Dataset Information

An overview of the uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

ABSTRACT: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of concern because of their high persistence (or that of their degradation products) and their impacts on human and environmental health that are known or can be deduced from some well-studied PFAS. Currently, many different PFAS (on the order of several thousands) are used in a wide range of applications, and there is no comprehensive source of information on the many individual substances and their functions in different applications. Here we provide a broad overview of many use categories where PFAS have been employed and for which function; we also specify which PFAS have been used and discuss the magnitude of the uses. Despite being non-exhaustive, our study clearly demonstrates that PFAS are used in almost all industry branches and many consumer products. In total, more than 200 use categories and subcategories are identified for more than 1400 individual PFAS. In addition to well-known categories such as textile impregnation, fire-fighting foam, and electroplating, the identified use categories also include many categories not described in the scientific literature, including PFAS in ammunition, climbing ropes, guitar strings, artificial turf, and soil remediation. We further discuss several use categories that may be prioritised for finding PFAS-free alternatives. Besides the detailed description of use categories, the present study also provides a list of the identified PFAS per use category, including their exact masses for future analytical studies aiming to identify additional PFAS.

SUBMITTER: Gluge J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7784712 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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An overview of the uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Glüge Juliane J Scheringer Martin M Cousins Ian T IT DeWitt Jamie C JC Goldenman Gretta G Herzke Dorte D Lohmann Rainer R Ng Carla A CA Trier Xenia X Wang Zhanyun Z

Environmental science. Processes & impacts 20201030 12

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of concern because of their high persistence (or that of their degradation products) and their impacts on human and environmental health that are known or can be deduced from some well-studied PFAS. Currently, many different PFAS (on the order of several thousands) are used in a wide range of applications, and there is no comprehensive source of information on the many individual substances and their functions in different applications. Here we prov ...[more]

PMID: 33125022

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Project description:As the persistence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) become a global concern, information about the occurrence and characteristics of PFAS in estuarine and marine ecosystems is poorly represented. In this study, the presence of 51 PFAS were monitored in the Pensacola Bay System (PBS), Florida, USA. Due to the presence of many potential PFAS sources in close proximity to the PBS (e.g., military bases, industries, airports and several firefighting stations), the distribution and concentration of PFAS in this estuarine environment provides insights into the fate of these complex compounds as well as the possible impacts on coastal systems. Surface water was collected and analyzed from 45 different sites via Strata-X-AW cartridge extractions and ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) analysis. Recoveries for many PFAS (13/51) were >60% (mean 77 %), with relative standard deviations below 20%, except for N-methylperfluoro-1-octanesulfonamidoacetic acid (N-MeFOSAA) (22%). Of the perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), which comprised the majority of PFAS detected: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) were present in all samples; however, perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) was the individual PFAS with the highest concentration of this group (51.9 ng.L−1, at site 81). The PFAS detected at the highest concentrations were perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSA), with perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) having the highest detected concentration (269 ng.L−1, at site 81). At all sites, at least eight or more PFAS were quantified. Past and current use of PFAS-containing materials and their fate in areas surrounding military bases, airports, and industries, require more in-depth monitoring efforts to better determine the need for regulation, management, and/or remediation. Here, sites located close to areas suspected of PFAS use had elevated concentrations. For example, one coastal location near an airfield had a ΣPFAS of 677 ng.L−1. Expansion from these ongoing efforts will focus on assessment of PFAS-related effects in local wildlife and evaluating the distribution of PFAS at these “hotspot” sites during large episodic weather events, a critically understudied phenomenon regarding PFAS and vulnerable coastal environments. Highlights • Elevated PFAS levels were quantified in Pensacola Bay surface water.• ΣPFOS was the compound detected with the highest concentration between all PFAS.• PFAS diversity increased near sites with industrial effluent and suspected AFFF usage. PFAS, Surface water, Pensacola bay system, Coastal water monitoring, AFFF usage, UHPLC-MS/MS.

