada, the Faroe Islands and Japan, 0.3-0.8 (0.04-0.06) ng/kg·bw/day in Greece, Spain, and Sweden, and 0.02 (0) ng/kg·bw/day in Nepal (Eriksson and Kärrman, 2015). Overall, the estimated intakes of PFOA/PFAAs by residents about 2 km and 5 km from the FIP in our study were highest compared with the values previously reported.…”

Perfluorinated chemicals in blood serum of inhabitants in central Poland in relation to gender and age

“…Another potential source of intake of these compounds by humans, still not well researched, is dust (D'Hollander et al, 2010;Eriksson and Kärrman, 2015). Dust as a significant source of exposure may be the case for North American and some Asian countries (Fromme et al, 2009).…”

Behavior of Polyfluoroalkyl Phosphate Esters in Wastewater Treatment Plants and Estimation of Inflow Load Contributed by Cosmetics

“…and Shigeo FUJII 1) 1) Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Yoshida honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan 2) Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Yoshida honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan…”