Half-lives of PFOS, PFHxS and PFOA after end of exposure to contaminated drinking water

• Published in: Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 2018-01, Vol.75 (1), p.46-51
• Main Authors: Li, Ying, Fletcher, Tony, Mucs, Daniel, Scott, Kristin, Lindh, Christian H, Tallving, Pia, Jakobsson, Kristina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alkanesulfonic Acids; Alkanesulfonic Acids - blood; Alkanesulfonic Acids - pharmacokinetics; Arbetsmedicin och miljömedicin; Blood & organ donations; Caprylates; Caprylates - blood; Caprylates - pharmacokinetics; Child; Child, Preschool; Drinking Water; Drinking Water - chemistry; elimination; Environmental & Occupational Health; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Exposure - analysis; Environmental Health and Occupational Health; Exposure Assessment; Female; Fire fighting; Fluorocarbons; Fluorocarbons - blood; Fluorocarbons - pharmacokinetics; Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi; Groundwater; Half-life; Health Sciences; Households; Humans; Hälsovetenskap; life; Male; Medical and Health Sciences; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Middle Aged; ORIGINAL ARTICLE; Perfluoro compounds; perfluoroalkyl acids; Perfluorohexane; Population; Public; Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology; serum concentrations; Sex Factors; Sulfonates; Sulfonic Acids; Sulfonic Acids - blood; Sulfonic Acids - pharmacokinetics; Sweden; Toxicology; Urine; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Pollutants, Chemical - blood; Water Pollutants, Chemical - pharmacokinetics; Water pollution; Water Quality; Water Supply; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1351-0711; 1470-7926; 1470-7926
• DOI: 10.1136/oemed-2017-104651

BackgroundMunicipal drinking water contaminated with perfluorinated alkyl acids had been distributed to one-third of households in Ronneby, Sweden. The source was firefighting foam used in a nearby airfield since the mid-1980s. Clean water was provided from 16 December 2013.ObjectiveTo determine the rates of decline in serum perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and their corresponding half-lives.MethodsUp to seven blood samples were collected between June 2014 and September 2016 from 106 participants (age 4–84 years, 53% female).ResultsMedian initial serum concentrations were PFHxS, 277 ng/mL (range 12–1660); PFOS, 345 ng/mL (range 24–1500); and PFOA, 18 ng/mL (range 2.4–92). The covariate-adjusted average rates of decrease in serum were PFHxS, 13% per year (95% CI 12% to 15%); PFOS, 20% per year (95% CI 19% to 22%); and PFOA, 26% per year (95% CI 24% to 28%). The observed data are consistent with a first-order elimination model. The mean estimated half-life was 5.3 years (95% CI 4.6 to 6.0) for PFHxS, 3.4 years (95% CI 3.1 to 3.7) for PFOS and 2.7 years (95% CI 2.5 to 2.9) for PFOA. The interindividual variation of half-life was around threefold when comparing the 5th and 95th percentiles. There was a marked sex difference with more rapid elimination in women for PFHxS and PFOS, but only marginally for PFOA.ConclusionsThe estimated half-life for PFHxS was considerably longer than for PFOS and PFOA. For PFHxS and PFOS, the average half-life is shorter than the previously published estimates. For PFOA the half-life is in line with the range of published estimates.