2020 journal article

Measurement of Novel, Drinking Water-Associated PFAS in Blood from Adults and Children in Wilmington, North Carolina

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES, 128(7).

By: N. Kotlarz n, J. McCord*, D. Collier*, C. Lea*, M. Strynar*, A. Lindstrom*, A. Wilkie n, J. Islam n ...

MeSH headings : Adult; Alkanesulfonic Acids; Caprylates; Child; Drinking Water; Environmental Exposure / statistics & numerical data; Female; Fluorocarbons / analysis; Fluorocarbons / blood; Humans; Male; North Carolina; Nutrition Surveys; Rivers; Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis
TL;DR: Poorly understood fluoroethers released into the Cape Fear River by a fluorochemical manufacturing facility were detected in blood samples from Wilmington, North Carolina, residents. (via Semantic Scholar)
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
6. Clean Water and Sanitation (Web of Science; OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 24, 2020

Background: From 1980 to 2017, a fluorochemical manufacturing facility discharged wastewater containing poorly understood per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Cape Fear River, the primary drinking water source for Wilmington, North Carolina, residents. Those PFAS included several fluoroethers including HFPO-DA also known as GenX. Little is known about the bioaccumulation potential of these fluoroethers. Objective: We determined levels of fluoroethers and legacy PFAS in serum samples from Wilmington residents. Methods: In November 2017 and May 2018, we enrolled 344 Wilmington residents ≥6 years of age into the GenX Exposure Study and collected blood samples. Repeated blood samples were collected from 44 participants 6 months after enrollment. We analyzed serum for 10 fluoroethers and 10 legacy PFAS using liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry. Results: Participants’ ages ranged from 6 to 86 y, and they lived in the lower Cape Fear Region for 20 y on average (standard deviation: 16 y). Six fluoroethers were detected in serum; Nafion by-product 2 and PFO4DA were detected in >99% of participants. PFO3OA and NVHOS were infrequently detected. Hydro-EVE was present in a subset of samples, but we could not quantify it. GenX was not detected above our analytical method reporting limit (2 ng/mL). In participants with repeated samples, the median decrease in fluoroether levels ranged from 34% for Nafion byproduct 2 to 65% for PFO4DA in 6 months due to wastewater discharge control. Four legacy PFAS (PFHxS, PFOA, PFOS, PFNA) were detected in most (≥97%) participants; these levels were higher than U.S. national levels for the 2015–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The sum concentration of fluoroethers contributed 23% to participants’ summed PFAS (median: 25.0 ng/mL). Conclusion: Poorly understood fluoroethers released into the Cape Fear River by a fluorochemical manufacturing facility were detected in blood samples from Wilmington, North Carolina, residents. Health implications of exposure to these novel PFAS have not been well characterized. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6837