Serum Half-Lives for Short- and Long-Chain Perfluoroalkyl Acids after Ceasing Exposure from Drinking Water Contaminated by Firefighting Foam

• Published in: Environmental Health Perspectives
• Main Authors: Xu, Yiyi, Fletcher, Tony, Pineda, Daniela, Lindh, Christian H, Nilsson, Carina, Glynn, Anders, Vogs, Carolina, Norström, Karin, Lilja, Karl, Jakobsson, Kristina, Li, Ying
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences 2020
• Subjects: Environmental Health and Occupational Health; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/5c956ed1-99cc-4fc0-b313-19feb362bf0c; https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6785

BACKGROUND: Firefighting foam-contaminated ground water, which contains high levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), is frequently found around airports. In 2018 it was detected that employees at a municipal airport in northern Sweden had been exposed to high levels of short-chain PFAS along with legacy PFAS (i.e., PFOA, PFHxS, and PFOS) through drinking water.OBJECTIVES: In this study, we aimed to describe the PFAS profile in drinking water and biological samples (paired serum and urine) and to estimate serum half-lives of the short-chain PFAS together with legacy PFAS.METHODS: Within 2 weeks after provision of clean water, blood sampling was performed in all 26 airport employees. Seventeen of them were then followed up monthly for 5 months. PFHxA, PFHpA, PFBS, PFPeS, and PFHpS together with legacy PFAS in water and biological samples were quantified using LC/MS/MS. Half-lives were estimated by assuming one compartment, first-order elimination kinetics.RESULTS: The proportions of PFHxA, PFHpA, and PFBS were higher in drinking water than in serum. The opposite was found for PFHxS and PFOS. The legacy PFAS accounted for about 50% of total PFAS in drinking water and 90% in serum. Urinary PFAS levels were very low compared with serum. PFBS showed the shortest half-life {average 44 d [95% confidence interval (CI): 37, 55 d]}, followed by PFHpA [62 d (95% CI: 51, 80 d)]. PFPeS and PFHpS showed average half-lives as 0.63 and 1.46 y, respectively. Branched PFOS isomers had average half-lives ranging from 1.05 to 1.26 y for different isomers. PFOA, PFHxS, and linear PFOS isomers showed average half-lives of 1.77, 2.87, and 2.93 y, respectively.DISCUSSION: A general pattern of increasing half-lives with increasing chain length was observed. Branched PFOS isomers had shorter half-lives than linear PFOS isomers. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6785.