Project description:BackgroundPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large class of synthetic (man-made) chemicals widely used in consumer products and industrial processes. Thousands of distinct PFAS exist in commerce. The 2019 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Action Plan outlines a multiprogram national research plan to address the challenge of PFAS. One component of this strategy involves the use of systematic evidence map (SEM) approaches to characterize the evidence base for hundreds of PFAS.ObjectiveSEM methods were used to summarize available epidemiological and animal bioassay evidence for a set of ∼150 PFAS that were prioritized in 2019 by the U.S. EPA's Center for Computational Toxicology and Exposure (CCTE) for in vitro toxicity and toxicokinetic assay testing.MethodsSystematic review methods were used to identify and screen literature using manual review and machine-learning software. The Populations, Exposures, Comparators, and Outcomes (PECO) criteria were kept broad to identify mammalian animal bioassay and epidemiological studies that could inform human hazard identification. A variety of supplemental content was also tracked, including information on in vitro model systems; exposure measurement-only studies in humans; and absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME). Animal bioassay and epidemiology studies meeting PECO criteria were summarized with respect to study design, and health system(s) were assessed. Because animal bioassay studies with ≥21-d exposure duration (or reproductive/developmental study design) were most useful to CCTE analyses, these studies underwent study evaluation and detailed data extraction. All data extraction is publicly available online as interactive visuals with downloadable metadata.ResultsMore than 40,000 studies were identified from scientific databases. Screening processes identified 44 animal and 148 epidemiology studies from the peer-reviewed literature and 95 animal and 50 epidemiology studies from gray literature that met PECO criteria. Epidemiological evidence (available for 15 PFAS) mostly assessed the reproductive, endocrine, developmental, metabolic, cardiovascular, and immune systems. Animal evidence (available for 40 PFAS) commonly assessed effects in the reproductive, developmental, urinary, immunological, and hepatic systems. Overall, 45 PFAS had evidence across animal and epidemiology data streams.DiscussionMany of the ∼150 PFAS were data poor. Epidemiological and animal evidence were lacking for most of the PFAS included in our search. By disseminating this information, we hope to facilitate additional assessment work by providing the initial scoping literature survey and identifying key research needs. Future research on data-poor PFAS will help support a more complete understanding of the potential health effects from PFAS exposures. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP10343.

Project description:Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are some of the most prominent organic contaminants in human blood that have the potential to disrupt biological processes and pathways in the liver. Although the toxicological implications from human exposure to perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are well established, data on other, lesser-understood PFAS are limited. A challenge for regulatory authorities is to determine acceptable levels of human exposure to large, diverse classes of environmental contaminants. New approach methodologies (NAMs) that apply bioinformatics tools to interpret biological data are being increasingly considered to inform risk assessment when traditional toxicology methodologies are not amenable. The aim of the current investigation was to identify the biological responses relevant to PFAS mode of action as the concentration (benchmark dose) that these effects take place in order to utililze this information to inform/facilitate read-across for risk assessment of data-poor PFAS. A TempO-Seq platform (BioSpyder) measured gene expression changes in human liver microtissues (i.e., spheroids) after 1-day and 10-day exposures to increasing concentrations of PFAS. A bioinformatics framework was applied to 23 PFAS sub-classed into carboxylates (PFCAs), sulfonates (PFSAs), or PFAS precursors that were analyzed for the total altered transcripts, the concentration where effects take place, and identifying target genes of interest. Both PFCAs and PFSAs exhibited a trend toward increased transcriptional changes with carbon chain-length. Specifically, longer-chain compounds (7 to 10 carbons) were more likely to surpass liver-toxic transcriptomic thresholds established from previous studies than shorter chain PFAS. Longer-chain PFAS were also more potent, inducing transcriptional effects at lower concentrations. However, PFOS was the most potent PFAS and of all precursors, only PFOSA (a PFOS precursor) induced a response. The combined high-throughput transcriptomic and bioinformatics analyses revealed the capability of NAMs to assess the effects of PFAS in liver microtissues; such data improves our understanding of PFAS-related effects in humans and facilitates the use of read-across in human health risk assessment for other data-poor chemicals.

Dataset Information

An overview of the uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Publications

An overview of the uses of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Similar Datasets

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